The Chargers partnered with Los Angeles' Youth Development Department and hosted their youth council at SoFi Stadium last week to kick off their new sustainability program that focuses on educating the youth as well as promoting recycling practices in the city of Los Angeles, an initiative that is sponsored by Ball Corporation.
As part of the program, the Youth Council will plan a sustainability project and present their projects at the end of the season. Following the presentations, one of the projects will be funded, making it impactful and important for the city of Los Angeles.
The afternoon at SoFi brought everyone together to mark a start of the program as the program hopes to both empower the students for an important cause while also giving them an opportunity to help them and the city grow going forward.
"We're challenging them to come up with some ideas to make our recycling better here in the city of LA," Ball Corporation Senior Manager Jessica Leary said. "We're hoping the next generation of sustainability champions can help us amplify that messaging. Whether that's infrastructure, ideation, opportunities, all of that."
"The goal of this program is to, first of all, empower them to use their voices for good and for change and then hopefully we get a little bit more of that recycling message out of there," Leary added. "But I do think this is an opportunity for them to use their leadership skills and to really hone in on how they want to use their voices going forward."
The Los Angeles Youth Development Department's Youth Council consists of members between the ages of 16 and 25 and have two representatives each of the 15 council districts in the city of Los Angeles.
It's an exciting opportunity for all involved and is making a big impact not only on the youth, but also on the future.
"We hope our young people will take away from this experience the opportunity to network across the city of Los Angeles and develop sustainable strategies that will improve the lives of every Angelino," Executive Director of the Los Angeles Youth Development Department Lisa Salazar said.
"Young people are our future and we only have one earth and they care deeply about it," Salazar later added. "So, teaching them about sustainability will only protect our futures and their futures and their children's futures."
Sponsored by Ball Corporation, the Chargers have partnered with the City of Los Angeles' Youth Development Department (YDD) to create a program that focuses on educating youth and promoting recycling practices in Los Angeles. The youth council members from YDD toured SoFi Stadium with the venue's sustainability specialists and attended an orientation to learn more about the program.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Ball Corp hosts the Youth Development Department for the first Sustainability Program Orientation at SoFi Stadium Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
The youth council members took part in an orientation where they learned more about the program, which was held in the press conference room, the group also got a unique opportunity to have a brief tour of the stadium led by the stadium's sustainability specialists.
It also gave everyone an opportunity to network and get to interact with others that are also very passionate about sustainability.
"Recycling education. I think that's one of the most prevalent issues in our community, especially amongst youth," Aimee Benitez, senior at UCLA and representative of Council District 1 said about the topic she's most passionate about. "I think the lack of knowledge of what recycling means, what those different colors on those bins mean, can often times lead people to not be willing to try it out.
"I think if we're working with recycling and teaching people about what each bin means, what it means and their outcome, it's going to be really special," Benitez added. "I think it's hard for people to recycle because there's no instant gratification that comes from it. But I think working together to educate ourselves will be really special."
It's the beginning of a very important and impactful program, and the unique opportunity for one of the projects to come to life is one of the many big outcomes that will come from it.
"The Chargers really hope to achieve a lot with this program," Chargers Community Relations Manager Cheyanne Warren-Diaz said. "One, we hope that by partnering with Ball Corp that we're able to bring sustainability and recycling aluminum to the forefront of young people because they're going to be the ones that really shape how we move forward as a community and as an environment in the years to come."
"One of these projects is really going to come to life and it is going to make a real difference. We heard a lot of different ideas when we were in that meeting," Warren-Diaz later added. "It's going to be exciting to see how they actually think what can make a difference in the city of Los Angeles, where they grew up and where they have family and they have friends and how they view, how a young person views sustainability. It's going to be really exciting to see those projects come to life."
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