Isla Vista Youth Projects officially becomes LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner. as preschool students from LEAP’s Children’s Center unveil the 50 year organization’s new identity at the May 10 community briefing. (Photos / Isaac Hernandez)
ISLA VISTA — On May 10 Isla Vista Youth Projects (IVYP), a nonprofit organization, officially announced their new name and unveiled their new logo and identity during a briefing for 50 community leaders and partner organizations. The new name is LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner.
“We share many common goals, challenges and values and today we hope to create even more connections,” said Chuck Flacks, Chair of LEAP’s Board of Directors as he welcomed attendees to the briefing. “Together we are not just service providers, we are building community.”
Approximately 50 community members including nonprofit leaders, partners, and elected officials learned about the expanding impact of LEAP, and cheered on LEAP’s preschool program students who unveiled the new logo and engaged in a joyful ‘teaching moment’ with LEAP Executive Director, Lori Goodman.
“I’m so proud of IVYP’s history and our roots in Isla Vista. Great things come out of Isla Vista, and LEAP is one of them,” said Lori Goodman, Executive Director of IVYP/LEAP. “We are thrilled to launch our new identity, which honors our decades of services and reflects how we have come to serve the broader community to mitigate the effects of poverty, racism, and trauma for children and families on the Central Coast.”
The event, held at the LEAP Children’s Center, West Campus location, included a welcome from Flacks, the briefing by Goodman, a testimonial from Bishop Diego High School sophomore Kayalily Penn – alumna of LEAP’s preschool and afterschool programs – remarks and recognitions from Second District County Supervisor Laura Capps, City of Goleta Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards, and recognitions from the offices of Senator Monique Limon (represented by Viviana Morales), Congressman Salud Carbajal (represented by Esmeralda Estrada), Assemblymember Greg Hart (represented by Ethan Bertrand) and Third District County Supervisor Joan Hartmann (represented by Gina Fischer).
“When we first started looking at our data, we learned that about 20% of our families live in Isla Vista proper, 60% in Goleta, with others in Santa Barbara and north of Goleta,” said Goodman. “We learned during the pandemic that geography did not need to be a barrier for us, and that we could reach even more families.”
LEAP’s programs include trauma-informed 0-5 early childhood care and education, parenting workshops, Family Resource Center resources for immigration support, monthly food distribution and emergency food pantry and more. LEAP founded and operates the only Diaper Bank in Santa Barbara County, which in the past two and a half years has now provided nearly 100,000 diapers, serving families countywide from Santa Maria, Lompoc to Carpinteria.
The new name LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner. (Aprender. Participar. Abogar. Colaborar.) was chosen through a two-year community engagement and input process.
LEAP also announced the new website at www.leapcentralcoast.org.
About LEAP — LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner. mitigates the effects of poverty, racism, and trauma by providing high-quality, trauma-informed child care, comprehensive, culturally sensitive family support, and visionary community leadership.
We envision a community where children are loved, valued, and respected and families are supported to reach their highest potential. For more information, visit www.leapcentralcoast.org
IVYP (Isla Vista Youth Projects) becomes LEAP: Learn, Engage, Advocate, Partner / Aprender, Participar, Abogar, Colaborar. Name unveiling ceremony at the LEAP Children Center, Isla Vista, California. May 10, 2023. Photo: ©2023 Isaac Hernández de Lipa / IsaacHernandez.com