Youth group leader honored for patience

The number of kids that participate in the Costa Mesa youth program has tripled since Jovita Guthrie began running it in September.

The numbers say it all, said Guthrie’s boss, recreation coordinator Jeanne Douglass. In the spring of 2005, the total attendance for March, April and May was 203. This spring it was 801.

What is Guthrie’s secret in drawing middle school and high school kids to the youth programs?

“She truly cares,” said Douglass who nominated her for an employee-of-the-month award. “And they [youth] respond to that and so do their parents.”

She received the award for her dedication at last week’s City Council meeting.

Guthrie’s outreach work to parents is also part of the reason for the increased attendance.

“The way you get children in the program is by approaching the parents,” Guthrie said.

And she did this by talking about the program to adults who walked into the downtown recreation center. Before she came on board as recreation leader, the outreach work involved giving fliers to children at the schools.

Being the mother of a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl also gives her an advantage with youth.

“I think what helps me is that I have children, and I know how I would want my children to be treated,” she said.

Many of the kids that participate in the program are starving for attention and are “at-risk youth,” she said.

The program provides a safe place for them to interact with each other, as well as participate in sports and other activities.

“When you really look at the whole picture, these kids are our future,” she said. “Sometimes a simple gesture, a simple hello, makes a big difference in their lives.”

David Nava, 12, said Guthrie always remembers the name of the kids that walk into the center. David said she always plans fun activities like soccer and ping-pong tournaments.

“All the people that I know like her. We trust her,” David said.

“She’s a person that won’t lie to us,” he said. “She talks to us about life and tells us to respect our parents and adults.”

This is not the first employee-of-the-month award for Guthrie. She received her first when she worked for the now-shuttered Job Center. She was there for 10 years.

Although she liked working for the Job Center, Guthrie said she loves her job now.

“You get the satisfaction that you helped somebody, and especially when they come back and look for you, you know you’ve made a difference,” she said.dpt.16-employee-BPhotoInfoHJ1SVUO020060716j2f5vgncCredit: Caption: (LA)Jovita Guthrie