Friday, Sep. 03, 2010

Nonprofit enriches lives by providing tickets to events

Dave to Destiny aims to broaden horizons through new experiences

A Los Banos-based nonprofit, now a couple of months old, uses its connections to provide culture and entertainment for people who might not otherwise be able to afford it, according to the organization's president.

Reggie Grimes, of Los Banos Ministries, said the Dave to Destiny program has provided more than 200 tickets to events and places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Francisco Giants baseball games, the San Francisco Ballet and many others, for members of the Los Banos community.

Grimes said even people who might not be able to afford tickets still need to experience such events.

"Just to kind of broaden their horizons," Grimes said. "So they can see the world in a different way, rather than being narrow in their scope."

Grimes said these cultured experiences can inspire ticket beneficiaries to do bigger and better things with their lives.

Grimes said the Dave to Destiny program has drummed up interest from other organizations, so Los Banos Ministries declined to name the agency that provides the tickets.

The agency contacts Los Banos Ministries with tickets for an event, usually in the Bay Area, typically no more than a week before it occurs, Grimes said. So, Los Banos Ministries spreads the word around town, through phone calls and e-mail, and then recipients are chosen mostly on a first-come, first-served basis, as some of the events have limited space.

Grimes said Los Banos Ministries, which started around 18 months ago, is made up of "a group of believers" who put the nonprofit together.

Gary Stanford, the ministry's chief financial adviser, said the Dave to Destiny program's name was inspired by the biblical story of King David.

As the story goes, before David was crowned king, he went through several trials, including fighting animals while working as a shepherd and slaying Goliath.

Stanford said this program mirrors that story, in that at-risk youth could channel their destructive behavior into a greater destiny.

"If you're not shown anything different, [destructive behavior is] all you're going to know," Stanford said.

Emi Zako, a ballet instructor from Queen Esther's Prep Ballet, said she took three of her students to a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance in San Jose using tickets provided by Dave to Destiny. She said the trip would not have been affordable otherwise.

Zako said the experience served both as an entertainment and educational experience for her students.

"It's very important for them to experience both how people look on stage and how the audience watches," Zako said.

The ballet instructor said she is looking forward to taking her students to a ballet performance during the upcoming ballet season using tickets from Dave to Destiny.

"It's a really great program," Zako said.

The next event to which Dave to Destiny is providing tickets is an Oakland A's baseball game on Labor Day, Sept. 6. Anyone interested in tickets to this or future events, can call Los Banos Ministries at 489-8775.