Neighborhood Heroes

A student at Indio High School is spending his weekends on a project building a garden that will help the students and the community.  Farina Shatavyzadeh is a junior at Indio High School who is spending his free time building a garden on campus. “I think this a great opportunity for people to give back

Desert Learning Academy second grader, Luis Arizmendi with the help of his mother Joan Arellano, found a way to donate meals to families while expanding his education.  Luis is an avid reader and enjoys reading. Learning A-Z (Raz Kids) is a district program where students can read and accumulate stars, like points. “What Raz kids

Many students are still distance learning. Some don’t always have the perfect set up to comfortably learn from home. The National Honor Society with Indio High School created an initiative to bring desks to kids who are learning from home in partnership with California Scholarship Federation (CSF) members. The club, faculty and students, built, repurposed,

Jannet Williams was born in the Philippines where she completed her credentials to become a registered nurse.  When her father had a heart attack, she moved to the states to take care of him. When she arrived to the states she applied to be a caregiver with Home Instead because she knew that helping others

A pair of young children are being praised as neighborhood heroes after raising more than $600 in less than a week to help those in need here in the Coachella Valley. The two young neighborhood heroes, Camia and Gage, wanted to help the valley’s homeless. Camia’s older sister, Porsha, told News Channel 3 that they

Elizabeth Senso is a frontline worker working six days a week during the coronavirus pandemic. She works at Gelson’s grocery store in Rancho Mirage and has been there for over 10 years. “I just marked my 30 years in the grocery business in November,” said Senso. Samantha Wright is Senso’s friend and the one who

Mike Sullivan and his wife Judy spend their retirement making homemade wooden toys for children. They have been doing this since 2013. Every Christmas these toys are donated to kids in the Coachella Valley that would otherwise maybe not get a gift. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many parents are without jobs. These toys can

One Future Coachella Valley is an organization that helps Coachella Valley students succeed in college and higher education. Gent’s Alliance is an initiative within that program that was created in 2015 to serve young men in the Coachella Valley. Ernie Rios is the vice president of College of Success with One Future Coachella Valley. He

Mario’s Italian Café’s has seven locations and all of them have been giving back to the community since 1973. During the coronavirus pandemic, they have stepped up their help in the community. Mario’s Italian Café is primarily run by Mario and his sons Peter and Mathew and other family members. They have given back to the

Patrick Karst is a pianist in the Coachella Valley. He has been playing piano since he was four years old. He worked on cruise ships for many years. Now, a private contractor working at country clubs, country clubs, private parties, restaurants, churches, weddings, funerals, bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras, and directing music for artist Charo. Karst said, “Music

14-year old Faith Garza, living in the Coachella Valley, is taking initiative during the coronavirus pandemic to write thank you letters to frontline workers. Her mother Christina Garza said, “In this time she is writing thank you notes to front liners and other medical staff to let them know that we are thinking of them

A YouTube channel has been made by Judith Schliessmann, aka Gramma Books. Schliessmann has been a volunteer in schools from Indio to Palm Springs for 32 years. She said, “Many of the students are learning English and I have found that they learn faster with my humorous approach.” So her YouTube channel, Gramma Books, does just

Our neighborhood hero this week is an essential worker in Cathedral City. Griselda Govera is a breast cancer survivor working at the Food4Less grocery store. If you head to the back of the Food4Less grocery store in Cathedral City you’ll find Griselda Govera making a difference. 
”I like my job every day,” Govera told News