Community News

Newport Beach teens and their project partners plan service projects with training/grants from the Dragon Kim Foundation

 

by: Dan Pittman
Published: May 25, 2026

 

 

NEWPORT BEACH...Nine Newport Beach area high school students have been selected as 2026 Dragon Kim Foundation Fellows and will be implementing community service projects this summer.

The projects and teens include Leaf by Leaf, developed by Damacia Shang of Sage Hill High School and her partner Kelland Hong of Polytechnic School.  Leaf by Leaf turns picky eaters into budding gardeners by giving them ownership over growing, harvesting, and eating their own leafy greens in self-watering boxes they can build at home and tend over time.

Project Speak was developed by Maxwell Tran of Corona del Mar High School and his partner  Beeta Barkhordar of Mission Viejo High School. Their service project is an initiative focused on supporting young children in building confidence in their voices and reducing the stigma around stuttering through the use of interactive activities and an educational book the pair authored.

Project FairCare Health was developed by Sophia Martin of Corona del Mar High School and  Akshay Sharma of Arnold O. Beckman High School.  Project FairCare is a community-based initiative that brings holistic health workshops into trusted local spaces to provide preventive screenings, Medi‑Cal enrollment assistance, and connections to long‑term, affordable care for uninsured and underinsured families.  The project is grounded in the belief that healthcare is a human right and not a privilege and should not rise and fall with each election cycle.

Shine Your Colors was developed by Cameron and Colette Alagband of Corona del Mar High School.  Shine Your Colors is a three-day photography camp that uses guided activities, hands-on photography, and a reflective scrapbook to teach students to capture the world through their own lens while building basic photography skills and exploring self-expression and identity without digital filters or social media validation. They plan to interact with 25 students per week across three weeks for a total impact of 75 students.

Steps for Hope was developed by Maya Hatziri of Newport Harbor High School and Samuel Gabriel of Sage Hill High School.  Steps for Hope provides free, confidential dance classes for unhoused teens, using movement to build confidence, stability, and a sense of belonging.

The Mindset Mission was developed by Jasmine Mazloumin and Sophia Trinh of Corona Del Mar High School. The Mindset Mission empowers children with confidence and emotional resilience through interactive growth-mindset workshops, hands-on learning kits (Bright Boxes), and a children’s workbook grounded in research.

The teens are members of the 10th Fellowship cohort of the Foundation, an Orange County, California-based nonprofit - http://dragonkimfoundation.org - whose mission is to inspire our youth to impact their communities while discovering and pursuing their passions.

The teens receive three weekends of leadership training and hands-on guidance from mentors from the community, plus a grant of up to $5,000 from the Foundation to implement their social service projects in their local community.

“We are proud of these motivated high school students and look forward to them bringing attention to important issues they have identified in their communities,” said Dragon Kim Foundation Board Chairman and Co-founder Daniel Kim.

Photo:Dragon Kim Foundation