In East Salinas, where there is a void of youth programs, a small nonprofit stands out by offering cost-free art programs for all ages, meant to bring the community together.
Joshua Alfaro, interim executive director of the Alisal Center for the Fine Arts, says the programs have a “multi-generational thing going on.
“One of the beautiful things is that in some classes we have grandparents, parents and children,” Alfaro says.
From guitar lessons to theater and visual arts classes, ACFA prides itself on giving East Salinas youth a gathering hub in the evenings and empowerment through the arts.
About 300 community members – mostly young people – take classes at the center every week, inside the Breadbox Recreation Center on North Sanborn Road. But the center needs to expand the classes already offered to meet the demand, Alfaro says.
“Money is a struggle,” Alfaro says. “We would like to expand our programs and make a few adjustments to the facility to better serve our students, but that is an ongoing challenge.”
Most of the money being funneled to the nonprofit comes from grants, but the more community members are served, the more likely it is for the nonprofit to receive grants.
“We are doing the best we can with the funding that we have coming in,” Alfaro says. “But we are doing it. It’s happening.”
For students who attend classes there, the center is already a success.
Maria Romo, a 17-year-old who has been a student at the center for over two years, is about to graduate high school and says ACFA impacted her future career choice of becoming a sociologist.
She says that aside from learning how to play guitar, ACFA inspired her to seek a career that allows her to do more for nonprofits – specifically nonprofits in Salinas. “I want to give back to the community just like [ACFA] did for me,” she says.
Romo says the arts center gave her a safe haven to learn, hang out with friends and most importantly, guide her.
“They really are like my second family,” she says. “It gives me hope for the future generations of Salinas.”
One of Alfaro’s hopes is to create a support system in the community. He thinks it is a necessity in East Salinas.
“We are trying to create a foundation,” he says. “We are trying to create an environment where young people can be nurtured.”
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