Community Champions: PLUS ME Project

FOX 11's Christine Devine catches up with the PLUS ME Project, a nonprofit previously honored during Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in 2022.

With the Super Bowl coming back to SoFi Stadium in 2027, a reminder of the good community work that came out of the 2022 game here in Southern California.

One of the NFL grant recipients that year was the PLUS ME Project using journals in high schools to help the youth tell their story. The journal asks students to describe things like a challenging moment in their life, or a proud one.

Two years later, we checked in on the PLUS ME Project at their new office space in Highland Park. Says founder and project director Richard Reyes, "yeah, it’s like a welcome area to bring the community."

This staff has the nonprofit in more than 100 schools in Los Angeles. A blue journal is a staple in the PLUS ME Project program.

Fox 11 first told you about the PLUS ME Project in 2021 where the nonprofit was named a Legacy Champion tied to Super Bowl LVI. Renata Simril of the Super Bowl host committee says two-thirds of the 56 nonprofits honored had budgets of less than $500,000. They were described as unsung heroes.

This year, the PLUS ME Project celebrated its 10th anniversary, having given out 30 $1,000 scholarships. They are currently helping students with college applications. Of course, applying their journal work to their student application letters.

In FOX 11's Community Champions, we showcased grant recipients leading up to Super Bowl 2022 and College Football Playoffs 2023 in Los Angeles. For more information on the Super Bowl LVI Legacy Program and the selected nonprofit organizations, click here.