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Showing posts from April, 2014

Happy To Be Featured in PEOPLE Weekly!

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Growing up in Puerto Rico, Ana Jimenez-Hami's father, Freddy, never let her forget about the importance of helping those who weren't as fortunate as she. "He'd always say, 'You have to learn to give back to others in need,' " recalls Jimenez-Hami, 52, who now lives in Irvine, Calif. Two decades ago, when her father, mother and 13 others were murdered by gunmen during a robbery at Freddy's jewelry store, Jimenez-Hami's life was turned upside down. Searching for some way to make sense of her devastating loss, she thought back to her father's words and they inspired her to create the Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center, which uses the arts – be it painting, music or dance – to transform the lives of low-income children in crime-ravaged Santa Ana, Calif. "When he died, his words about 'giving back to others' were the very first thing that came to my mind," she says. And she put the words into action: