Shine Blog

A Young Mother’s Path to Stanford: Karen Arellano’s Journey with Shine Together

Karen Arellano, the daughter of immigrant farm workers from Mattawa, Washington, transformed her life the day she received her Stanford acceptance letter while working in the fields. Shortly after,…

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Jennifer Lemus’ Graduation Journey: A Story of Determination

Recent high school graduate Jennifer Lemus has a lot to be proud of this summer, nearly two years after arriving in the U.S. from Guatemala. She has a healthy 1-year-old son, Ian, and she has…

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Sky Lopez’s Graduation Journey: A Story of Resilience

Sky Lopez, who recently graduated from Clovis High School, is driven by her experience in the foster care system and as a teen mom to take her education even further. She wants to make a difference…

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MacKenzie Scott’s $2M nonprofit donation to help Fresno mothers

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated millions to nearly 80 California-based nonprofit organizations – and one of them is right here in the Central Valley. The organization Scott donated to is…

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Tears, disbelief: Sacramento nonprofits receive millions from billionaire MacKenzie Scott

Niki Singleton, the regional director of nonprofit Shine Together’s Sacramento chapter, was still in shock two days after learning a billionaire philanthropist selected the organization out of…

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Shine Together Receives $2 Million Gift From the Yield Giving Open Call

Milpitas, CA, March 19, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving  announced Shine Together as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with  people and in places experiencing the…

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Meet Emiko Ropp

Dear Supporters, My name is Emiko Ropp, and I want to share with you the transformative journey I've experienced with Shine Together. I joined this incredible program shortly after welcoming my son…

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A Story of Resiliency: Vanessa’s Journey and Enduring Connection with Her Shine Advocate

When she was a teen mom, Vanessa Padilla took a while to warm up to people. She had felt judged by her school peers when she became pregnant at 14, and in turn she became judgmental toward others.…

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Meet Sofia Jaquez, a Shining Star

As an undergrad working toward getting into law school, Sofia Jaquez is incredibly busy. In addition to being a full-time student and volunteer in the Bay Area community, she’s a single mom raising…

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Shine Together Celebrates Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of Fresno Office

(Milpitas, CA) — Shine Together, Inc. formalized its new name and refined mission with a grand opening ceremony at its Fresno office on Tulare Street today. The ribbon-cutting event reaffirms the…

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Shine Together Celebrating Young Moms at Its 11th Annual Luncheon

Shine Together Celebrating Young Moms at Its 11th Annual Luncheon Shine has awarded more than $39,000 in Educational Scholarships and direct support to young mothers since 2022 (Milpitas, CA) —…

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Shine Together’s Ribbon Cutting Event in Fresno!

We’re excited to let you know that after 10 years of service to young mothers and their children as Teen Success, Inc., we are transitioning into a new chapter for our organization as Shine Together…

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Fox40 News covers Mother support program changes name to Shine Together Inc.

Sacramento Valley Regional Director for Shine Together Inc. Niki Singleton discusses the reasons behind the program’s recent name change from Teen…

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Shine 11th Annual Luncheon

Shine Together Celebration We are proud to announce Shine Together's (formerly Teen Success)11th Annual Luncheon honoring young mothers! We are coming together to celebrate post-secondary scholarship…

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Shine Together’s Ribbon Cutting Event in Sacramento!

We’re excited to let you know that after 10 years of service to young mothers and their children as Teen Success, Inc., we are transitioning into a new chapter for our organization as Shine Together…

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Young Parenthood in California

IMPACTS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND YOUNG PARENTHOOD Young parenthood in California In 2020, the expected number of pregnant and parenting teens and young women in California could fill both San…

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Celebrating 10 Years of Empowerment

We are proud to celebrate 10…

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Teen Success, Inc.’s Board of Directors Matches Donations up to $65,000

Kicking off on #GivingTuesday 2020, Teen Success, Inc.’s Board of Directors invests in breaking the cycle of poverty for young families; All donations matched through the end of 2020 up to $65,000……

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How the Childcare Crisis Affects Low-Income Families

CHILDCARE ACCESSIBILITY SIGNALS THE WEALTH AND EDUCATION GAP IN CALIFORNIA

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A philanthropist’s action list to support Black Lives Matter

(Updated 6-30-20)We're outraged by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery – but just saying that, it’s simply not enough. To say that we're heartbroken for George’s wife and…

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Kassandra’s Story

At 22 years old, Kassandra Perez is looking to finish the course requirements she needs to apply to nursing programs. She could finish in just one more semester, but she's struggling to balance…

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