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Vanguard Christian Center’s sports field, while desolate in appearance, has been a beacon of hope to many. Located at 1701 Niles Street, the field has served the surrounding youth with sports, movie nights, and, more importantly, mentorship. Dennie Watson, pastor of Vanguard Christian Church, oversees the field and its activities.

“The hope and healing that has occurred over the years, through today, make the field an oasis to an otherwise dark part of town,” shared Dennie.

Over the last several years, Vanguard Christian Center has made great strides in improving the condition and usefulness of the field – removing old foundations, adding lights, fencing, and even grass. Unfortunately, the grass proved difficult and costly to maintain and so the field eventually returned to dirt.

While its condition has not stopped Vanguard or the neighboring youth from using the field, Vanguard Christian Center has been seeking the opportunity to cover the field with artificial turf as the turf would allow for expanded programs and opportunities for surrounding youth.

Bolthouse Properties’ Bolt of Hope team learned of Vanguard Christian Center’s project in 2018 while evaluating projects for the Bolt of Hope Grant.

On Saturday, July 27 the Bolt of Hope team had the great honor of surprising Vanguard Christian Center with the 2019 Bolt of Hope Grant. The grant provides the funds necessary to complete the artificial turf as well as assist with:

• Finish curbing and base-layer application for track and field
• Upgrade and/or replace fencing and security measures

Bolt of Hope is a team comprised of Bolthouse Properties’ employees whose vision is to grow God’s kingdom in Bakersfield through love and compassion, by being open-minded to the needs in our community, and by watering the seeds planted by local organizations that have a passion for being the light in the world.

2019 is the second year the Bolthouse Properties’ team provided a Bolt of Hope Grant. The current grant is the fourth grant overall. In 2018, the team was privileged to present a grant to three local organizations: LiFT, One Door Recovery, and Garden Pathways.

In December 2017, it was announced to Bolthouse Properties’ employees that they would have the opportunity in 2018 to award grant money to non-profit organizations within the Bakersfield community. As a result, Bolt of Hope was born.

Bolt of Hope is a team comprised of Bolthouse Properties’ employees whose vision is to grow God’s kingdom in Bakersfield through love and compassion, by being open-minded to the needs in our community, and by watering the seeds planted by local organizations that have a passion for being the light in the world.

Together, the team sought non-profit organizations who proposed to meet needs in our community. Specifically, the team looked to provide a one-time gift, or a “Bolt of Hope”, to help with a project or program for which regular support does not provide.

Bolt of Hope awarded grants to three Bakersfield organizations: Garden Pathways, One Door Recovery, and LiFT.

The Lee & Krystyna Jamieson Recovery Home for Women & Children opened on Thursday, May 10, 2018. The center is located downtown Bakersfield and will house up to 38 women and children. The recovery home is designed to provide a comfortable environment for women in recovery, a place where those coming out of the darkest days of their life—can be given new hope.

The program is faith based and will focus on getting the women to deal with the underlying issues of their substance abuse. It is geared towards women with substance abuse issues ranging from opioid, methamphetamine addiction, and chronic alcohol abuse.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, more than 15-million women have used illicit drugs in the past year—and every three minutes a woman goes to the emergency room for prescription painkiller misuse, or abuse.

Funding for the Recover Home was entirely supported by community donations. The community saw a growing problem and came together to solve it. With the assistance from local donors including Bolthouse Properties, the total $1.8 million project cost was raised without any government support or financing, making the Recovery Home debt free upon opening.