Dragon Kim Foundation’s Lit League Teen Community Service Project Honored by Santa Ana City Council

Topping off a summer of empowering underserved middle school students through the art of slam poetry, a style of spoken poetry, via their community service project called The Lit League, Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) students Robin Kim and Sailee Charlu were recently invited by Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez and Mayor Amezcua to the Council.

There they spoke and received a certificate of recognition of their contribution to the Santa Ana community, where the Council members honored their significant role in amplifying the voices of students who face some of the toughest circumstances, navigating assault, substance use, and even the deportation of loved ones.

The Lit League was commemorated for shaping a more confident generation who is able to stand up for their struggles. Each slam participant taught by the teens will also receive certificate from the Council.

The Lit League is one of the community service projects funded by the Dragon Kim Foundation, an Orange County-based nonprofit - http://dragonkimfoundation.org - whose mission is to inspire our youth to impact their communities while discovering and pursuing their passions. Annually, the Fellowship program awards community service grants of up to $5,000 to the teams in California, Arizona and Nevada that enables them to create and manage a service project that will impact their community.

“Our mission is to foster creative expression, build confidence, and create a platform for young voices to be heard,” said Charlu. “ We offer a dynamic blend of in-person workshops, blitz poetry performances, in person and regional slam competitions, Zoom training sessions, and online resources through our published workbook to equip students with the skills they need to excel in poetry and performance while teaching skills that will benefit them in academics and their connection to their community.”

This summer, The Lit League directly impacted more than 1,524 students and indirectly impacted more than 5000 students through direct workshop classes and Orange County regional and virtual poetry slams connecting various professional poets across Los Angeles and students from more than seven different schools.

The teens partnered with 13 organizations around Orange County including The OC Rescue Mission, El Sol Academy, Orange County School of the Arts, Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana, Illumination Foundation, and Poetry Reform Party headed by renowned poet Marcus Omari. Now, they have scaled their program by partnering with the Santa Ana Unified School District as they spread their curricula and the Santa Ana Board of Education as they pass resolutions recognizing the importance of spoken word.

Their final Orange County Regional Slam held at the OC Rescue Mission included students from Legacy College Prep, Sycamore High School, El Sol Academy, Orange County School of the Arts, The Pegasus School, Intermediate Fundamental School of Mendez, and Dana Middle School.

By making spoken poetry accessible, they feel that spoken word not only fuels creative expression but also inspires the next generation to realize that their voices matter.

For more information and to apply for the 2026 Dragon Fellowship, visit http://dragonkimfoundation.org.

The Fellowship was founded in honor of the late Dragon Kim, a talented young musician, athlete, and scholar who wanted to help others, and has become a seedbed for the next generation of creative thinkers and entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in their communities.

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About the Dragon Kim Foundation

The Dragon Kim Foundation was established in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by Grace and Daniel Kim to honor the memory of their late son Dragon Kim, who had been attending the Orange County School of the Arts. The mission of the Dragon Kim Foundation is to inspire our youth to impact their communities while discovering and pursuing their passions. Visit the website at http://dragonkimfoundation.org.