t was a year or so ago that PanZOu assisted a few production companies doing documentaries about Haitian Gangs. A producer named Sasha Asdourian kept in touch with us and invited us on the set of Ace Hood’s “Champion” video! I took two kids down to the set and they treated us like VIP! Our kids LOVED it. The artists were great to us, 305 Films was awesome, and we can’t wait to be invited back!!

Special thanks to 305 Films for inviting PanZOu to be VIP on the set for the video shoot for Ace Hood’s “Champion” featuring Jazmin Sullivan, DJ Khaled!!!! See all the pictures in the PHOTOS link.

Check out the video!

As you all know, Whole Foods Market of Aventura chose us as their charity for their 5% day. April 7th was our day! A total of 5% of the day’s net sales were donated to PanZOu!

The day they presented the check to us was so exciting. Our entire staff came to Whole Foods for the big presentation. We felt like rock stars!! We were presented with a big check for $6,975!!

We are just so grateful and excited to have a company like Whole Foods supporting us. Everyone please go shop at your local Whole Foods Market and when they do their 5% day please make sure you shop so your local non profits can get some much needed help. We are all suffering this economic times, many non-profits are facing the same funding crisis as we are.

Thank you Whole Foods Market of Aventura! Thank you Vanessa Hassele for making it happen for us!

Every single time it happens I take it personally. I cannot help it, nothing about this work is anything less than personal. Deeply personal. I cannot prove to a child that he is worthy of love if I cannot love him. Programs do not change people…it is us who inspire, guide, and love that convince a child that they are worth more than the crappy hand they’ve been dealt in this life. As Fef’s song says, “real recognize real”. I know it works. I’ve seen it work. And so I love them, invest my time and energy and money in them – as many as I can and still run this agency proper.

But then they steal from you and people think I’m crazy for hurting for it. It drives K crazy. Like when the cops found the loaded pistol stashed in the office couch and I was furious and embarrassed and hurt. It was LOADED with a bullet in the CHAMBER on the couch where we sit, kids sit, baby’s sleep. K says “Miss, why you so upset?! You know WHO WE ARE!”

As if we can never be anything more than what we’ve become.

He thinks I set myself up for hurt all the time. And I do. You cannot work with gang members and expect a church choir. I am not stupid, I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. But everyone else expects them to be shit and that’s exactly what they get from them.

OK so I get some guns stashed and some computers stolen. I guess in the big picture I ain’t doing too bad. Cuz you see, I got some diplomas out of them, an occasional change of heart and some real honest work too. And trust me, that is a lot.

What kills me is going to work tomorrow and looking into each smiling face and wonder who stole from me.