Club member Harmony Lynn, 16.

With prom just around the corner, several teens from the Boys & Girls Club’s Keystone leadership club teamed up with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Orange County (NCADD-OC) to participate in Sticker Shock. The teens visited Broadway Liquor and Stop’n’Go in Laguna Beach, where store owners allowed them to place stickers on alcoholic beverages to discourage underage drinking.

DAR Spotlights Student Honorees

The second annual Laguna Beach citywide Daughters of the American Revolution award program will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 at Laguna Presbyterian Church’s Tankersley Hall, 415 Forest Ave. (the Hall’s entrance is on Second Street).

Winning students, their parents, teachers, counselors, principals, city council members, school board members and the general public are invited to attend and honor young, civic-minded members of the community.  Winning students from the town’s public school as well as St. Catherine of Siena Parish School are chosen by their teachers and counselors to be recipients of the DAR honors.

For more information, contact info@darlaguna.org or see darlaguna.org.

Visiting Author Speaks About Raising Resilient Children

Dr. Wendy Mogel, a clinical psychologist specializing in parenting and the author of a New York Times bestselling book about raising resilient children, “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee,” speaks at Laguna Beach PTA’s Coffee Break on Wednesday, May 18.

Parents are invited to join the discussion at the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course, from 8:30-10:15 a.m.  A $10 donation is suggested at the door.

TOW Kids Run the OC Marathon

Third-grader Simone Yang is cheered on by her sister, Joelle.

Eighty Top of the World Elementary School students participated in the one-mile Kids Run the OC Marathon event on Saturday, May 4.

The run culminated a 12-week fitness training program begun in spring to encourage physical activity and healthy eating habits. After running the mile-long event, these students tallied 26.2 miles, the full distance of a marathon, and will receive an official OC Marathon medal.

Jennifer Zeiter, second from left, and her friend Cheryl Fouts, far right, members of Women’s Circle of Wishes participating in this weekend’s walk.

When attorney Jennifer Zeiter moved to Laguna two years ago, she sought a philanthropic cause so that she might settle into her new community both productively and thoughtfully. Local real estate broker Cheryl Fouts recruited Zeiter to join the Women’s Circle of Wishes, a group of professional women affiliated with Make-A-Wish Orange County and Inland Empire.

“It allowed me to get to know other women and give back locally,” Zeiter explains. “It was the perfect opportunity for me.”

Now Zeiter’s group embarks on its tall goal of raising $100,000 this year, a pledge to make 100 wishes come true for  children with life threatening illnesses in the Orange County area.

The Women’s Circle will be walking together this Saturday, April 27 from 8 a.m. to noon at the third annual Walk For Wishes at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. The two-mile walk is a chance for wish recipients, their families, and wish granters to unite and raise money as well as to honor the Make-A-Wish chapter’s 30^th year anniversary.

“How can you not want to help?” Zeiter asks.

She notes the incredible hardship on families coping with terminal illness. Even so, she says to watch a wish come true is “an amazing thing.”

“You make the most special day for them,” she says. “You give them hope.”

Another Laguna woman, Virginia Armstrong, will be making the walk in Irvine this Saturday as a part of her Volunteer Heroes group, a team of Make-A-Wish volunteers. Involved with Make-A-Wish since 2000, Armstrong is a wish granter, one who helps coordinate the successful achievement or realization of children’s wishes. It is among the variety of opportunities for people to contribute, along with fundraising and sponsorship.

Zeiter, who hopes to personally succeed in granting her first wish this year, encourages all to come out for the event Saturday.

“It’s a family event. You can bring your dog; it’s only two miles,” she lists. “It’s a morning outing for a good cause.”

Last year, at the second annual walk, there were 1,400 participants who managed to raise $200,000, which went on to grant 35 wishes. The goal this year is to grant 40 wishes.

On-site registration is $40 on the day of the walk. For more info, visit wishocie.org.

Procaccini’s 12-song CD celebrates the diverse world of animals, plants and their habitats. The collection of nature inspired songs is intended to prompt young listeners to start thinking about the world around them, said Procaccini, aka Birdsong, also an educator and family therapist who has been entertaining children with songs about nature’s “great big web of life” since 2005.

The CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, the Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders website and the Crystal Cove State Park Historical District. www.birdsongtv.com.

My adult son called me a bitch last Christmas, but I wasn’t insulted.

It’s all about my famous almond roca, which inspires obsession, to eat it and to make it.  If you succeed in making the roca, it becomes yours, no matter whose it was before.  To me it’s a roca family tree, and I am the matriarch.

I’m happy to share the recipe, but even though it’s simple, a cup of sugar, a cup of butter and a cup of whole blanched almonds, it can be tricky.  So, I have become the almond roca hotline.

Last December my son, Eric, and my friend, Nancy, wanted to make the candy.  First came the frantic call from Nancy. “I’ve got an oily mess here,” she said.  “What am I doing wrong?”

Since this happened to me when I used regular almonds instead of blanched almonds, I asked if she’d used blanched.  “I couldn’t find whole blanched almonds, so I blanched them myself,” she said.  “It took forever, popping off all those skins.”  Impressive.

“How much butter?” I asked.  Once a friend used one pound instead of one cup.

“One cup,” she said.

“Maybe the heat wasn’t right,” I said.

“Maybe it’s the pan,” she said.

Over the next few days, Nancy tried every kind of almond, skillet and burner temperature.  She burned this batch, undercooked that one and threw away another.  I was stumped.

That’s when Eric called.

“I’ve got an oily mess,” he said.  “What am I doing wrong?”

Uh oh, I thought.

“Whole blanched almonds?” I asked.

“I blanched them myself,” he said.

I had a new respect for my son and my friend, blanching all those almonds.

“One cup of butter?  Not one pound?”

“Mom,” he said with disgust, “I know what a cup of butter is.”

“Maybe blanched slivered almonds?” he said.

“Didn’t work for Nancy,” I said.

“I’m going to the store,” he said.  “I have to have this for tomorrow.”

An hour later, he called again.

“I’ve tried slivered, sliced and regular almonds.  I still have junk.”  He was distraught.  The mom in me needed to help.

“Okay, let’s figure this out,” I said.  “There are only three ingredients. One’s a problem.  It can’t be the sugar.  You’ve used every possible kind of almond, so it’s not that.  That leaves the butter. What kind are you using?”

“Regular unsalted butter,” he said.

“Unsalted?”  I said.  “I don’t use unsalted.  Maybe it needs the salt.”

It was 10 o’clock, but Eric was determined. Off to the store he went. I waited nervously until the phone rang.

“You brilliant bitch!” he said.

“It worked?” I said.

“Yep,” he said.

There’s something exhilarating about sharing a victory with your kid, even if he has just called you a bitch.  We basked in the glow of our victory.

I told Nancy about the salted butter. The next afternoon she, too, called to report success.

Now there are two new branches on my almond roca family tree.  Eric’s friends rave about “Eric’s Almond Roca” and Nancy’s friends say there’s nothing as good as “her” candy.

I’m such a proud brilliant bitch.

Liz Zuercher writes fiction and personal essays and co-authors the blog, Little Bit Everything in Tasty Sauce, http://tastysauce.blotspot.com.

Director Jacob Cho, who opened his academy with Dana Sara at 1966 S. Coast Highway in 2009, hosted the awards.

Cho acknowledged contributors to the academy, recognized 10 families who have been with the studio since its beginning, and handed out awards for academic achievement as well as those in martial arts.

Martial arts award winners include Lucas Silverman, Mikey Ibrahim, William Michelson, Nathan Houlas, Christopher Drews, Shayne Corritori, Joe Laptin, and Dolce Sara.

Academic achievements were honored, identifying Shane Lawson, Dolce Sara, Shayne Corritori, Brayden Jenson, Conor Farley, Quinn Schrieber, and Jean-Louis Vargara.

Cho’s Academy, which offers tae kwon do, brazilian jiu jitsu, and yoga, welcomes new students age 5 and older.  For information and class schedules, visit chosacademy.com

Winter Fantasy at Sawdust Art Festival, Friday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m-6 p.m.; Santa, 10:30 a.m-5 p.m.; art classes, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; 935 Laguna Canyon Rd. 949-494-3030 www.sawdustartfestival.org. Also 11/24-25

Friday, Nov. 23

Jazz with pianist Giovanni Miradi at Romeo Cucina, 249 Broadway St. 949-497-6627 www.romeocucina.com . Also 11/24

The Luis Olivart Trio, 9 p.m-1 a.m. Marine Room 214 Ocean Ave, 949-494-3027.

NIck I & ADD, 8:45 p.m.-midnight, Mozambique, 1740 Coast Hwy. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777

Guitarist-singer Jason Feddy, 8:30-11:30 p.m, Hotel Laguna, 425 S. Coast Hwy. 949-494-1151

The Blasters, 8 p.m.,The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

Art & Olives Tour, 4 p.m. The Resort at Pelican Hill, 22701 Pelican Hill Rd. Newport Coast. 949-467-6813

Dance: Trey McIntyre Project, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. 714-556-2787 www.scafta.org  Also 11/24-25

Saturday, Nov. 24

Farmers Market, Lumberyard Parking Lot next to City Hall. 8 a.m-noon  714-573-0374

Geology Tour, 1 p.m., Crystal Cove St. Pk (Los Trancos lot) 8471 N. Coast Hwy. $15 park.

Saturday Wine Tasting, 1-4 p.m. $5 buys eight wines. Laguna Culinary Arts, 845 Laguna Canyon Rd. www.lagunaculinaryarts.com  registration@lagunaculinaryarts.com 949-494-0745

Upstart, 8:45 p.m.-midnight, Mozambique 1740  Coast Hwy. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777

Chris Daniels Project, 9 p.m.-1 a.m, Marine Room 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Live Jazz from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Laguna Coffee Company, 1050 S. Coast Hwy. Free.   www.LagunaCoffeeCo.com

Kery Getz, 8-10 p.m., Hotel Laguna 425 South Coast Hwy. 949-494-1151

Al Stewart, 8 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

Newport Beach Sunset Cruises

Davey’s Locker , 400 Main St., 949-673-1434 www.daveyslocker.com for times.  $25 per person.

Sunday, Nov. 25

Missiles of October, 4-8 p.m. Marine Room 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Upstream, Reggae, 5-10 p.m. Mozambique, 1740 Coast Hwy.  www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777 $10

Reggae Sunset, 5 p.m. Pacific Edge Hotel, 647 S. Coast Hwy. 949-281-5706 www.pacificedgehotel.com

Tuesday, Nov. 27

“Plaid Tidings” preview, 8 p.m. Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Rd. 949-497-2787 www.lagunaplayhouse.com .  Also 11/28-29-30

Beth Fitchet Wood’s Songwriters’ Showcase, 8-11 p.m. Marine Room, 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Karaoke, 9 p.m. Hennessy Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2743

Wednesday, Nov. 28

Random House, W.W. Norton representatives, 6 p.m. Laguna Beach Books, 1200 S. Coast Hwy.  949-494-4779 www.lagunabeachbooks.com

Full Moon Drum Circle, 7 p.m. Aliso Beach, 31131 S. Pacific Coast Hwy. bring drum, firewood, seating.

Karaoke at 9 :30 p.m. Ocean Ave. Brewery. No cover. Over 21, 237 Ocean Ave. 949-497-3381

Thursday, Nov. 29

Karaoke, 9 p.m. Hennessy Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2743

Ongoing:

Multimedia by Macha Suzuki, watercolors by Timothy J. Clark, selections from the Permanent Collection. Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive. www.lagunaartmuseum.org  949-494-8971

Jerome Wilkins: Drawings, Laguna College of Art and Design, 2222 Laguna Canyon Rd. 949-376-6000  www.lcad.edu

“Where the Sidewalk Ends,” 6 p.m. AR4T Gallery, 210 N. Coast Hwy. www.AR4T.com

In the spirit of community I’m asking for help in starting a chain reaction within our community.  This is not something that I normally find myself doing, but I was touched by the story of a Laguna Beach woman who is fighting breast cancer.  She is the mother of a 4^th grader the same age as my daughter.  She reached out to me, a virtual stranger, because she knew I had survived breast cancer and she was certain I would understand what she was going through.  She could not have been more wrong.

Yes, I understand fighting cancer, the tests, treatment, surgery, doctors, and all the associated fears.  But I have a husband, family and friends who provided me with an extraordinary level of love and support, and continue to do so.  I never had to worry about how I would put food on the table, keep a roof over my head, or how to pay the mountains of medical bills, all while working and helping with homework between chemotherapy treatments and wondering how to keep it all together through surgery and healing.   What I came to understand is that my experience was very different than the one that this single mom is having.

She asked for my help in getting the word out that funds are being raised to help her, and 35 other cancer “warriors” through the Laguna based Don’t Worry Be Happy Foundation, a 501C(3) IRS-approved non-profit #27-4118374. The foundation is actively raising funds to help subsidize living and medical expenses for 36 cancer “warriors”, of which at least three are Laguna Beach families with the remaining majority living in Orange County.  The foundation is helping to pay housing, food, gas, and medical expenses for those financially devastated by this disease.  They are also providing stress-relieving support in managing finances, paying bills, and filling out applications for aid through all other available resources, as well as negotiating medical payment plans, and providing cancer education and emotional support. What a gift to have such a foundation right here in our community.

I urge you to join me in helping to create a “Laguna Cares” campaign by going online today at www.dwbhshirts.com to purchase your DWBH shirt to wear in support of Don’t Worry be Happy Day on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. You can choose a warrior to sponsor or choose Laguna Cares.  I have pledged to donate $1 to the DWBH foundation for each t-shirt sold, or tax- deductible donation made by Nov. 16 to the Laguna Cares warrior campaign (with a minimum commitment of $1000).  You may also visit the Don’t Worry Be Happy retail location here in town at 1042 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (949) 715-6789. The Happy Place store is staffed by volunteers; there are no paid salaries, and no retail rent being paid with foundation funds. Additional information can be obtained at the retail store or found online at www.DWBHshirts.com or www.DontWorryBeHappyFoundation.org.

Please know that by purchasing and wearing a DWBH shirt, you are sending a powerful message of encouragement to the warriors within our community while providing the desperately needed funds to continue their battles. By spreading the word to others, you may just help another warrior become aware of help available for their battle.  The foundation will make sure that all funds raised with our efforts will go directly to help those with the greatest needs within our community.

Please purchase your DWBH shirt to wear on Nov. 16 for Don’t Worry Be Happy Day and help us spread the word that Laguna Cares!

In the spirit of community, I thank you for your support, kindness and compassion.

Toni Kellenberg, Laguna Beach

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Friday, Nov. 2

Sawdust Art Festival Art Classes: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. $95. Also 11/3 www.sawdustartfestival.org/studioartclasses  949-494-3030

Jazz with pianist Giovanni Miradi at Romeo Cucina, 249 Broadway St. Also 11/3. 949-497-6627 www.romeocucina.com

Tricia Freeman, 9 p.m.-1 a.m, Marine Room 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

NIck I &ADD, 8:45 p.m.-midnight, Mozambique, 1740 Coast Highway. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777

Gregg Montgomery, Hotel Laguna 8:30-11:30 p.m, 425 South Coast Highway. 949-494-1151 Also 11/3.

Janiva Magness, 8 p.m. $20, The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

First Friday Wine Tasting, 6-9 p.m. Laguna Canyon Winery 2133 Laguna Canyon Rd. $30/$40 info@lagunawinery.com  949-715-9463

Saturday, Nov.3

36 Artists Open Studios, park at Act V lot, 1900 Laguna Canyon Rd. Free trolley every 15 min. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 949-497-0722  spoeschl@lagunabeachcity.net

Lecture & presentation, “China’s Hidden Villages,” 3 p.m. Ocean & Forest Gallery, 480 Ocean Ave. 949 371-3313   www.forestoceangallery.com

Farmers Market, Lumberyard Parking Lot next to City Hall. 8 a.m-noon  714-573-0374

Laguna Outreach Community Arts jewelry class with Karen Worden. 9:30-11 a.m.  Laguna Beach Nursery, 1370 S. Coast Hwy. 949-363-4700 $25

Saturday Wine Tasting, 1-4 p.m. $5 buys eight wines. Laguna Culinary Arts, 845 Laguna Canyon Rd. www.lagunaculinaryarts.com  registration@lagunaculinaryarts.com 949-494-0745

Hollywood U2, 8:45 p.m.-midnight, Mozambique 1740 Coast Highway. www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777

Live Jazz from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Laguna Coffee Company, 1050 S. Coast Highway. Free.   www.LagunaCoffeeCo.com

Tricia Freeman, 9 p.m-1 a.m. Marine Room, 214 Ocean Ave, 949-494-3027

Nikka Costa, $20, 8 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949-496-8930 www.thecoachhouse.com

Author Walter Stahr signs “Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man,” 5 p.m. Laguna Beach Books, 1200 S. Coast Hwy.  www.lagunabeachbooks.com  949-494-4779

Gary Stroutsos “Remember the Song,” 3 p.m. Blackbox Theater, Debashish Bhattacharya/Jeff Peterson, 8 p.m. Performing Arts Center, Soka University, 1 University Dr. Aliso Viejo. tickets@soka.edu 949-480-4278

Newport Beach Sunset Cruises

Davey’s Locker , 400 Main St. 949-673-1434 www.daveyslocker.com for times.  $25 per person.

Sunday, Nov. 4

Exhibit opening: Multimedia by Macha Suzuki, Watercolors by Timothy J. Clark, Selections from the Permanent Collection, 11 a.m. Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive. www.lagunaartmuseum.org  949-494-8971

Missiles of October, 4-8 p.m. Marine Room 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Full Wattz, roots reggae, 5-10 p.m. Mozambique, 1740 Coast Highway.  www.mozambiqueoc.com  949-715-7777 $10

Reggae Sunset 5 p.m. Pacific Edge Hotel, 647 S. Coast Hwy  949-281-5706 www.pacificedgehotel.com

Russian compositions by Hutchins Consort, 3 p.m. St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd. Newport Beach. $15-25.  888-996-2838 www.hutchinsonconsort.org

Glennwood House benefit auction & dinner, 5:30-8 p.m. Brio Tuscany Grille, 24050 Camino del Avion, Dana Point. 949-333-1431 $100.

Monday, Nov.5

Lecture: Don Lattin, “Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard and the Search for Truth in Trabuco Canyon” 6:30 p.m.  Soka University, 1 University Dr. Aliso Vijo,  949-480-4278

Tuesday, Nov. 6

Beth Fitchet Wood’s Songwriters’ Showcase, 8-11 p.m. Marine Room, 214 Ocean Ave. 949-494-3027

Karaoke, 9 p.m. Hennessy Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave. 949-494-2743 (also Thursdays)

Wednesday, Nov. 7

Karaoke at 9:30 p.m. Ocean Ave. Brewery. No cover. Over 21, 237 Ocean Ave. 949-497-3381

Thursday, Nov. 8

Chamber musicians Maksim Velichkin & Peter Jacobson, 7 p.m. Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Dr. Free w. museum admission. www.lagunabeachlive.org 949-715-9713

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, 7 p.m. Soka Performing Arts Center, Aliso Viejo. tickets@soka.edu 949-480-4278

Community film “Solar Mamas,” 7 p.m. Pauling Hall #216, Soka University, 1 University Dr. Aliso Viejo  949-480-4278

International Short Film Fest at Irvine’s Great Park, “Love at Last,” “Lost Player,” “Test SubjectB,” Shanghai Love Market,”  6:30 p.m. Sand Canyon & Marine Way. 949-724-6574

Ongoing:

“Potpourri” exhibition by Festival o Art artists, Wells Fargo Bank, 260 Ocean Ave. 949-290-2057

Golden State of Grace, photographs by Rick Nahmias, Founders Hall Art Gallery, Soka University, 1 University Dr., Aliso Viejo.  949-480-4000  to Nov. 16.

“Our California Healthy Kids Survey data tells us that 48% of our seniors, 26% of 10th graders and 7% of eighth-graders reported having at least one drink in the 30 days prior to the survey, which was administered in the spring. That number is significant and troubling,” said Irene White, the district’s director of special education and student services. “Marijuana use was also high. Twenty-four percent of current seniors, 15% of 10th graders and 1% of our 8th graders reported using marijuana. We have clearly pinpointed the window of time when teens begin experimenting with drugs and alcohol and we must work together to do everything we can to decrease adolescent alcohol and drug use.”

Topics to be presented include:

- Current drug/alcohol trends in Laguna Beach and Orange County;

- How to have an honest conversation with your child.

- What to do if you suspect your son/daughter is using?

- Current resources and recommendations from CYS.

Presenters include LBHS Asst. Principal Robert Billinger, Laguna Beach police Detective Larry Bammer, sheriff’s drug recognition expect Brian Nissen, and CYS Executive Director Margie Diaz.

“I strongly encourage all parents to attend with their son or daughter as we work to reduce drug and/or alcohol use among our youth,” Billinger said.

Parents interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Mr. Billinger at rbillinger@lbusd.org.

Surfer James Pribram’s environmental awareness efforts were a subject of an earlier film.

At the fifth annual Laguna Hero Festival, nonprofit My Hero Project looks to showcase original stories, art and short videos less than 10 minutes long that celebrate heroes and organizations of Laguna who make a positive difference in the world.

Submission deadline is Sept. 7 to My Hero Project, LHF Submission, 1278 Glenneyre #286, Laguna Beach, Ca. 92651

The Laguna Hero Festival is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Seven Degrees, 891 Laguna Canyon Rd. For further info, visit http://myhero.com/laguna

Visionscape’s handiwork on High Drive.

Fifty awards were given to landscape contractors last week by their peers, the California Landscape Contractors Association, for demonstrating the best quality, construction, originality and attention to detail on 2011 projects.

Lake Forest’s Richard Cohen Landscape took home the Sweepstakes Award, the highest honor.

Ruben Flores, president of Laguna Beach’s Visionscape, reaped five awards between three home projects, on Laguna Beach’s High Drive,  Newport Coast’s Canyon Rim, and another in Newport Beach’s Bayadere Terrace.

Donations contributed to keeping the high school’s jazz band in current repertoire and club members experimenting in new mediums.

The public school music programs at Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School received a $5,000 gift from the Festival of Arts Foundation this year.

The donation helped replace instruments, provide scholarships, allowed the bands to participate in competitions and continues to improve the program.

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach was awarded a $10,000 grant from the foundation for its art programs for young people. “As the giving arm of the Festival of Arts, the Foundation continues to provide funding that promotes art education and appreciation for all ages,” said Festival of Arts Foundation President Scott Moore.

The club provides programs that involve young people in the visual, musical, performing, and digital arts.

Boys and Girls Club art class

Mud-splattered Lexi del Toro after running in a kidney research fundraiser. It’s personal for her: she has kidney disease.

Lexi Del Toro, 17, a top water polo player at Laguna Beach High School, spent spring break surfing in Mexico as well as taking the ACT, a college entrance exam.

Even so, she’s no typical teenager. Two years ago, she confronted her own mortality, learning she is afflicted with incurable kidney disease, the same disorder that killed her grandfather. It will not kill her, according to her doctors. Lexi can take medication, but faces a lifetime of managing her illness.

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Lexi decided that her condition would make her a stronger person.

Today, Lexi’s goal is to raise awareness about a disease she now knows intimately and to explain to youngsters like herself that the affliction can strike them as well as the elderly, who are more typically associated with the malady.

“I got lucky that I responded well to the medication I received,” she said, “but I heard that there was no big evolution in the treatment in the last 40 years. So I thought that there was something wrong with that. That’s why I decided to get really involved in this cause; to make a difference,” she said.

She first joined the board of Kidney for Life, an organization founded by her grandmother, Susan Brotman, and her friend, Dorothy Liener, vice-president and president, respectively. The Newport Beach foundation focuses on improving patient care and supporting UCLA’s nephrology department chair, Dr. Ira Kurtz.

She decided to join the cause actively after her grandfather died of kidney disease last December. The two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure and people with a family history of any kind of kidney problem are also at risk for kidney disease, according a National Institute of Health website. Even so, Lexi’s illness is not thought to be hereditary. “He was in fact my step grandfather, so we were not blood related. But he was the person I loved the most in the world and I decided to join my grandmother’s organization,” Lexi said.

Lexi, who started playing water polo at 9, now plays for SET water polo club and the high school’s girls’ team. When they heard Lexi’s news, her teammates and especially her coach, Ethan Damato, provided some welcome guidance.  “He tried to teach me to focus on the water, saying that in the water, I can clear my mind and stop worrying about my problems. It really helped to receive that kind of support,” she said.

Damato describes Lexi with admiration, unsurprised she decided to create her own support group, The Love Your Kidney Club, at the high school High School earlier this year. “Everybody that knows her knows that she is a very strong person with a tough mentality,” Damato said. “When she was diagnosed with her condition, she never skipped a beat. She is one of the strongest player of our team and I am sure that whatever she is going to do, she will make a difference,” he said.

The Love Your Kidney Club made a splash last month at the Irvine Lake Mud Run, a Kidney for Life event that Lexi thought sounded like fun. “We were one of the biggest teams with 40 people,” she said. Entry fees benefit UCLA’s kidney disease research.

While Lexi acknowledges most the of mud-run participants were teammates or family, she envisions planning other events that attract a broader base.

Kurtz, who head’s UCLA’s nephrology department, appreciates Lexi’s efforts, especially since fundraising for kidney research is harder due to the poor  economy he said. “Having such a young person involved is really unusual and wonderful,” Kurtz said. “It helps with two issues; raising awareness and having people checked by a doctor because kidney diseases are silent, people cannot feel any symptoms before the kidneys are really affected. What Lexi does is really interesting,” he said.

There are many different types of kidney diseases. So many that according to Dr. Kurtz, it is even hard to put a number on it. “We can say that the most common kidney disease is diabetes,” he said, “But basically, when you have renal problems, that means that the blood filters in your kidneys stop functioning as they should,” he said.

At least 20 million Americans cope with chronic kidney disease and 20 million more are at risk, the National Kidney Foundation estimates. In 2009, the most recent statistics available, about 400,000 patients learned they require dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.

Lexi, who will be a senior next year, expects the club will survive after her graduation. “My younger brother, Nolan, who is 14, is already extremely active and I hope he could be tempted by keeping the club going after I left,” Lexi said, “and maybe in the future some students will continue the group after us. That would be great and that would mean that we have reached a part of our goals,” she said.