Ultimate fighter Camacho mentors area youths
By Brian Day Staff Writer

MONTEBELLO - When professional mixed-martial arts fighter Joe Camacho is not slugging it out in the cage, he spends his time working to keep area kids out of trouble and on the right path.

The 36-year-old Ontario resident was honored at a ceremony for both his athletic accomplishments and contributions to the community Saturday at a mixed martial arts event at the Quiet Canyon banquet hall in Montebello.

He sits on the board of directors for the Man-e Moreno Foundation, a San Gabriel Valley-based nonprofit group dedicated to helping homicide victims' families and keeping kids away from drugs and gangs.

"I love kids," Camacho said. "I'm a big kid myself."

Once the foundation's teen center is completed at an later this year, Camacho will spearhead the foundation's youth mentoring program, foundation president Robert Moreno said.

Camacho said he was instantly wanted to be involved with the Man-e Moreno Foundation when he was introduced to it through his cousin.

"I wanted to get the kids off the street and show them something," he said.

Camacho, who grew up in East Los Angeles, said mixed martial arts fighting has changed his life for the better since he got involved 14 years ago and he hopes it can do the same for others.

Through the mental and physical discipline of martial arts, "I want to guide them in the right direction," he said.

Camacho's professional fighting record is 14 wins, 13 losses and three draws. His next fight will take place May 16 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

The sponsor of the event, the Luminous Group Inc., will donate a portion of proceeds from future bouts to help construct the Man-e Moreno Foundation teen center.

Hip-Hop Concert offers alternative
By Brian Day, Staff Writer

APU show provides drug-, violence-free fun

AZUSA - Robert Moreno's brother, Manuel Moreno, was shot to death Nov. 10, 2007 in Covina.

Now he, his friends and his family have made stopping violent crime part of their lives' work.

"When all this is over, I still go home and deal with my pain," said Moreno, the president of the Man-E Moreno Foundation. "But I live to fight another day."

Moreno is trying to create a series of youth events with urban flair, but without the violence that seems to go hand in glove with hip hop.

"We take those elements out, but we have the same quality and atmosphere, and the kids love it," he said.

Most recently, Moreno and other families affected by violent crime teamed up with a Christian hip-hop groupto provide about 300 area kids with a free concert with a Christian rap group at Azusa Pacific University.

Future events, he said, will likely include professional mixed-martial arts fighters and comedians in "positive mentoring" programs.

The April 4 concert was designed to give local youths a place to congregate and enjoy themselves free from drugs, alcohol and violence, Moreno said.

It featured the hip-hop ensemble P.U.S.H. Entertainment, which is made up largely of members of Victory Outreach Church in Chino, who began playing music together years ago.

"All the lyrics have meaning behind them," Moreno said.

The band included frontmen and rappers Robert Fuentes, AKA Rob. E., and Robert Chavez, AKA Colored, as well as a drummer, guitarist, bassist, keyboard player, trombone player, saxophonist and guest singers.

The crowd roared with applause between songs.

Many of the youth at the event were from area Victory Outreach Churches, a group that historically reaches out to people in rough neighborhoods.

"The world's getting crazier," Fuentes said. "We can let it happen, or we can try to be an answer to the problem. Music is a powerful tool."

Andrea Diaz, 16, said she enjoyed the show and would come back for another.

"Just by hearing the music, it helps me not go back to what I used to be doing," she said.

The event came on the heels of a series of area killings in recent weeks that left a man, a woman and a 17-year-old boy dead in West Covina, one man dead in Covina and a 17-year-old boy dead in Whittier.

"If we care about the kids so much, we've got to give them something they like," Moreno said. "We have to get innovative with the young people, or we'll lose them."

Community pitches in for family affected by Covina massacre
By Brian Day, Staff Writer

COVINA - Area residents, businesses and foundations are pitching in to raise money for surviving members of a family shattered by a mass murder at a Christmas Eve party.

Through donations and fund-raisers, community members have been, and plan to continue, building the coffers of the Ortega Family Fund, set up to benefit the family of nine family members slain in the massacre that occurred in a home in the 1100 block of Knollcrest Drive.

"It's amazing how many people want to help the Ortega family," said Robert Moreno, president of the non-profit group the Man-e Moreno Foundation, which is dedicated to helping the families of homicide victims.

The Man-e Moreno Foundation is hosting an event Tuesday at Tutto's Pizza and Games in Covina to benefit the family, Moreno said.

The event will be held from 5-9 p.m. at the restaurant, located at 1456 N. Citrus Ave.

A charge of $6.95 will cover all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta, restaurant owner Amira Hanna said.

Unlimited soda will be sold for $1.29, she added.

Twenty-five percent of profits from food sales will go the the Ortega Family Fund, Moreno said, and 100 percent of profits from drink sales will go to the fund.

Not only is the restaurant being extremely helpful, Moreno said, but two local print shops, Sir Speedy and J & D Printing, volunteered to print flyers and posters advertising Tuesday's benefit.

In Industry, the Hacienda Heights Pizza Co. is hosting benefits and has set up a large collection jar for donations, manager Gabby Sanchez said.

"It's nearly full," she said of the jar, adding that there were many 50- and 100-dollar bills inside.

Local firefighters contributed heavily to the donation jar, Sanchez said. One even dropped $200 in the jar.

The pizza parlor, located at 15239 Gale Avenue, Unit A, hosted a benefit Thursday and plans to donate 20 percent of all profits to the Ortega Family fund, Sanchez said.

How much money the pizza restaurant has collected was not calculated Friday, she said.

The Hacienda Heights Pizza Co. is planning another event Thursday, Sanchez said, adding that she hopes even more people come.

When the collections are finished, the pizza parlor will write a check to the Ortega Family Fund, Sanchez said.

Donation jars to benefit the Ortega family have also been set up at Covina taverns.

At Katie Jakes Bar and Grill, 750 Teredo Plaza #10, about $100 had been collected in a donation jar Friday, a bartender said. The funds will be sent to the Ortega Family Fund.

Elvie's Inn, 610 Shoppers Lane, is also taking up donations for the family, an employee said, however the amount collected so far was not available.

Both taverns plan to keep their donation jars in place in the coming weeks.

In a symbolic gesture Thursday, the president of the West Covina Rose Float Foundation Frank Scalfaro, carried nine rose vials in his pocket on the float in memory of the nine victims, he said.

The roses will be presented to the victim's family members at 1:30 p.m. Sunday when the float will be displayed at the Eastland Shopping Center in West Covina.

Donations to benefit the Ortega family can be sent directly to the Ortega Family Fund, care of the Law Offices of Scott Nord, 500 N. Brand Blvd., suite 550, Glendale, CA, 91203.

Nord could not be reached by telephone Friday.

Those killed in the slaying have not been officially identified by coroner's officials, however those listed by police as missing since the incident include the ex-wife Sylvia Pardo, the ex-wife of shooter Bruce Pardo, and eight of her family members, ranging in age from 17 to 80.

A local philanthropic group dedicated to aiding the families of victims of violent crime handed out toys to the children of homicide victims in the San Gabriel Valley this week.

The Man-e Moreno Foundation, which was started by the family of homicide victim Manuel Moreno after he was fatally shot on Nov. 10 of 2007, set out Tuesday to deliver toys, other gifts and Christmas carols to four families affected by homicide.

"All of them have lost their child or their loved one in a violent crime," Man-e Moreno Foundation President Robert Moreno said. "We just want to honor these families."

Foundation members announced their presence with Christmas carols to family members of San Gabriel Valley homicide victims Eileen Ponce-Porta, 22, Robert Ruiz, 23, Sammantha Salas, 16, and Orlando Primmer, 24, who gathered at the Ruiz home in La Puente. All four victims left behind small children or younger siblings.

"This was such a wonderful surprise," Robert Ruiz's mother Luz Ruiz said as her eyes welled with tears.

"This is the first year that we celebrated Christmas since my son's death (in 2005)," she added. "They woke up the Christmas spirit for us."

Robert Ruiz is survived by a 5-year-old son.

Without wasting any time, foundation members began handing over bags of presents to the children, who gleefully unwrapped their toys.

"I think this is just wonderful," said Rozanna Lindorfer of West Covina, mother of Orlando Primmer, who was fatally shot in Lynwood in 2006.

Lindorfer added she was grateful to the organization not just for their support, but for helping to keep the memory of her son alive. She has started her own support group for families of homicide victims called "Soldiers 4 Divine Justice."

"We want to bring as much joy and peace and most of all love as we can," Moreno said. "We want to show them that there's still a bright future, regardless of our situations."

Moreno said his heart particularly went out to the family of Eileen Ponce-Orta, who left behind a now-3-year-old daughter.

For her parents and daughter, "It's their first year without her," he said, adding he vividly recalls the first Christmas without his brother.

"It's tough, but we're pulling together," said Jeanette Chavez, whose daughter, Sammantha Salas, was fatally shot in unincorporated Monrovia in January 2008.

"We're helping each other and that's extremely important," she said. "It's been so fantastic to work together."

In addition to serving the families of crime victims, Moreno said the foundation also seeks to prevent crime by supporting local youth activities in order to help keep kids out of trouble.

Luz Ruiz said she's grateful for the efforts of the foundation, as well as other organizations serving the families of crime victims.

"It gives us hope that things can get better," she said.