The Third Annual “It’s All About the Kids” Luncheon and Auction is slated for April 7 with proceeds benefiting DIGICOM Learning in the Palm Springs Unified School District.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Agua Caliente Resort in Rancho Mirage.

Patty Newman

This year’s honoree is philanthropist Patty Newman who, along with her husband, Arthur, support many Coachella Valley charities and non-profit organizations. She has been supporting DIGICOM since its inception 10 years ago. DIGICOM Learning is an education program aimed at engaging youth in digital storytelling through the “Four C’s” of 21st Century skills including communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. To date, DIGICOM has trained over 500 teachers and reach over 10,000 students.

Proceeds from the luncheon help provide prizes and scholarships awarded at the annual DIGICOM film festival, which, this year, is set for May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Richards Center for the Arts. Luncheon tickets are $75 per person and available at https://digicomlearning.com/luncheon/. Ads in an event tribute book honoring Newman are also for sale with prices ranging from $75 to $925.

Themed “Rise and Shine” this year’s DIGICOM annual film festival showcases some o the best work across PSUSD from K-12 students and their teachers. Submissions for the festival are being accepted through March 23. The event runs about two hours and is free and open to the public.

“Student voices are powerful,” commented Jessica Pack, a 2014 California Teacher of the Year who piloted technology initiatives for PSUSD in her James Workman Middle School classrooms several years ago. “They are voices of the future. They’re voices for change; voices of hope and perspective. Each one is vibrant and unique and to bring out those voices, teachers in PSUSD receive training from DIGICOM that enables them to engineer compelling learning experiences that are rich in opportunities for choice. .When the whole world is paying attention to their YouTube channel, students work harder. They ask more questions. They invest more time.”

Several PSUSD elementary schools will also be hosting their own site DIGICOM film festivals during the month of May. For upcoming festivals, which are free and open to the public, and other DIGICOM events and information click HERE.