Jesse Lozano’s nonprofit 1 More Win supports school athletic programs in need

Posted on November 4, 2019

It’s tough to imagine the heartbreak that a high school baseball team would experience having to forfeit their season because they didn’t have the proper equipment to play. But that’s exactly the fate that the Guajome Park Academy team faced several years ago. Until, that is, Jesse Lozano and his nonprofit, 1 More Win, stepped in to provide the money needed for the team to stay in the game.

A popular radio DJ at both San Diego’s Star 94.1 and L.A.’s KIIS FM, Lozano is a former high school athlete himself. The Orange Glen High School alumnus played tennis during his time there, so it’s only fitting that Orange Glen and its tennis program are at the heart of 1 More Win. After learning the team needed a new ball machine to help them practice, Lozano took it upon himself to purchase one and donate it to his alma mater in 2011. What could have been a one-time good deed took flight after he shared the story with friends and fellow Orange Glen alumni, John Masnica and Jason Young.

Lozano jokes, “In the middle of some old football war story drama near a campfire one day was how we came up with this,” but when it came to wanting to do more, the friends got serious.

“When we [talked] about old times, it was really apparent that, even though we did different things with our lives, high school sports was a really important part of us growing up and getting to where we got,” he says. “A lot of the things we learned playing sports, like the ability to be coached, and discipline, and having some accountability, helped us in our adult lives.”

The three cofounded 1 More Win shortly thereafter and the team got right down to business seeking additional opportunities to provide financial assistance to high school sports programs, with Lozano’s work on the air providing essential promotional support. Schools throughout the county have benefited from 1 More Win’s support, from El Cajon Valley’s boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams to Mission Bay’s girls’ basketball to Clairemont’s track and field, just to name a few recent projects.

1 More Win’s beneficiaries are identified predominantly through nominations on the organization’s website, though Lozano is spearheading efforts to proactively reach schools that have the greatest need for financial assistance. While the need for school sports funding is definitely widespread, what surprises him most is how challenging it is to reach these schools. “My goal is to be able to get the emails of every athletic director of every high school in San Diego and reach out to all of them individually and explain what I do,”
he says.

The contributions provide that boost Lozano can fully appreciate as a former athlete. “The looks on their faces when they’re getting brand-new uniforms after wearing 20-year-old uniforms,” he says, “You just know that the next game, maybe that season, they head in with a little extra confidence, because that’s what it’s all about sometimes.” 1morewin.org   Deanna Murphy

Photo by Vincent Knakal