Riverside Nonprofit Fundraiser With Local Youth and Community Members For Experiential Learning Opportunity
The Child Leader Project and youth from Norte Vista High School will be coming together to raise funds for youth and young adult programs in Riverside and India, including a two-week summer study abroad program in India
RIVERSIDE, CA-- Local Riverside-based international non-profit Child Leader Project (CLP) and youth from Norte Vista High School (in the Alvord Unified School District) will be joining together for a fundraiser 5K Run/Walk/Jog-athon on March 19, 2011 at J.W. North High School. The fundraiser, titled "GrassRoutes," will bring together youth, young adults, and community members raising funds for a CLP program (Send Us to India, SU2I) that will send nine Norte Vista students to India to meet CLP partners and youth.
CLP started in 2008 by a student at the University of California, Riverside and has since grown to become an internationally recognized non-profit organization with programming in Riverside, India, and Mexico. CLP has been recognized by the Community Foundation of Riverside County, the Clinton Global Initiative University, and Riverside's City Hall.
The fundraiser will begin at 10:00 AM at North High School (located near the UCR campus) and will raise funds for CLP, UCR's Guardian Scholars Program, and Kindling Intellectual Development (KID), all of whom work in the local Riverside community. Guardian Scholars works with emancipated foster youth to help provide a network of resources to these students in the pursuit of higher education. KID (a organization also started by a UCR student) engages low-income students in elementary and middle schools in downtown Riverside with supplemental extracurricular activities.
CLP has previously worked with Quail Valley Elementary School (Menifee Unified School District), Patriot High School (Jurupa Unified School District), and J.W. North High School (Riverside Unified School District) in engaging students with programs ranging from social justice to a pen-pal program with Indian students. The current CLP@NoVi program was recently created through the desires of CLP and Norte Vista administrators and students to create a year-long program that would include field trips (Social Justice Saturdays) and discussions revolving around issues such as interfaith, immigration, and environmental sustainability.
With the support of Norte Vista High School staff, CLP mentors, and various community members and organizations, CLP@NoVi has included an overnight retreat to Los Angeles to explore the topics of labor and immigration in the Garment District, an exploration of the issues surrounding Riverside's Chinatown, and work with Growcology (a local organization) to discuss community gardens in the Inland Empire.
GrassROUTES funds will support CLP's Send Us to India program, whose goal is to send nine Norte Vista students to India to collaborate with CLP India's young adults and youth. These students were chosen from a pool of applicants and have committed themselves towards months of trainings, ranging from social justice issues in India and Riverside, cultural differences, and ties that bind both countries together. The students from Riverside and India will also embark on a service learning project that deals with water rights in both countries, including the issues of privatization and the human right to water.
These months of trainings will culminate in a two-week program in India, where the youth will finally meet CLP Indian staff, volunteers, and youth that they have spent months working with. The trip includes visits to partner organizations, discussions surrounding social justice issues, and collaborative community projects. Once returning from India, the Norte Vista students will bring back their experiences to the community and their fellow students, sharing their stories and thoughts through various outlets, including writings and artwork.
The funds raised will help cover the plane fare expenses, travel/lodging in India, and any food expenses during the two week experience. CLP plans to hold various fundraising events with help from CLP mentors, Norte Vista students and families, and community members over the next few months in order to help finance the program.
"GrassROUTES is about bringing together the community to help support these students as they prepare for an experience of a lifetime. Not only will they be able to discuss social justice issues that they experience in their daily lives in Riverside, but they will be able to interact with their brothers and sisters in India who are going through similar experiences. It's not just about India or Riverside, but rather how we can build communities and links between the two, which CLP helps nurture."
"I am very excited about GrassROUTES. We all put hard work into this event and I'm looking forward to the day when it will all come together. I appreciate all the people who took part in making this happen. The fact that Guardian Scholars are a part of this means the world to me," says CLP GrassROUTES coordinator Serkadis Krohm.
"I am very excited about GrassROUTES. We all put hard work into this event and I'm looking forward to the day when it will all come together. I appreciate all the people who took part in making this happen. The fact that Guardian Scholars are a part of this means the world to me," says CLP GrassROUTES coordinator Serkadis Krohm.
