Dear Community,
As you all know, our world, our nation, and our communities here in the Central Coast continue to struggle with navigating the realities of a COVID-19 world. This means adapting to protect people's safety and health while reimagining how we can do the critical work we do in a world where inequities not only continue, but are amplified and growing.
The realities of continued physical distancing means that we must cancel our June IEE and July CLI programs.
This was an extremely difficult decision to make because of how important these programs are in advancing social justice in our communities. The loss of these programs this summer will be felt by those of us who work so hard to make them happen and our communities who struggle with both old and new inequities in the face of COVID-19. However, our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of our participants, volunteers, and staff.
CLI and IEE will not happen this summer, but our work to foster a more equitable and inclusive Central Coast is
NOT
paused
.
In June, we will be hosting a number of virtual professional development sessions for educators in our local communities, and we continue to provide virtual training and support to individuals and organizations across the region.
One of the things we are most excited about for this summer is the CLI graduates who have stepped up to develop a youth-run, youth-led summer equity experience for CLI and Talking in Class graduates. They have decided to make this a national convening by working with youth from other organizations like Just Communities from around the country. Two of the lead organizers had this to say about this effort:
