The CEB Initiatives: Ways You Can Get Involved in the Community

Since the start of the year, the School’s Community Engagement Board (CEB) has organized many projects to address the chaos of these unprecedented times. One of the biggest local challenges has been the recent fires running rampant through multiple states. In response, students on the CEB are working on a disaster relief effort to support victims of wildfires.

Nick Sanford, class of 2023, is part of the initiative. He said that there are two ways that students can help those affected by the fires, the first being the ongoing “Letter Writing Program” that took place in advising a couple weeks ago. Students can write letters to fire stations throughout the areas of California that have been most affected by fires in order to “show support and appreciation for the work that [the firefighters] are doing,” says Sanford.

 The second way to help is by donating money and supplies to the victims of recent wildfires (particularly in Northern California). Sandford added that supplies could include “basics like clothes and toiletries [and] essential childcare supplies for folks with kids.” Suggested sites are the Santa Cruz lightning complex fires fund and the The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s California Wildfire Recovery Fund.   

Furthermore, Sanford is leading another CEB project: campaigning for Tri Ngo for 1st district representative on Oakland City council. Sanford says he really likes the changes Ngo seeks to implement like “de-regulat[ing] housing and construction laws to slow down the process of gentrification, giv[ing] homeless communities a short term place to live, and instituting a criminal justice system in Oakland…where police are not the first responders to non-violent offenses and domestic disturbances.” Currently, the project is focusing on organizing phone drives to convince Oaklanders to vote for Ngo, although Sanford’s main goal is to encourage people to “take part in the democratic process, whether they vote for [Ngo] or not.”

Lastly, another CEB project set to launch, specifically for the upcoming holidays, is the Holiday Gift Giving Project with BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency). Through this collaboration, BOSS will provide a list of families in need, assigning each family to a specific advising who will supervise donations to them. Then, the CCE (Center for Community Engagement) will wrap the presents and give them to the families as holiday gifts. Michael Evans, class of 2023, is planning on participating in the project, remarking, “BOSS has worked with the School for a while and [the two] have a strong connection.”

Despite the obstacles that the pandemic presents, there are still many opportunities to safely help out in the community. We encourage you to take part in some of these philanthropic efforts or even start your own!