Space to lead

What began as a weekly leadership class has grown into something much bigger.

Thanks to Passion SoCal, the organization leading our Youth Leadership Program, our students were given not just guidance, but trust. Passion SoCal offered them a grant to design a community initiative of their own. And with that trust came vision!

Excited to serve and give back to the community they call home, our students rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Over the past few weeks, they’ve been brainstorming, digging deep, shaping ideas, and wrestling with the real challenges their peers are facing.

They landed on something bold and necessary: a youth-led effort to address addiction in its many forms; not just drugs and alcohol, but also digital dependence and the other addictive material.

This is the kind of leadership that reminds us what’s possible when our students are given space to lead with purpose. I am looking forward to sharing more soon as their initiative takes shape, and I hope you’ll walk with them on this journey.

Maritza Rebollar

Youth Director