Juan Daniel Muñoz, from left, Hailey Goodner, Allan Arena Rodriguez, and Just Communities staff member Daniel Elenes practice leadership skills at the Community Leadership Institute (CLI). The group is role playing a scenario in which they witnessed inappropriate behavior at school. They were practicing different techniques for appropriately intervening in the situation. Photo courtesy of Just Communities.
Students from Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley, Carpinteria, and Fillmore/Piru schools recently participated in Community Leadership Institute, an eight-day residential summer program in Ojai that trains youth from the Central Coast to be leaders in issues of diversity and justice in their schools and communities, Just Communities, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit, reported this week in a media release.
A range of students are selected based on their leadership skills and/or potential and receive 48 hours of community service credit, the group reported.
Just Communities is still seeking corporate and personal sponsors to help put local teens through the program. It is $1,500 to sponsor a student in CLI, and interested parties may contact Just Communities at 805-966-2063 to become a sponsor or for further information on CLI or other programs offered by Just Communities.