Just Communities in Santa Barbara recently recognized THRIVE Westside for sponsoring San Marcos High School students and Westside youth in the CommUnity Leadership Institute (CLI) program. Anita Perez Ferguson, Ph.D., from left, executive director of THRIVE Santa Barbara County; Joanna Alvarez, San Marcos High student and CLI participant; Joshua Beasley, San Marcos High student and CLI participant; Samantha Hurd, San Marcos High student and CLI participant; Benjamin Magdaleno, San Marcos High student and CLI participant; and Jarrod Schwartz, executive director of Just Communities. Not pictured were Elias Estrada, Jesse de Jesus, and Jesus Molina, San Marcos High students and CLI participants; and Lauren Carlos, Santa Barbara High student/Westside Resident and CLI participant. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Just Communities, a Santa Barbara nonprofit, recently recognized THRIVE Westside for sponsoring San Marcos High School students and Westside youth in the CommUnity Leadership Institute (CLI) program.
THRIVE Westside is a partnership between Harding University Partnership School, McKinley Elementary School, La Cumbre Junior High and San Marcos High School which ensures a coordinated effort of resources for children and families living in Santa Barbara’s Westside neighborhood, Just Communities reported in a media release.
The CommUnity Leadership Institute (CLI) is an 8-day residential summer program that trains youth from the Central Coast to be leaders in issues of diversity and justice within their schools and communities. The camp took place in Ojai during August. Students are selected based on their leadership skills and/or potential and receive 48 hours of community service credit. CLI increases students’ ability to stand up to social pressures and to become positive role models with an appreciation for diversity and a passion for justice.