By: Pa Vue, Education Specialist, LCC’s AmeriCorps Program

Students from our Local Conservation Corps’ (LCC) YouthBuild Fresno Program commemorated Cesar Chavez’s philosophy of nonviolence by hosting “Stop the Violence” – an informational fair at our Neighborhood Youth Center, LCC’s new headquarters in West Fresno.

Participants from our California Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (CalGRIP) and Fresno Safe & Proud Neighborhoods AmeriCorps programs served alongside YouthBuild Fresno students to bring the message of peace to our community. Twenty-five community partners joined the event, sharing their available resources and programs to at-risk youth and their families as alternatives to joining gangs. Over 200 community members attended the event.

Stop the Violence was a project organized by students enrolled in the Community Service / Leadership class in our YouthBuild Charter School of California – Fresno. The students created and organized their project using four core components: investigation, planning and preparation, action and reflection. They gained valuable skills in identifying and addressing community needs and by developing an action plan detailing their services. The project, which took approximately five months to develop and implement, provided them the hands-on experiences needed to strengthen their leadership development.