2020 PROGRAM REPORT WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN FOR CHANGEIST...

We’ve experienced a lot of big changes in 2020. Some of these changes were planned, like our becoming an AmeriCorps program and working with a team of 30 AmeriCorps Members to lead our programming. We also expanded to our second program site in Stockton, and delivered a locally-tailored program! Others, like the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted our work significantly but has allowed us to adapt in exciting ways. This year, youth across the state of collectively served over 11,000 hours of service, direct action, and exploring social justice.

2 OUR STATEWIDE COMMUNITY

PARTICIPANTS High Middle Youth Team Program School School in Alumni Leaders Total Youth Youth Pathways

In Person Program 106 162 38 55 361 (Jan-March)

Online Program 31 42 25 16 114 (May-July)

Across California, Changeists represent 87 zip codes, 37 cities, and 109 middle and high schools, as well as several colleges and other professional fields! WHAT A YEAR ETHNIC DIVERSITY GENDER DIVERSITY THIS HAS BEEN FOR CHANGEIST...

3 SCHOOL PARTNER COMMUNITIES

32nd Street / USC Performing Arts Magnet KIPP Comienza Community Prep Able Charter Schools Knight High School Academia Avance Charter School Lawndale High School Academia Avance Middle School Lincoln High School Alliance Collins Family College Ready High School Los Angeles Academy Middle School Alliance Dr. Olga Mohan High School Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies Alliance Environmental Science And Technology School Luther Burbank Middle School Alliance Patti & Peter Neuwirth Leadership Academy Manual Arts Senior High School Alliance Richard Merkin Middle School Mark Twain Middle School Alliance Ted K. Tajima High School Marshall Elementary Math and Science College Preparatory Animo Leadership Charter High School Mendez High School Aspire Centennial College Preparatory Academy Middle College High School Aspire Langston Hughes Academy Miguel Contreras Learning Complex Aspire Ollin University Preparatory Academy Morada Middle Bear Creek High School Mount St. Mary’s University Berendo Middle School MountainView High School Blair Middle School Oakwood Secondary School Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School Brookside Elementary Palisades Charter High School California Connections Academy Peyton Elementary Camino Nuevo High School - Dahzell Pio Pico Middle School Camino Nuevo High School - Miramar Podesta Ranch Elementary Camino Nuevo Kayne Siart PUC CALS Early College High School Cathedral High School Pulliam Elementary Cesar Chavez High School Ramón C. Cortines school of visual and performing arts Christa McAuliffe Middle School Ramona Convent Secondary School Citizens of the World Charter School Silver Lake Redondo Union High School Culver City Middle School Richard Merking Middle School Daniel Webster Middle School Rise Kohyang High School Desert Willow Rise Kohyang Middle School East College Prep Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Edison High School Roy Romer Middle School Equitas Academy #4 Middle School San Joaquin Elementary Extera Public Schools Sequoyah School Fillmore Elementary School SIATech Pico-Union Independent Study High School Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School South East Middle School Franklin High School Stagg High School Gabriella Charter School - Echo Park Campus Stella Middle Charter Academy Gaspar de Portola Highly Gifted Magnet Stockton Collegiate International Secondary School Gertz Ressler High School The Waverly School Gladstone high school Thomas Alva Edison Middle School Hale Charter Middle School UCLA Community School Hamilton Elementary University Prep Value High School Hawthorne High School USC Brío Health Careers Academy USC Hybrid High School Hollenbeck Middle School Valor Academy High School Hollywood High School Valor Academy Middle School Hong Kingston Elementary Verdugo Hills High school Huntington Park Institute Of Applied Medicine West Adams Preparatory High School Inglewood High School Weston Ranch High School Irving STEAM Magnet Wilson High School John Adams Elementary WISH Academy High School John C. Fremont High School Young Oak Kim academy Jordan High School

4 CHANGEIST LOS ANGELES

PARTICIPANTS Middle High Youth Team Program School School in Alumni Leaders Total Youth Youth Pathways

In Person Program 46 121 38 32 237 (Jan-March)

Online Program 13 28 25 13 79 (May-July)

ETHNIC DIVERSITY GENDER DIVERSITY

5 WEEK 1: “WHO IS MY BEST SELF?” Our team welcomed 150+ Changeists at Pershing Square in DTLA for a day of team building and getting to know the Changeist community! The day started bright and early with ice breakers to get youth moving and talking to one another. Youth were led through the story of Changeist and what they could expect for the program year. They were placed in small teams to begin exploring their identity and share with each other their goals and values.

WEEK 2: “WHO IS MY TEAM?” The day started with a scavenger hunt around the city that led youth through activities to build team connection and explore Los Angeles. Together they decided who would be the activist that their team would be named after and created a flag as a symbol of their team. Teams began building team identity through interactive sharing activities. By the end of the day, our 6 middle school teams and 12 high school teams were proudly waving their flags and representing activists like Chella Man, Greta Thunberg, Ju Hong, and Berta Caceres.

WEEK 3: “WHAT IS MY POWER?” Our friends at Warner Brothers hosted Changeist at LA Live Regal Cinema for a screening of Just Mercy, a biographical legal drama film that tells the story of an attorney working on a wrongful conviction case of the death penalty. 200+ Changeists and youth from our partner organizations-- including Legacy LA and City Year--joined us along with our Partners at Defy Ventures for the film, dialogue and letter writing. Defy Ventures hosted a panel of formerly incarcerated community members to share their narrative with youth and provide context to the screening. Youth closed the day by writing letters to currently incarcerated people; over 200 letters went out at the end of the day!

WEEK 4: “HOW DO MY EXPERIENCES SHAPE WHO I AM TODAY?” Youth participated in interactive activities to reflect upon their lived experiences and create space to consider the identities that they and their teammates hold. We partnered with the Japanese American National Museum, California African American Museum and La Plaza and our youth went on site visits to explore social justice issues on gender justice and labor organizing. By seeing the various exhibits, Changeists cultivated curiosity and made connections between the social justice issues of the past and those taking place today.

WEEK 5: “HOW DO I USE MY POWER?” This week, we hosted and celebrated our Opening Ceremony. During this ceremony, youth were asked to respond to the question: "What am I dedicating my service year to?" Many of our young people dedicated this to family members, mentors and community service. There was a family and friends reception, followed by a ceremony where every team was presented on stage. It was a beautiful experience to see Changeists join together with family and friends!

6 WEEK 6:

“HOW DO GENDER & SEXUALITY IMPACT MY EXPERIENCES?” Middle School: We partnered with Latino Equality Alliance at Mi Centro to participate in a workshop to identify how gender and sexuality affect the way the world interacts with us. At Mi Centro, Changeists examined school policies that target LGBTQIA+ youth and developed potential solutions to these policies. Youth also participated in games to build shared understanding of words/topics pertaining to gender and sexuality and shared how their various identities have personally influenced their experiences.

“WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP TO MY ISSUE?” High School: Changeists visited Seeds of Hope to learn about communities that lack green spaces. Changeists learned about the benefits of having access to fresh produce and how to sustain the local environment. Youth also reflected on their relationships to green spaces and fresh produce.

WEEK 7:

“WHAT IS THE GENDER BINARY?” Middle School: Our team of AmeriCorps members led youth through a day of learning and exploration of the gender binary and the social construction that requires everyone to be assigned a female or male at birth. Youth used the Gender Unicorn framework to build shared understanding of the differences between gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, sexual attraction, and romantic attraction. We spend the afternoon at the USC Rose Garden to engage in journaling to close out the day.

“WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF MY ISSUE?” High School: On this day Changeists spent time assessing their group knowledge of their issue and outlining what they already know, what they still want to know, ways to find out what they want to learn, and what they have learned. Our team of AmeriCorps members led the teams through a historical timeline of the school-to-prison pipeline, after which they visited our partners at Stop LAPD Spying, where they learned the history of policing and its connection to surveillance.

WEEK 8:

“WHAT IS HETERONORMATIVITY?” Middle School: Youth started the day with an open dialogue on heteronormativity and how it may impact our lives. They watched a brief TED Talk by Kousha Nouri regarding how heteronormativity affected him as he grew up. Then, youth visited our partners the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where they learned more about the experiences of LGBTQIA+ community.

7 “HOW DOES THIS ISSUE IMPACT MY COMMUNITY?” High School: Teams undertook a root cause analysis activity, which gave them an opportunity to understand the systemic origins that impact the social issues they have been learning about. Youth then visited the Metanoia exhibit, which centers the experiences of Black cis and trans women and women of color in order to ground our Changeists in the stories of those who experience oppression as a result of their gender and/or sexual identities.

8 CHANGEIST STOCKTON

PARTICIPANTS Middle High Team Program School School Leaders Total Youth Youth

In Person Program 60 41 23 124 (Jan-March)

Online Program 18 14 3 35 (May-July)

ETHNIC DIVERSITY GENDER DIVERSITY

9 WEEK 1: "WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHANGEIST?" For our first day of programming, we spent the day learning more about what it means to be a Changeist. Youth spent time setting collective goals for the year, developing shared community values, and choosing an issue area to explore for the year. Youth also participated in a life map activity—an art project for reflecting on key points in one’s life.

WEEK 2: "WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PART OF A TEAM?" Youth were placed on teams and spent time developing community agreements. Teams participated in community-building activities, including a scavenger hunt across downtown Stockton (which was also a fun opportunity to learn about the rich history of the city through its landmarks!) and ended the day reflecting on how to show up for one another throughout the year.

WEEK 3: "WHAT IS MY WHY AND WHAT POWER DO I HAVE?" Our Changeists celebrated MLK Day through a day of social action. In partnership with the Mayor's Office and Stockton Service Corps, Changeist co-led a service day centered on criminal justice reform. In addition to Changeist youth, over 75 service fellows joined as well as youth and staff from four other Stockton Service Corps organizations. In partnership with Warner Brothers, youth attended a screening of the film Just Mercy and a discussion with Mayor Michael Tubbs and Zach Norris of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Youth then attended several civil rights workshops hosted by our partner organizations; these sessions explored how mass incarceration has manifested over time.

WEEK 4: "HOW DOES MY EXPERIENCE SHAPE WHO I AM?" Our teams this year chose to explore issues of community violence, environmental justice, immigration rights, and public health. Youth named their teams after national and local youth activists and spent time researching their namesake activists and creating media to share their activist’s stories with one another. Youth also learned about public narrative, the organizing framework underlying our program arc, and began creating their Story of Self in preparation to share at Opening Ceremony.

WEEK 5: "WHAT AM I DEDICATING MY SERVICE YEAR TO?" This week, we hosted and celebrated our Opening Ceremony. During this ceremony, youth were asked to respond to the question: "What am I dedicating my service year to?" Our youth spent the morning using art to reflect on their dedication; these art pieces were woven together into collective Changeist team murals. This day was a communal celebration of our young folks! Each Changeist shared their dedication story on stage in front of over 150 of their friends, family, and community members. This ceremony also featured three keynote youth speakers and an address by Mayor Michael Tubbs.

10 WEEK 6:

"WHAT DOES COMMUNITY MEAN TO ME?" Middle School: Teams were each given a large map of Stockton and stickers to mark personally meaningful places in their community. Youth discussed the physical places and non-physical things that make up their community. Additionally, middle school cohorts attended a panel by the Kelly's Angels Foundation and the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice to discuss a reimagining of public safety.

"WHO AM I IN THE CONTEXT OF MY ISSUE?" High School: Teams began the day by building collective knowledge about their respective social issues and participated in activities meant to help them understand the issue from a variety of perspectives. The environmental justice team visited Boggs Tract Community Farm to learn about food deserts and discuss their role in feeding the local community. The immigration rights and public health teams visited the Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association (APSARA) to learn the history of local organizing by Southeast Asian refugee families. The community violence teams attended a panel by the Kelly's Angels Foundation and the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice to discuss a reimagining of public safety.

WEEK 7:

"WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAFE FROM VIOLENCE?" Middle School: Youth participated in activities to facilitate discussion around where and with whom they feel safe and unsafe. They then discussed and unpacked the words violence and safety to better understand what the phrase "community safety" means. Later, youth traveled to Faith in the Valley to discuss the root causes of community violence, what it means to be safe, who is responsible for our safety, and how we hold them accountable.

"HOW DOES MY ISSUE GIVE CONTEXT TO MY SELF? High School: Youth discussed how their identities and community are uniquely affected by their issue by creating a root cause tree of their issue and imagining what solutions could look like in their community. The environmental justice and public health teams visited the UOP Robb Student Garden to learn about food insecurity in Stockton and make herb bundles to take home. The immigration rights teams attended the San Joaquin Delta College Dream Center Conference to learn more about the challenges in higher education for undocumented students.The community violence teams traveled to Faith in the Valley to discuss the root causes of community violence, what it means to be safe, who is responsible for our safety, and how we hold them accountable.

WEEK 8:

"WHAT SYSTEMS AFFECT COMMUNITY VIOLENCE?” Middle School: Youth participated in various simulation games in order to better understand systemic racism and differential access to resources. Youth made connections from the simulation to their lived experience with racism in the US. Later, they visited Fathers and Families of San Joaquin to learn about alternatives to incarceration and policing and to participate in a healing circle.

“HOW DOES MY ISSUE APPEAR IN STOCKTON?” 11 High School: Youth spent the morning participating in a Data Equality Gallery Walk in which they looked at a range of data points as it relates to education, income, race, gender and other key metrics in the Stockton area. Teams shared across issue tracks to understand and explore the intersection of their issues with that of the other teams. The environmental justice team helped the Edible Schoolyard Project build a community garden at Taft Elementary. The immigration rights teams visited Little Manila Rising to learn more about how Stockton became the most diverse city in the country and about the challenges and triumphs of the Filipinx population in Stockton. The community violence teams visited Fathers and Families of San Joaquin to learn about alternatives to incarceration and policing and to participate in a healing circle.

12 2020 EVALUATION FINDINGS

At Changeist, we are dedicated to continuous quality improvement and upholding a high standard of accountability to meeting youths’ needs. In order to do this, we use mobile phone surveys to collect information about youth's real-time experiences during the program day. Five indicators of interaction with the program were measured quantitatively: engagement, enjoyment, meaning, skill development, and connection to others around them. Each week, mobile survey data was uploaded into our online dashboard program, developed specifically to provide insight into program quality week-to-week. Time is dedicated during weekly program staff meetings to review this data, explore trends in quality and youth experience, and consider programmatic changes to be implemented in following weeks.

During our in-person programming, a total of 279 responses were collected from youth program participants (195 at our Los Angeles site and 84 at our Stockton site) across 7 weeks of programming. Youth participants’ perceptions of Changeist program quality have continued to steadily improve since implementing this evaluative tool. We are continually expanding our toolbox of programming and evaluative skills, and are proud to continually improve our practice in meaningful, responsive ways.

Please note that empowerment data is only available for 2020, as this metric was a sug- gested addition from our 2020 AmeriCorps Member cohort.

13 LOS ANGELES

STOCKTON

We are proud of our high quality execution across both sites. At Changeist, we like to say that relationships are our superpower-- and the data supports this notion. The spaces we provide for youth facilitate strong community relationships and fun, engaging and meaningful activities that empower young people.

A NOTE ON OUR 2020 OUTCOMES DATA

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from completing the 2020 program outcomes evaluation. Major historical events, such as this pandemic, confound data and make it impossible to parse out the difference between the impacts of our programming and the impacts of these global events (Shadish, Cook & Campbell, 2002). Best practices of data collection (Crano & Brewer, 2002) and our organizational values dictated that we instead use our resources to understand the needs and experiences of our community during this unprecedented time.

14 ADAPTING TO TWO PUBLIC HEALTH CRISES: COVID-19 + VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK LIVES

The global pandemic that hit in March impacted our program immediately: social distancing required a pivot to online programming, youth could no longer connect with friends in-person, and it became unclear how to engage in civic action from the safety of home.

Changeist’s 2020 spring programming was developed in response to these challenges. We began adapting to these new circumstances by surveying our youth in late March. Across both our locations and all age groups, several key themes emerged: youth are currently feeling sad, stressed, scared and frustrated. Some feel alone and disengaged, while others are overwhelmed with the stresses of virtual learning (with school) and supporting their families. However, these youth also expressed a desire to continue doing service, and Changeist is an opportunity to stay engaged in community.

After brainstorming with our youth, we collectively developed a new pathway for civic learning. Our desired outcomes were to provide youth participants with a sense of community and feeling of being tethered during this time of unknown, while providing them with opportunities to do the civic work that they find most crucial during this crisis. We continued to implement three distinct pathways for youth: 1) general Changeist programming, 2) a specialized alumni pathway for Storyists, and 3) a specialized alumni pathway for Youth Organizers.

• For the general Changeist track, our arc of programming changed to center community care. Changeists began by learning how to take care of themselves during the pandemic through workshops on topics like self-healing and identifying one’s support network (i.e., pod mapping). Next, youth explored their community and the issues impacting them. Finally, youth explored what initiatives were presently being implemented in their communities in order to foster liberation and justice. Changeists in Stockton partnered with Little Manila to support census activation work. Changeists in Los Angeles partnered with the Audubon Center to host virtual environmental justice events and worked independently to host social media campaigns to share critical COVID-19 resources. • Changeist Storyists developed a short film documentary to share the experiences of youth in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Changeist Youth Organizers developed a workshop to teach their peers about how to engage in social justice work.

Changeist’s virtual spring programming ended with a statewide summit to build community among Changeists across California.

VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

• We’re All in this Together: Community Care • Transformative Massage • Spread the Love: Supporting your Community • Practicing Community Care • Protest Safety 101*

15 • Having Difficult Conversations on Racism* • Storyist Showcase *These workshops were • Stop Being Fake: How to Spot Fake News* adapted after the murder • Youth Organizer Round Table of George Floyd in order • State-Wide Youth Summit* to highlight the Black Lives • Week of Action* Matter Movement • Graduation

MUTUAL AID INITIATIVE

In addition to adapting our program offerings, we launched a mutual aid campaign in order to meet the pressing needs of our Changeist families due to the pandemic. Mutual aid initiatives are intended to connect community members, such that those with pressing needs can access support from community members with extra resources; this approach differs from traditional philanthropy in that resources transfer directly within the community and build stronger relationships of mutual trust and care. Families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic requested support in the following areas:

• Financial support for bills (housing, utilities, tuition, medical care, etc.) • Financial support for purchasing supplies (food, water, cleaning supplies, medicine, etc.) • Pickup and delivery of supplies (food, water, cleaning supplies, medicine, etc.) • Transportation • Childcare • Shelter • Health needs • Mental health or emotional support

During this initiative, over $12,500 was exchanged between community members. In addition, Changeist community members delivered groceries and supplies to one another and supported one another in accessing mental and physical health care providers. We are also grateful for Point B Capital and Bain Capital for donating over $10,000 worth of computers to directly support our community.

SHIFTING FOCUS TO BLACK LIVES MATTER

With the uprising in protest of the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others, Changeist had taken steps to respond to the moment and uplift the stories of Black voices in our community.

First, we shifted the focus of our online workshops to directly support our youth in engaging with the movement. We hosted workshops about protest safety and having difficult conversations about race.

Second, we shifted the focus of our 1st Annual Changeist Statewide Youth Summit to directly uplift the fight for Black lives. During this summit youth learned about the history of policing, activism for BLM beyond the streets, and participated in a healing circle. We hosted community partners to talk about reimagining public safety, ethnic studies, and community budgeting and our call to action for the Youth Summit was focused on how our youth can make this moment a movement for Black lives.

16 Third, we have created a BLM working group to bring youth and staff together to decide how Changeist will make long term changes, investment, and commitments to support Black lives across the state. The working group is a multiracial collective of middle school youth, high school youth, college-aged volunteers, AmeriCorps Members, and staff from both the Los Angeles and Stockton sites. The collective chose to focus on three projects:

• Working to lobby, educate, and influence local leaders on the challenges and stories of young people and Black lives • Creating a team that activates our community of young people to participate in direct actions • Uplifting the stories and power of young Black people in our communities. In the upcoming program year, the BLM working group will be led by two of your youth organizers, one in Stockton and one in Los Angeles, to lead on executing the plans created during summer 2020

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT This year at Changeist, we’ve grown in our ability to implement high quality youth empowerment programming and thrived in a new city while learning how to expand and tailor our work. Our tools have allowed us to be nimble during tough times and stay focused on the future of this critical work As always, we are so grateful for the continued support from our participants and their families, our broader community of supporters, partners, and sponsors. We cherish your partnership; our successes would not have been possible without the support of our people.

LOOKING TOWARD 2021

We are excited to launch a fully virtual program in both Los Angeles and Stockton for the 2021 program year. Despite the challenges of shifting to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, we see this transition as an exciting opportunity to explore an alternative form of our in-person work. Look forward to hearing from us and regarding Changeist’s analysis of virtual programming, virtual learning, and understanding youth work practice online! In the coming months, you can look forward to hearing from us regarding the relationship between youth empowerment and healing from the trauma of oppression. Between our continued work in the movement for Black lives and our continued growth of our Storyist, Youth Organizer, and Peer Team Leader programming, we have a lot to be excited about.

I look forward to sharing our progress with you on this journey,

Manijeh Mahmoodzadeh, MA Chief Impact Officer, Changeist [email protected]

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