You can support the Center for Participatory Change and Nuestro Centro in organizing for racial equity and language justice in Buncombe County Schools!  CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Details (from their Crowdrise page):

The Center for Participatory Change and Nuestro Centro are organizing together to confront structural racism and language access barriers in Buncombe County public schools. Together, community members are building collective analysis and taking collective action to create change!

We are parents, students, and community members coming together to shine a light on structural racism in our schools. 

Working together with CPC and Nuestro Centro, we are building collective strategy and organizing for structural changes in our school system. Together we are demanding systemic change within Buncombe County Schools and equitable access to education for our children.

We are building on the momentum of the “movement moment” that emerged from the student and parent uprising at Erwin High School. (See The Today Show’s coverage here: Immigration assignment at North Carolina high school sparks racism debate).  

Working in partnership with community members, we are creating opportunities for dialogue among parents, students, educators, and administrators and documenting our work so that we can share tools with parents, students, and community groups organizing in school systems across Western North Carolina and nationally. 

CPC and Nuestro Centro have been doing this movement-building, organizing work together in the Emma community for over a year, before, during, and after the uprising at Erwin High School. Our work will continue, with your support!

We need your help to fund ongoing organizing work in our community to create positive change in our schools. 

Your donation will be used to pay for childcare and interpretation for community meetings.  Providing childcare and interpreters at all of our meetings and community forums allows everyone to participate fully and also gives us a chance to demonstrate to the Buncombe County School system how to create a multi-lingual space accessible to all families.

We believe fully in the capacity of our community to resource the campaign because it is vital to our collective future. Contribute today to support organizing in the Erwin district and building a movement for systemic change in Buncombe County Schools!

How your donation will be used:

• Interpretation: $25 pays 1 interpreter for 1 hour so that everyone can participate in their own language. Funding pays for interpretation so people can organize across lines of language.  At least 2 interpreters are needed at each meeting. Meetings are weekly and average 3 hours each. Total minimum needed from now til the end of 2015: $1800.
• Childcare: $15 pays 1 child care provider for 1 hour, allowing 1, 2, or 3 parents of young children to participate.  Having childcare available means that mothers and fathers have the opportunity to participate, make their voices heard, and advocate for their children. Our child care providers are also people within our communities who offer their support by caring for our children so that parents and older youth can focus on organizing. This is critical to our campaign and we believe people should be paid decent wages for this invaluable contribution to the work. At least 4 child care providers are needed at each meeting. Meetings are weekly and average 3 hours each. Total minimum needed from now til the end of 2015: $2160.
  
• Equipment, Materials, and Organizers: CPC and Nuestro Centro are working hard to cover expenses for the campaign, including paying organizers and buying materials and equipment. We are seeking funding from foundations, individuals, faith-based congregations, and YOU to help cover these costs! Minimum needed from now until the end of 2015: $1040.

I encourage you to support this important effort!