Lion Community Education
Donation protected
OVERVIEW
We are Lion Community Education, and we are just getting started! While we are currently just a small group of people trying to create something badass, our dream is to swiftly find a fiscal sponsor and/or incorporate as a non-profit organization with 501c3 status.
We want to build a decolonized system of education with oppressed people in Central California . To begin fulfilling this goal, we ran a fundraising campaign here in December of 2020, during which we raised about $1700. That official fundraiser has ended, but we are still accepting donations. Our goal is to raise between $5,000-$15,000, which we will use for two purposes:
1) To pay start-up costs to help fund for our first year of operation
2) To help fund our first mentoring programs for young adults and people of color in Central California.
See below for more detailed information about LCE!
WHO ARE WE?
Lion Community Education is founded by Cheramie Johnson and Celisse Randolph, two graduates of Turlock Christian High School, each with over a decade of experience working in higher education. Recently, we have also welcomed Elisha Coleman to the team. Elisha is a co-founder of the Turlock chapter of Black Lives Matter and a Brown Beret, as well as a Central California Native.
After hearing feedback from our supporters, we have revamped and clarified our MISSION, which is to build a decolonized system of education with oppressed people in Central California by reigniting the power of creativity, informal learning, and mentorship in shared spaces.
Through this work, we hope to accomplish our VISION: To catalyze a profound cultural and structural shift in Central California in which:
* Members of the public have access to mentors who can share with them skills and resources to pursue their dreams and aspirations,
* The co-mentoring and learning occurring in informal and low-cost communal spaces explicitly develop the most valuable and liberating intellectual skills attained in the formal higher education system,
* Meaningful informal and low-cost learning is rewarded to the same degree as formal, high-cost college-level learning,
* Relationships among community members (family members, neighbors, etc.) have deepened as a result of sharing learning experiences,
* Local centers of low-cost, informal communal learning (libraries, arts organizations, etc.) have increased in usage and value, and
* Lion Community Education has produced creative projects and cultivated a brand, culture, and style that community members are proud to identify with
In all of our work, we will be guided by our VALUES: Wisdom, Courage, Love, and Liberation
WHO AND HOW WILL WE SERVE?
We begin our work in Turlock, one of the cultural hubs of Stanislaus County. According to Census.Gov, in 2018, approximately 16% of people in Turlock lived in poverty, the average annual income per capita was about $26,000, and only about a quarter of the people over the age of 25 had earned a Bachelor's degree or higher. These figures pre-date the economic and educational devastation caused by the COVID-19 crisis... and these conditions of poverty and limited access to higher education only grow deeper in the surrounding towns. At the same time, like the rest of the Central Valley, Turlock offers an abundance of young professionals and people of color who are ambitious, resilient, and seeking guidance. They are bold, brave, and inquisitive; they want to know how to ensure that their own and their families’ needs are met, but also how to change the world around them.
We’ve been given an opportunity to develop a mentorship pilot program with a local civic leader and the young people who seek his guidance. We hope to soon begin similar pilots with several other local stakeholders, ideally offering 2-5 small pilot programs in our first year.
For as long as is necessary in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, these programs will take place virtually. They will consist of group and individual mentoring sessions with mentors who have experienced life through various careers, identities, hardships, and triumphs. The programs will be intentional in addressing mental and emotional health, identity and value development, financial health, personal social networking, and career and vocation development. The goal of these programs is to give intentional space for first-generation college graduates and other young professionals to explore who they are and how to move forward in their lives. The mentoring programs we develop will give students the space to ask questions without feeling as though they are letting anyone down for having these worries. As believers in the importance of 360° mentorship throughout your lifetime, we know that this service is much needed, especially for the young people going through this unprecedented time, right now.
HOW WILL WE SPEND THE MONEY?
We will use some of the money that we raise to fund our start-up costs, such as hiring legal and marketing consultants, compensating our team for some of their time, and paying any costs associated with becoming a non-profit with 501c3 status. In addition, while we eventually plan to charge low-cost and sliding scale prices for our services, in the interest of first seeking feedback and improving the quality of our programs, we’re hoping to raise enough money to offer these small pilot mentoring programs free of charge.
We also hope to make a series of videos engaging the mentorship topics available to the public for free. Any money raised over our initial fundraising goals will go toward creating these videos, in which case every one of our supporters would receive links to the videos when they are complete, to be shared with whomever you think would benefit.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
As Coretta Scott King once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” Community is at the heart of everything Lion Community Education aims to achieve. Our curriculum will not only offer people tools for lifelong learning; it will also nourish compassionate and reciprocal relationships among Central California community members. And as our supporters, you are members of the LCE community as well. No matter how much you are able to donate or help spread the word, you will play a role in shaping a more equitable future for Central California.
Whatever you can do, however you can do it, we are so grateful for your support!
We are Lion Community Education, and we are just getting started! While we are currently just a small group of people trying to create something badass, our dream is to swiftly find a fiscal sponsor and/or incorporate as a non-profit organization with 501c3 status.
We want to build a decolonized system of education with oppressed people in Central California . To begin fulfilling this goal, we ran a fundraising campaign here in December of 2020, during which we raised about $1700. That official fundraiser has ended, but we are still accepting donations. Our goal is to raise between $5,000-$15,000, which we will use for two purposes:
1) To pay start-up costs to help fund for our first year of operation
2) To help fund our first mentoring programs for young adults and people of color in Central California.
See below for more detailed information about LCE!
WHO ARE WE?
Lion Community Education is founded by Cheramie Johnson and Celisse Randolph, two graduates of Turlock Christian High School, each with over a decade of experience working in higher education. Recently, we have also welcomed Elisha Coleman to the team. Elisha is a co-founder of the Turlock chapter of Black Lives Matter and a Brown Beret, as well as a Central California Native.
After hearing feedback from our supporters, we have revamped and clarified our MISSION, which is to build a decolonized system of education with oppressed people in Central California by reigniting the power of creativity, informal learning, and mentorship in shared spaces.
Through this work, we hope to accomplish our VISION: To catalyze a profound cultural and structural shift in Central California in which:
* Members of the public have access to mentors who can share with them skills and resources to pursue their dreams and aspirations,
* The co-mentoring and learning occurring in informal and low-cost communal spaces explicitly develop the most valuable and liberating intellectual skills attained in the formal higher education system,
* Meaningful informal and low-cost learning is rewarded to the same degree as formal, high-cost college-level learning,
* Relationships among community members (family members, neighbors, etc.) have deepened as a result of sharing learning experiences,
* Local centers of low-cost, informal communal learning (libraries, arts organizations, etc.) have increased in usage and value, and
* Lion Community Education has produced creative projects and cultivated a brand, culture, and style that community members are proud to identify with
In all of our work, we will be guided by our VALUES: Wisdom, Courage, Love, and Liberation
WHO AND HOW WILL WE SERVE?
We begin our work in Turlock, one of the cultural hubs of Stanislaus County. According to Census.Gov, in 2018, approximately 16% of people in Turlock lived in poverty, the average annual income per capita was about $26,000, and only about a quarter of the people over the age of 25 had earned a Bachelor's degree or higher. These figures pre-date the economic and educational devastation caused by the COVID-19 crisis... and these conditions of poverty and limited access to higher education only grow deeper in the surrounding towns. At the same time, like the rest of the Central Valley, Turlock offers an abundance of young professionals and people of color who are ambitious, resilient, and seeking guidance. They are bold, brave, and inquisitive; they want to know how to ensure that their own and their families’ needs are met, but also how to change the world around them.We’ve been given an opportunity to develop a mentorship pilot program with a local civic leader and the young people who seek his guidance. We hope to soon begin similar pilots with several other local stakeholders, ideally offering 2-5 small pilot programs in our first year.
For as long as is necessary in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, these programs will take place virtually. They will consist of group and individual mentoring sessions with mentors who have experienced life through various careers, identities, hardships, and triumphs. The programs will be intentional in addressing mental and emotional health, identity and value development, financial health, personal social networking, and career and vocation development. The goal of these programs is to give intentional space for first-generation college graduates and other young professionals to explore who they are and how to move forward in their lives. The mentoring programs we develop will give students the space to ask questions without feeling as though they are letting anyone down for having these worries. As believers in the importance of 360° mentorship throughout your lifetime, we know that this service is much needed, especially for the young people going through this unprecedented time, right now.
HOW WILL WE SPEND THE MONEY?
We will use some of the money that we raise to fund our start-up costs, such as hiring legal and marketing consultants, compensating our team for some of their time, and paying any costs associated with becoming a non-profit with 501c3 status. In addition, while we eventually plan to charge low-cost and sliding scale prices for our services, in the interest of first seeking feedback and improving the quality of our programs, we’re hoping to raise enough money to offer these small pilot mentoring programs free of charge.
We also hope to make a series of videos engaging the mentorship topics available to the public for free. Any money raised over our initial fundraising goals will go toward creating these videos, in which case every one of our supporters would receive links to the videos when they are complete, to be shared with whomever you think would benefit.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
As Coretta Scott King once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” Community is at the heart of everything Lion Community Education aims to achieve. Our curriculum will not only offer people tools for lifelong learning; it will also nourish compassionate and reciprocal relationships among Central California community members. And as our supporters, you are members of the LCE community as well. No matter how much you are able to donate or help spread the word, you will play a role in shaping a more equitable future for Central California.
Whatever you can do, however you can do it, we are so grateful for your support!
Fundraising team (2)
Cheramie Johnson
Organizer
Turlock, CA
Maureen De Nieva-Marsh
Team member
This team raised $2,100 from 18 other donations.
