My name is Jennifer Banaszek. I teach English language learners at Presidio Middle School, a public school in San Francisco. Many of my students are immigrants or children of immigrants. Several struggle financially and face challenges of housing and food insecurity, in addition to anxiety about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Our school has a yearly week-long field trip to Yosemite National Park for 6th graders where students study nature, create community, and enjoy an outdoor classroom. They learn about topics such as sustainability, climate, ecology, and animal behavior. In addition, they learn life skills such as teamwork, personal responsibility, and their environmental impacts as well as their responsibility to preserve and conserve the natural world.

The price for each student to attend this field trip is very high due to increasing costs within the Yosemite program, NatureBridge, and transportation costs between San Francisco and the park. We believe nature is for everyone, so we want to make sure that our newcomer students can participate in this life changing learning opportunity. If you can, we would appreciate any amount you could donate so that we can include newcomer students in this wonderful experience where they can just be kids and have the chance to learn in one of California's and the world's most beautiful natural classrooms. Thank you for your kind consideration!