Why am I fundraising for Plazas Community Bilingual Education?
Last fall, for personal reasons, I decided to register for the half marathon at the Oakland Running Festival. (Ok, if you must know…I had become quite a couch potato. I needed to commit to a goal that would get my butt off the couch and moving.)
Then I bumped into my good friend Margaret, who, it turns out, was not only participating in the same Oakland Running Festival but was fund-raising for this Plazas organization. So, I checked it out and it aligns with my beliefs.
I think that to solve the problems of our country and our world, we need to tear down the invisible walls between us. When we can see each other’s humanity, then we can develop empathy and respond with respect and compassion. While adults can learn and change and overcome our fear of the “other”, it is through the next generation that we will make significant change. By letting children learn about each other, experience each other, we can prevent the invisible walls from going up.
And Plazas Community Bilingual Education, Inc. is doing just that…through scholarships for Spanish-immersion preschool programs. “When children of all cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds learn together, their broader understanding of themselves, each other and the world will lead to great change.” ~ Plazas Community Bilingual Education, Inc.
So, please join me in supporting this organization and our future.
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What Plazas has to say:
Plazas believes access to preschool is crucial. It nurtures the social, emotional and cognitive development of children. Bilingual preschool does even more. When children learn in two languages, they show greater empathy, demonstrate longer attention spans, and are better prepared to engage with the whole of Oakland, CA.
But in Oakland, a year of preschool is more expensive than a year of tuition at UC Berkeley. This high cost excludes many children from accessing preschool. Plazas was founded to address this.
Plazas’ mission is to expand access to high-quality Spanish bilingual preschools by providing scholarships to low-income families. Won’t you join us and donate to the Plazas scholarship fund?
