Community outreach

(Formerly Conejo Conexiones)

For the last two and a half years, our branch has sponsored a program for under-served Latino and Latina students in the Conejo Valley high schools, starting in Thousand Oaks High School and then bringing in teens from Westlake and Newbury Park High Schools the second year. But last spring, we decided to modify the program to focus more on leadership and move back to a single school model in Thousand Oaks High. The new program was invitational through teacher recommendations and an application form, even for those who had been in the former program. Officers were elected at the end of the last school year. They have already had two meetings during the summer to plan for activities they will run this year. Some of them will also be going to a CLUE VC conference in early October to increase their speech-giving, storytelling, leadership, and presentational skills and meet students from other similar high school groups in Ventura County. If you are interested in finding out more about this important branch program, please contact Sally Hibbitts, Sandra Martinez-Galvan, or Betty Stapleford.