The Berkeley public schools rank second to last among 5000 districts in the nation when it comes to the achievement gap between white students and those of color.  Yes, Berkeley is a university town with high-achieving students, but so are thousands of other U.S. communities.  After checking, members of the social justice council learned that there’s a high poverty level in Berkeley (greater even than that in Richmond, CA), helping to explain the discrepancy, since poverty and educational levels usually rise or fall in synch.

Social justice means educational justice and we need social, civic and economic equality in this country, and they won’t happen without education.
We at UUCB can help.

Supporting Equity in Berkeley Schools, works with the Berkeley Schools Volunteers program (is unrelated to the Berkeley School District) and who gathers volunteers to help this growing educational crisis.
There are two types of opportunities for you to volunteer:  

• Be a Classroom Volunteer.  You can help in classrooms, in school gardens or libraries — from pre-school, K-12 classes or adult education.
  This year, there is an enormous range of opportunities, in most all school sites and subject matters. Click HERE for the list of Classroom Volunteer needs; OR
• Be a School Support Volunteers.  This volunteer effort is usually one-time, 2-3 hour projects that involve providing healthy food (donated by the Berkeley Food Pantry) to families in need.

To apply for either one, click Berkeley School Fund Volunteers and scroll to the bottom of the page for in-depth information on the two volunteering opportunities.
And then please let Helen Toy and Lonnie Moseley (socialjustice@uucb.org) know when you begin your much-needed support for students who so greatly need our help.

Below is a testimonial from UUCB Member, Natalie Campbell about her volunteer efforts as a School Support Volunteer:

“This Summer I had the privilege of volunteering at the Hopkins pre-school food distribution through the Equity in Berkeley Schools program. I really enjoyed the experience from start to finish. The Food Pantry that supplied the food was extremely organized, and helped all of the volunteers get familiar with the situation, and told us exactly what to do. The food that was being handed out was all so healthy and looked delicious.

But the best part of the day was getting to meet the families that stopped by and picked up food. It was such a joy to see how excited some of the kids were, to help their parents select the fresh fruits and vegetables. The families were all very friendly, it felt great to be able to help out, even in that small way. When the distribution time was over, the food pantry folks once again directed us in exactly what was to be done, and we were cleaned up and out of there right when they said we would be.

All in all, it was an extremely well planned out and executed volunteer experience. The chance to get to interact with the local families was icing on the cake!” — Natalie Campbell