A Youth Coalition Works for the Kids

A Youth Coalition Works for the Kids

By Ruth Ann Angus

The day before Earth Day the kids at Kid’s Club in Morro Bay gathered around the Earth Flag hanging on the wall, flashing the peace sign along with Ruth Ann Angus, Director of Yes We Can Peacebuilders, a Peace and Nonviolence Education organization affiliated with Los Osos Cares and the Estero Bay Youth Coalition.

“Peacebuilders acknowledges that our youth are looking for upbeat and positive ideas and activities to help them understand their world,” Angus said, “and we thought what better way than to bring them the concept of taking care of our planet to foster peace in the world. As a member of the Youth Coalition, we are pleased to be part of this effort.”

The Estero Bay Youth Coalition came about through the work of Los Osos Cares and was the brainchild of Director, Linda Quesenberry. “This coalition brings together people and groups who do a variety of activities with children and families,” Quesenberry explained. “We want to be sure that young people obtain the best educational opportunities possible as well as to help them with good social activities.”

Quesenberry isn’t the only person who saw a need for a gathering of groups to be dedicated to guiding youth groups. The Coalition is made up of groups like Peacebuilders that aids youth groups to form their own nonviolence social justice club, as well as Los Osos Rotary that offers children and families activities under their Community Service umbrella, Cambria Family Advocates that works with Hispanic families, Boys and Girls Club offering after school activities and leadership training, the Oral Health Coalition offering dental care for kids. Along with area schools, these are just a few of the members of the Estero Bay Youth Coalition.

On that day at Kid’s Club, thirty young people from Transitional Kindergarten to Fifth Grade created colorful drawings of flowers, vegetables, bees, butterflies, and the peace sign around the printed words “Spring for Peace.” They learned how Earth Day came about and why it is important to keep our planet healthy so all people will have the resources they need for a good life. Photographs of their drawings along with a letter, authored by Angus but in the voice of the kids, were sent to Congressman Salud Carbajal at his San Luis Obispo office asking him to please work hard to keep their environment clean and to encourage the passage of laws to fight climate change.

The Estero Bay Youth Coalition supports all groups working to assure a good future for the young people of the Central Coast of California. They welcome your interest, and you can reach them at wecareinlososos@gmail.com. Yes We Can Peacebuilders can also be reached at yeswecanpeacebuilders1@gmail.com .

Kid’s Club of Morro Bay is offered through the Morro Bay Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Morro Bay. Yes We Can Peacebuilders is a Division of The Central Coast Center for an Ecological Civilization.