Community Change Projects, sometimes referred to as projects or festivals, are creative approaches to a prevalent and pressing community need. Community Change Projects that continue after their founding year continue to be a part of the Bezos Scholars Program and can apply to receive continued funding from the Foundation. Each year projects continue, new student leaders embark on a journey to think critically about their community needs, iterate on the project or festival design, and implement activities or programming that serve the overall mission of their project.

This year, we celebrate 14 teams as they carry work forward and positively impact their communities. We are proud and excited to share this year’s projects and hope you will celebrate these student leaders, their teams, adult support systems and the larger communities that host these endeavors.

Colton High School Wellness Fair

Project Theme: Mental Health and Wellness

Years in Existence: 3

Target Audience and Location: Colton High School and Colton Joint Unified School District Communities in Colton, California.

Mission: Colton High School Wellness Fair eliminates the stigma attached to mental health by empowering students to advocate for their own mental health needs.

Founding History and Project Description:
Before becoming Scholars, Ernest Mateo Cisneros and educator Jorge Alverez were committed to ensuring mental health and wellness as a priority which led them to founding the Colton High School Wellness Club and Fair in 2019.

In its third year, the project is carried forward by a team of passionate students and educators who have been a part of the project since inception, bringing their expertise and talents. With a goal to increase student participation and eliminate barriers to participation, CHS Wellness Club is hosting this year’s fair in person and during the school day. The Wellness club is also building partnerships with several student-led clubs including the Associated Student Body, Link Crew and the school’s marching band. Their programming will include presentations from mental health and wellness professionals in the Colton community, performances by spoken word poets and a resource fair filled with techniques and resources aimed at stress management and improving overall wellbeing for participants.

C-House Allies

Project Theme: Mental health and belonging

Years in Existence: 3

Target Audience and Location: School community at Central High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

Mission: C-House Allies builds healthy relationships between students, administration and faculty through student-led activities focused on building a nurturing community.

Founding History and Project Description:
In 2017, founding Scholar Amal Altareb and educator Scholar Mary McIntosh initially created Speak901, a night filled with facilitated conversation between people from different backgrounds.

As the project continues to focus on mental health in its 3rd year, this year’s team, led by a diverse group of students and the founding educator Scholar, will host signature mini projects, each working to build community across Central High School. The first project, International Peer Partners (IP), is focused on engaging the school’s international students through weekly check-ins and after school meetings where students complete schoolwork together over meals. The second mini-project, Story Exchange, focuses on the power of storytelling and its ability to build empathy between school administration, teachers and students; at the end of each quarter, the community comes together to share personal stories. The third mini-project, Friendsgiving, is an event where students with disabilities play games, socialize and work on academic skills over a lunch period with their peers. The final mini project provides an opportunity for students to learn how to navigate conflict resolution, learn skills in preventing violence and contribute to a community focused on peace.

College Catalyst

Project Theme: College Access and Student Success

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: Middle school students at Spring Woods Middle School in Houston, Texas.

Mission: Activate college-going mindsets for low-income or first-generation middle
schoolers through connection, mentorship and personal and professional
development workshops.

Founding History and Project Description: Founding Scholar Bella Garcia and educator Scholar Mayra Valle started College Catalyst to accelerate the college application process and increase resources to BIPOC and/or low-income students who are often underrepresented in the higher education space. College Catalyst partnered with a local middle school and provided an eight-week program to 7th graders. Through interactive workshops focused on skill building, identity exploration and goal setting, the team impacted students’ college-going mindset.

In their second year, the team will continue to partner with a local middle school and offer an eight-week program where students are able to explore college opportunities, include their families in the college process, and connect with other middle school students. This year’s team looks forward to increasing attendance in these sessions and is hopeful to expand to additional middle schools.

Feed Your Mind

Project Theme: Literacy

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: Children, ages five to 12, of immigrant families in Miami-Dade County.

Mission: Feeding the minds of children to fuel their hunger for reading.

Founding History and Project Description:
As the pandemic exacerbated the challenges families from low-income backgrounds faced in accessing literature, founding Scholar Flavia Nunez and her educator Scholar Dr. Michele Mar focused their project on literacy. The team created Book Ovens: stainless steel bookshelves in the shape of an oven to feed children’s mind by having access to free, culturally relevant, age-appropriate books.

As the interest for increasing literacy in the Miami-Dade area grows, this year’s Feed Your Mind team is focused on sustaining the current Book Ovens while working to create, fill with books, and place an additional 3 Book Ovens in strategic locations in South Florida. The team will place new Book Ovens in communities that have large populations of recently immigrated families and locations that are easily accessible to families, including the Miami Lakes Youth Educational Center. The team has held several book drives to collect new and gently used books that will be placed in the Book Ovens and used at community read-aloud events.

Kats Together

Project Theme: Disability awareness and inclusion

Years in Existence: 4

Target Audience and Location: Kokomo High School Community in Kokomo, Indiana.

Mission: To facilitate opportunities for collaboration between students with disabilities and the greater student body so all students are valued and recognized for their unique abilities.

Founding History and Project Description:
Founding Scholars Brayden York and educator Leslie Lewis founded Kats Together in 2019 to increase disability awareness. Through regularly scheduled meals, students with and without disabilities engaged in fun and meaningful conversations.

After the team navigated the challenges of in-person gatherings during the pandemic, the team is excited to bring back monthly lunch sessions where students gather over games and food. This year, they are focused on inviting new students to participate to build new relationships amongst students. The team is also hoping to sponsor opportunities that happen outside of the classroom, including field trips, community service volunteering, and other activities that are of interest to all club members.

Let’s Connect! Rancho

Project Theme: Community Connection and Sense of Belonging

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: Rancho High School students and teachers.

Mission: To foster a sense of comfort between students and teachers by providing fun, cost-free, and community-building focused opportunities.

Founding History and Project Description:
In 2022, founding Scholar Runzhi Hu and educator Scholar Susan Potts set out to increase positive interactions amongst students and teachers at Rancho High School. Their project, Let’s Connect! Rancho, wanted to combat the challenges from remote learning by building connections through activities including pen pal programs, and a Connection Cafe for more than 160 participants.

In their second year, Let’s Connect! Rancho continues to feel the impact of the pandemic on student and teacher morale and is hoping to bring exciting ways for teachers and students to connect. To do so, the team will host a three week game show-themed event where teams of students and teachers will compete in rounds of fun and engaging trivia, collaborative tasks and interactive games. The Let’s Connect! Rancho team hopes to increase students’ sense of belonging on campus and learn more about how Rancho High School can continue to foster relationships amongst teachers and students. This year’s project team will use pre- and post-surveys to more deeply understand how students and teachers feel about extracurricular engagement, their sense of belonging in and outside of the classroom and the impact new school policies have on their overall school experience. After the three week event, the team plans to share survey results with the administration and will continue to advocate for ways to build a more inclusive and welcoming community while having engaging opportunities for teachers and students.

Multicultural Club

Project Theme: Cultural Awareness and Celebration, Sense of Belonging

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: 9-12 grade students at Inlet Grove Community High School.

Mission: To provide a safe and nurturing space where students can learn about each other’s cultures by celebrating their similarities and embracing their differences through an array of fun activities and engaging discussions.

Founding History and Project Description:
Driven by their own experiences as immigrants and ELL Students, Founding Scholar Gabriel Gerig and educator Scholar Francisco Lopez Ortiz set out to build a more inclusive community for English Language Learners, leading them to design Multicultural Club. Multicultural Club is a place where students can celebrate the diverse cultures and languages that exist within Inlet Grove Community High School by participating in weekly club meetings focused on academic and social topics.

In its second year, Multicultural Club reflected on the success of their first project year and is continuing to focus on ways to celebrate the diverse cultures of students. This year’s club leaders are focused on ways to emphasize creativity and connection within the club. Through weekly sessions, Multicultural Club hosts opportunities such as field days, Cultural Karaoke Nights, potlucks and game nights, where students can share their culture and their language with one another. With this year’s emphasis on creativity and connection, the team sets out to complete a mural highlighting the rich diversity of their school. By the end of the school year, they hope to host a field trip to a local art museum where students and club members will be exposed to Latinx and African American Art.

NorCal Science & Technology Festival

Project Theme: Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) access and inclusion

Years in Existence: 8

Target Audience and Location: Students within the Lodi Unified School District in Lodi, California.

Mission: To stimulate student, educator and community engagement in STEAMS by encouraging sustainability and celebrating the fun in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

Founding History and Project Description:
Bezos Scholar Julie Fukunaga and educator Scholar Sandi Starr were passionate about STEM within their school community. In 2015, the team founded the NorCal Science and Technology Festival with an aim to increase STEM opportunities and interest for students. Over the last eight years, the project has seen immense growth as well as transition.

This year continues to be a year of transition and excitement for the NorCal Science and Technology Festival as the event will be held in a new venue, Lodi High School, and planned by a new team of students at Lodi High School. The team, led by eight students and two educators, will continue to host panels with STEAM professionals, booths run by local professionals from the Central Valley, and interactive science experiments. The team has secured partnerships with local science museums and non-profit organizations to bring hands-on experience like rocket-building, and balloon launches. While their goal is to continue to increase students’ ability to see themselves in the field of STEAM career paths, this year’s team is focused on increasing attendance and participation for Hispanic students. To do so, they plan to design invitations in English and Spanish, partner with Hispanic heritage clubs such as MEChA, and build relationships with parent groups to further disseminate information about the event.

Noteworthy Music Club and Festival

Years in Existence: 12

Project Theme: Elementary music education

Target Audience and Location: Patrick Henry High School Community and Roanoke County Public School students in Roanoke, Virginia.

Mission: To connect students and teachers that are passionate about music and music education to raise money to sponsor music education and buy new instruments for elementary school students in our community.

Founding History and Project Description:
Founded in 2011 by Scholars Locher Grove and educator Nicole Doherty, the Noteworthy Music Festival continues to provide support and funding for music education and instruments for elementary school music programs. The festival celebrates the community’s love of music, while tackling the inequity which exists amongst the Roanoke County Public School system. Each year, the club selects one elementary school as the recipient of the festival’s ticket sales which are used to purchase instruments for their music programs.

This year, Noteworthy’s event will sponsor Fairview Elementary School, a Title 1 school with more than 500 students, many of whom are students of color living in the lowest economic region within Roanoke. The team looks forward to this year’s in-person festival comprised of six performances by local artists and anticipates over 300 attendees. Their goal is to raise $2,500 for Fairview Elementary.

Old Town Equity Committee

Project Theme: Inclusion and Sense of Belonging

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: Old Town High School students and students who hold marginalized identities.

Mission: To provide our school community with safe spaces, education and resources that increase equity and inclusion for all.

Founding History and Project Description:
Founding Scholar Avery Ell and educator Scholar Natalie Davis created the Old Town Equity Committee to increase inclusion within their small, tight-knit community. In their founding year, the equity committee sought to build more inclusive practices specific to gender identity and sexual orientation. By proposing gender neutral bathrooms and switching from gender-specific color gowns to a single color for all students, the committee was able to foster a space for dialogue and decisions that celebrate all students.

This year’s team of leaders started the school year with a comprehensive survey sent to the student body of Old Town High School. As the team continues to focus on advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community, they also found it necessary to understand additional topics the team can be effective in supporting. The survey results indicated that inclusive-language campaigns, LGBTQIA+ education, and menstrual product availability were most pertinent topics to cover. Given these results, the Old Town Equity Committee is advocating for high-quality menstrual products to be available in all restrooms on campus. By working with school administrators and the larger school district, the team hopes to have these products sponsored by the district and made available to their school. The team plans to send out a survey toward the end of the year to capture student voice and provide feedback on what areas the team will focus on during the next academic year.

POP Festival

Project Theme: Post-Secondary Exploration

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: 9-12th grade students at Brown County High School.

Mission: To equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to lead a purpose-driven life by connecting them to post-secondary educational institutions and opportunities.

Founding History and Project Description:
Founding Scholar Josephine Fields and educator Scholar Kristi Billings created The Pursuing Our Purpose (POP) Festival to provide an opportunity for 9-12 grade students to explore their purpose and academic and career possibilities. In their first year, they hosted a series of workshops focused on purpose which culminated into a day-long college and career festival.

Led by a team of students who participated in last year’s Festival, the project will take on new heights as they increase the number of partnerships and booths at this year’s festival. Working with school administration, the team received approval to host the festival in place of regularly scheduled classes and will host “Empowerment Sessions” focused on three topics: College and Career Readiness, Financial Preparation and Self-Care. The team has worked hard to secure at least 20 facilitators and 40 exhibitions that will cover topics such as SAT prep, understanding student loans and how to live independently as a young adult. The team plans to distribute surveys which will aid in planning next year’s festival as well as deepen their understanding of students’ postsecondary plans.

PULSE

Project Theme: Sense of Belonging and post-secondary exploration

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: High school students in the Cutler Bay community.

Mission: Connect young people to diverse resources and opportunities, so they can pursue their interests and become engaged in ways that positively impact their future paths.

Founding History and Project Description:
Recognizing that anxiety and apathy were challenges students were facing as a result of the pandemic, founding Scholar Ammi Hernandez and educator Scholar Dr. Carla Felix designed PULSE (Promoting Unity by Linking Students through Engagement) with the goal of connecting teenagers to community opportunities. By connecting students to community opportunities, they hoped students would be able to explore their own skill sets, build networks and increase volunteerism for participating organizations. Through their website and an in-person outdoor event the team held the first annual PULSE Fair.

In their second year, this year’s team looks forward to hosting their second annual PULSE Fair where they will provide opportunities for networking, increasing connections between students and local organizations, and shed light on volunteer opportunities. The project team is partnering with Cutler Bay Town Youth Council, a youth-led community group focused on amplifying youth voice, and Pick It Up Mission, a student-led nonprofit focused on beautifying the Culter Bay community. With strong partnerships like these, in addition to the 20 organizations they plan to have in attendance at this year’s fair, the team anticipates each of their attendees will make a meaningful connection and continue to think about their future.

Student Wellness Coalition

Project Theme: Mental Health and Wellness, sense of belonging

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: 9-12th graders at Hightower High School.

Mission: Provide resources that will assist students with creating a healthy lifestyle that includes physical, mental, and nutritional wellness, in addition to being a well-rounded leader in our community.

Founding History and Project Description:
Inspired by their own experiences navigating mental health coupled with the stigma that often exists when discussing mental health resources, founding Scholars Isabel Ohakamma and Dr. John Ramon created the Student Wellness Coalition. SWC was designed to host activities highlighting mental health education, stress-relief activities, and ways to practice self-care.

With last year’s success of gaining 90 coalition members, this year’s team jumped into action sending out surveys to understand where they should take this year’s programming. Recognizing the success they had in the project’s first year, this year’s leaders are continuing to focus on programs that offer students a place to breathe amidst the busyness and pressure of academics many students at High Tower High School Face. In November, the project leaders hosted their first large event, Mindfulness Day, where students participated in guided group therapy sessions and learned the health benefits of tea drinking. Since the first kick-off event, the team held monthly sessions focused on various topics including self-care, yoga, pet therapy and nutritional wellness. By the end of the year, the project team hopes to engage over 150 students to support students’ understanding of how mental, physical and nutritional health can improve student wellness.

South Texas Ideas Festival (STXi)

Project Theme: Education and Civic Engagement

Years in Existence: 7

Target Audience and Location: Students and their families in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in South Texas. Hosted by students from the Idea Quest College Preparatory School in Edinburg, Texas.

Mission: To create a platform by and for young adults to engage them in an actionable dialogue about culture, community and identity.

Founding History and Project Description:
Scholar Michael Mireles and educator Scholar Marcos Silva founded the South Texas Ideas Festival in 2016 to cultivate young citizens. STXi was created as a platform for young people to engage in conversation around culture, community, and personal identity to show that young people can stay in the place they’re from and be successful. Community members, leaders and speakers from the Rio Grande Valley are featured at the annual festival.

In its 7th year, STXi plans to host over 200 students and 7 community leaders at this year’s in-person youth conference. The project team is focused on ensuring the day-long experience is centered on celebrating cultural identity, showcasing community resources and highlighting the power of networking within your community. In addition to the festival, the team will continue the STXi Ambassador Program which pairs high school students with educators across the Rio Grande Valley to lead additional STXi projects and recruit student attendees to the festival. As the conference has grown, STXi is excited about furthering their mission and impact through successful partnerships they’ve secured with local organizations, including the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and Hidalgo County Precinct 2.

We are proud of all these students, the team and community members they have engaged and the projects they developed to make a positive impact in each of their communities! They are diligently working on carrying out the rest of their project activities before graduation and have been intentional in their planning to ensure projects are sustainable for years to come. To learn more about Community Change Projects, please visit our website.