“Movements are born of critical connections rather than critical mass.”
- Grace Lee Boggs
Vision.
A more just and compassionate world, a world where everyday people are actively promoting & sustaining community health.
Mission.
Building community and connection for everyday people to experience belonging, healing, and empowerment.
Theory of Change.
1. CONNECT
psychologically safe
social experiences
2. EMPOWER
self-development and community-building
3. SERVE
people power
paying it forward
Trusting the journey since 2013.
Youth Programs 2013-Present
Eayikes connects youth from neighborhoods across the socioeconomic spectrum through camps and events. We harness the power of safe space and activate our powerful community of adults who serve as mentors modeling courage, compassion, and childlike-wonder. For example, Wilderwonder is a 3-day overnight camping experience for youth ages 13-20 from diverse backgrounds and socio-economic statuses to foster childlike wonder, develop vital social-emotional life skills, and build community with their peers. This program deepens campers’ self-awareness & self-esteem, helps them identify their greatness, and recognizes how their gifts can positively transform themselves and the world around them.
We facilitate a-ha moments for young people by cultivating open minds to others and emphasizing activities centered on the sharing of life experiences and challenging of comfort zones.
Adult Programs 2017-Present
As our youth programs grew and more adults displayed change from their participation, we began to recognize the need for belonging, healing, and empowerment for adults. We now believe our vision of a more just and compassionate world will be more quickly attained if more adults are building community and connection in the world. Wondershop events such as Wonderfull Wednesdays simply grew from six adults coming together on a Wednesday after work. Organically, community bloomed all around us, with consistent feedback from adults on how comfortable they feel in our programs and desiring more opportunities to be of service. The Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for us to build upon the beloved community we'd been building and channel our collective power in solidarity with our marginalized neighbors: farmworking families and unhoused people of Southern California. In order to uplift our spirits to continue serving with joy, we remain dedicated to the arts and the healing power of Mother Nature with our annual summer festival - Campout.
We are committed to uplifting community health, creating more equity, and doing this work intergenerationally, as we begin seeing a return of the youth who we’ve mentored taking on larger roles as young adults in Eayikes.