This Thursday GWPC is cooking up something special! We’re happy to be hosting the Move Mountains Slide Show. The event is designed to raise awareness and support for Escalando Fronteras, a non-profit that brings the mountains to at-risk youth in the marginalized area of Monterey, Mexico. EF is currently launching a unique youth development project that will utilize climbing as a principle tool to get youth to pursue lives outside of gangs and organized crime/drug cartels.
Event Details
Thursday, August 27th
8pm-11pm
Slide Show:
Director of Marketing Tiffany Hensley and Director of Operations Ramon Narvaez will present on their experiences introducing climbing to kids influenced by poverty, drugs and violence. The non-profit work is not without it’s unique challenges, and they’re here to tell us all about their work! We’ll be hosting the side show on the roof of the building, so don’t miss out on your chance to see beautiful Oakland from high above!
Gear donation:
You KNOW you have closet filled with slightly used climbing gear that is ready to be loved by someone else. Here is your chance! EF is accepting donation of climbing shoes, harnesses, climbing helmets, belay devices, draws, hangboards, and crashpads. Bring your gear to the gym on Thursday and get that warm fuzzy feeling that only comes with doing the right thing AND cleaning out your gear closet.
Raffle:
Thanks to then generous support of a handful of climbing companies, there will be a raffle to win shwag. To be entered into the raffle you must;
a) Donate $10
b) Donate gear
c) Tag your instagold photos with #CommitToThePact and #MoveMountains
Beer:
Crooked City Cider is providing their sweet brews to help make this a party!
RSVP HEREMonterrey, Mexico is home to a massive at-risk youth population. In the most vulnerable areas of the city there are over 1600 youth gangs (composed of boys and girls as young as 5) with over 35,000 members. Pervasive drug use, high rates of school dropout, and family disintegration leave many of these youth with low levels of formal capacities and skills. With no real education, few formal skills, and extensive drug addiction they become easy recruits for the major drug cartel/organized criminal groups. Many of these youth end up either dead or in prison. The youth of Monterrey are quickly becoming the new child soldiers of the 21st century and are currently the chief workforce of the drug trade in the region.
Escalando Fronteras is working to create a youth center that is free to all youth and equipped with climbing walls in the most vulnerable area of Monterrey that uses rock-climbing to empower and capacitate at-risk-youth. The center will offer climbing both inside and outside as well as access to tutors and psychologists in order to encourage the construction of positive values, improved self-esteem and discipline, the reintegration of youth into the education system, higher rates of school retention, and increased rates of higher education achievement. The chief purpose of the project is to give youth the tools to pursue positive and self-fulfilling lives outside of gangs and organized crime/drug cartels. In the long run they envision the center to ultimately be owned and run by the community itself so that it becomes a sustainable source of positive change over time.
Come to GWPC on Thursday to find out more!
