Student Voices Leaders are encouraged to deepen their advocacy by using Create CA’s tools, resources, and network to further existing projects. Student Voices Leader, Penelope Oliver, shares how arts education has been embedded in her advocacy work through the years and speaks on launching her new organization focused on bringing visual and performing arts to youth in her community, focusing heavily on underserved and houseless populations.
What brought you to Create CA, and how has your work with Student Voices shaped or influenced your organization?
I originally heard of Create California through the Ed100 Academy for Student Leaders when Caitlin Lainoff, Create CA’s Youth Engagement Manager was speaking about the Student Voices program. At the time, I had been volunteering teaching art for about 5 years and saw the impact access to an equitable arts education has on a child, and how these creative outlets helped me. I applied and met with other student leaders for the interview, and the rest is history!
I originally got the idea for All Access Arts after describing my work to the team and applied for a grant using the name All Access Arts as a project of Create CA. Caitlin sent me the grant from a local organization called Chalk It Up. About 3 months later I heard back that I received it, and with the funds (and lots of help from my parents) I was able to create a 501c3 nonprofit!
Can you tell me about the work your organization does and the program or programs you run? What differentiates you from other organizations?
All Access Arts operates on partnerships with local shelters, foster homes, community centers, disability centers, and community events. We reach out to partner organizations that serve underserved youth and see if they are interested in our programming. If they are, we work with the staff there to see the community’s needs, ages, and interests and then provide the lesson plans, volunteers, materials, and positive energy!
Over the summer, we went to a local women’s and children’s center for about 15 hours each week. With such a wide range of ages, we took a more casual approach and had activities for all ages, ranging from fine art, puzzles, music, dance, STEM, and sports. We also provided arts education at a local Latino festival where we served over 500 kids in one day. In the early months of our nonprofit, we had “arts nights” at local shelters with lots of help from community college students. This year, we are planning a weekly preschool program, a few after-school art clubs, arts on the go at festivals, and programming at Gigi’s Playhouse Sacramento, a Down syndrome achievement center.
We are one hundred percent grassroots, which means that we were just a family that saw the inequities in the Greater Sacramento/Central Valley area that took matters into our own hands! We are reliant on donations and grants, youth and Latina-led, and new to the non-profit world!
Why did you decide to start a non-profit? How do you balance student life with the work your organization is doing?
We decided to start a non-profit after realizing if we don’t mobilize and act, who will? When you see something that could use changing, you have to act and change it!
Balancing student life is easier thanks to my school having a dual enrollment program. I chose online college classes for high school and was previously homeschooled. This leaves more time to volunteer, intern, and work on advocacy projects. Most days when I’m not in school, I’m working on community organizing, internship duties, activism, or the arts!
What are your goals for the next one, three, and five years? What results does your organization hope to achieve?
Our goals are to continue to serve the community by recruiting more families to volunteer, students to get involved, and reaching more and more children each year. We hope over time we can create chapters throughout the state and nation!
Is there anything that you wish more people knew about your organization or the issues you are trying to solve?
I hope people understand that being a grassroots nonprofit, we rely on donations, volunteers, and grants. Any contribution, even if that is just a follow on social media, creates a real impact on the communities we serve!
What would make the greatest difference in helping your organization grow? How can the public support your work?
Any visibility or media attention helps us find more organizations in need of arts clubs and classes. The public can support our work by donating, telling others about our organization, reposting our content to their stories, and giving us a follow on social media (@allaccessarts_)
What advice do you have for other students who want to make a difference in their community?
My advice to students who want to drive lasting change is not to let anything hold them back! Being in these spaces is not always easy, but change asks for your action, not your age. The fight for a more equitable future needs all of us, and we all have a role in the movement. Make sure that you are in these spaces because you care and want to make a difference, as not having a passion will show. Lastly, if you are new to the activism spaces and want to find out how to get more involved in community organizing, feel free to message me on Instagram at @penelopethepowerfulpoet and I’ll see what I can do to connect you!
