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Established in 1972, the California Center for Civic
Participation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan youth development organization
that enables middle and high school students to create positive
social change in their communities, cities, and state. Through our
programs and projects, California youth gain valuable leadership,
communication, and critical thinking skills that empower them to
see themselves as integral parts of their democracy, and to understand
perspectives different than their own. Fundamentally, we believe
that young people are valuable resources to support, not problems
to solve. Our organization has served well over 22,000 teens from
across the state.
Though we work with youth statewide, the California
Center maintains our office in Sacramento. This location enables
us to marshal the resources of the state capitol, including its
rich pool of political professionals. Access to experts such as
these, is essential because we annually involve about 200 volunteers
in our programs, including policymakers, teachers, lobbyists, journalists,
and others.
We believe that one of the best tools for creating
sustained social change is political change, which only occurs when
citizens take an active role in their government. For this reason,
we educate young people in both the public policy process and the
current issues, so that they can actively make a difference in state
and local government.
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