On Sunday, April 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Children for Change (C4C), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth to help their communities, hosted their seventh annual Community Challenge in downtown San Anselmo. The event featured tables from C4C’s local nonprofit partners, a raffle, and a “passport” that attendees could fill out by visiting different tables and engaging in their activities. Attendance was free and open to all community members, encouraging guests to participate in promoting community wellbeing and advocacy.
Originally formed in 2014 in Marin County, C4C is a local organization that works with nearby schools by facilitating classes and clubs. Multiple Ross Valley School District campuses run C4C clubs, as well as Archie Williams.
C4C executive director Gretchen Ellis worked through multiple phases of challenges and was instrumental in planning and executing this year’s event.
“Our mission is to empower young people to be changemakers in the world through advocacy, activism, and educating others,” Ellis said. “We also really see this day as an opportunity for people to get to know children for change, to help us spread to more schools.”
The event gathered a sizable crowd, attracting adults and youth of all ages. Community vendors provided guests with food, with Creekside Pizza & Taproom providing pizzas and Kona Ice bringing a shaved ice truck.
“There’s been a pretty incredible turnout. Last year we had about 200 people, and this year we’re hoping to have even more than that,” Ellis said. “It’s also grown in our community partnerships. Last year, I think we had 12 participating partner organizations, and this year we have 16. I think people are really valuing this opportunity to get together and do good.”
Local organizations like Community Action Marin, The Marin Sanitary Service, Marin Community Clinics, and San Anselmo Climate Action Commission set up tables, offering information about their respective forms of advocacy.
As a youth-based organization, C4C has local high schoolers and high school alumni help set up and run the event. Archie Williams sophomore Alexandra Berry is a youth board member for C4C and has worked with the organization since third grade. She helped run the event by managing the “passport” station, where participants checked in after learning about the different organizations that C4C partnered with.
“The main activity of the challenge is the passports. Each kid gets a passport, and they use it to log what they’ve learned about the different nonprofit organizations. After they fill out their passport and learn about what the different Marin organizations do, they earn a donut,” Alexandra said.
About halfway through the event, C4C founder Annelise Bauer gave a speech thanking attendees for their participation and reiterating the importance of youth activism and advocacy, sharing a bit about the origins of her organization. Later, C4C ambassadors took hold of the microphone to introduce local elementary students who stood out in their community activism, recognizing sustainable gardening efforts, volunteering, and more.
“I thought it was sweet to acknowledge what the kids have been doing, and I think that the validation will help them continue that work,” said Archie Williams junior Elsa Wahlstrom. “It’s cool to see that environmentalism can transcend age, [and] can be relevant at any point in someone’s life.”
After this year’s success, C4C plans to continue running the challenge in the years to come. By continuing their effort to serve the community and expanding their platform, the organization hopes to make a broader impact on Marin.
