The Civitas program has always worked hard to give back to the community and to help make a change to real issues that Sacramento is faced with. On thursday, Feb 2, the Civitas freshman class held a ceremony in the library to present two checks for 5,000 dollars to WEAVE and the Francis Home Center. This event had been planned thoroughly by the students.

“U.S. Senator Gary Hart taught the class what non-profit organizations are. The class looked into a great number of non-profit organizations and chose the one to give the money to,” said Thomas Nelson, Civitas assistant.

This was a tough decision, but when it came down to the end, WEAVE and Francis House Center were the lucky two. WEAVE, Women Escaping A Violent Environment, is the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County. Their mission to build a community that provides survivors with the support they need to thrive.

“The voting process was extremely thorough, but also extremely rewarding,” said freshman Phoebe Wittlake.

The next organization awarded was the Francis House Center. Their goal is to change the lives of families and individuals struggling with homelessness and poverty. With Sacramento having a large homeless population the students saw this as an issue of great importance and decide to act on it.

Their experiences in class were helpful in making these decisions. Hart helped acquire three guest speakers to explain the philosophical importance of non-profit organizations. “All of these speakers helped broaden our perspective on the roles non-profits play in our community and learn more about the philosophical sector of our local community,” said Wittlake.

Senator Hart’s influence on the students was massive and helped guide the students in choosing organizations they believed to be the most in need of funding. “I think Civitas is a great program because they are out in the community giving back,” said Hart.

With the Civitas program earning money from fundraisers and grants from people and organizations, future classes will also be able to choose non-profits to endorse. These students have made a real change by funding these programs that will benefit the community and make every cent count. As this experiment continues the entire school will become more aware of the vital need to give back to the community and volunteer more at local non-profits or help with funding such programs.