CBE supports youth from Wilmington and the small municipalities of Southeast LA. CBE provides youth and community leadership for Stand Against Neighborhood Drilling (STAND LA) campaign work in Wilmington.
The youth represent 8 high schools, where 2,500 youth are reached each year through school-based outreach during Campus Club Week. Each high school club sustains at least 25, and up to 50 members year-round. Nearly 100% of CBE’s youth members are people of color; approximately 70% are from immigrant families.
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"Our identities are interconnected. We cannot separate our race from our gender from how we're being impacted. We have to address it in that way."
Darryl Molina Sarmiento - Executive Director, Communities for a Better Environment
“CBE has taught me to find beauty in every living thing, whether it’s the environment or the people that surround me. CBE has taught and informed me about things that happen in my community that I didn’t previously know about. Most importantly, Youth EJ has taught me acceptance. It doesn’t matter which way you define yourself. The people of CBE are very nice and loving. They treat you like family.”
Mariana , Southeast High School
“There is a lot of industry near people causing many health issues but luckily with the help of CBE, we’re a family that can be there to address these issues.”
Michelle, Southeast High School
"With CBE and Youth EJ I have been given the encouragement and knowledge to grow into the youth leader I am today. Experiences like facilitating Summer Training, planning Mi Tierra Conference, and participating in the people’s Climate March have been essential to my growth.”
Lena, Huntington Park, HS
“Youth EJ has shown me to empower myself so I can help my community help achieve great, healthy lives”
Dixe, Southeast High School
“My favorite memory with CBE is going to Mono Lake because it was such a life-changing experience—from having the opportunity to breathe non-contaminated air and see the stars so vividly, to taking 3-minute showers, all sums up why it is important to preserve places like Mono Lake. Mono Lake, it’s worth saving.”
Esmeralda, Southeast High School
“Summer training helped me understand an obstacle communities of color like mine face every day: environmental racism. I have learned to become a leader and fight against these injustices.”
Janet, Southeast High School
“Through CBE I have learned about the reality of this world and my neighborhood. I see that there are problems with my neighborhood and why it’s important to organize around environmental justice issues.”
Gerardo, Southeast High School
“I’m glad I have been able to be a part of CBE for the last two years because I have learned a lot, met new people, and built relationships. I look forward to the future with CBE.”
Andrew, Huntington Park High School
“CBE is like that best friend that watches out for you and gets proof that your mans is playing you. Without them, we’d be in a relationship with toxic corporations.”
Priscilla, Opportunities for Learning
“My favorite part of CBE is the type of person I’ve become and how much I’ve grown in my awareness and as an individual. My love for Youth EJ grows every second that passes by and my gratitude towards Youth EJ is immense!”
Brittany, Southeast High School
"CBE has opened doors for me that have allowed me to expand my knowledge and awareness of the environmental injustices that occur in my community and the communities around me. Not only that, but it has provided me with a second home and most importantly, a family I can count on forever.”
Kimberly, Southeast High School