Generation of Change, an organization focused on social and environmental issues started by Eitan Sneider ’17, has recently expanded to include two schools in New Jersey.
The organization is also working on coordinating with Masai secondary schools in Kenya to further expand the program.
Due to time constraints, Generation of Change is only able to pick one of the three potential Kenyan schools for future projects.
Sneider started the organization in November of last year after he pitched the club’s concept to some of his friends, which was followed by weekly meetings. The goal of the club is to break barriers between schools around the world with the potential of uniting students through the discussion of environmental and social issues.
Sneider said by spreading awareness throughout the 11 schools in Los Angeles and two schools in New Jersey, the organization hopes to instill in students the values of giving back. Generation of Change also hopes to get students to connect with their communities at a young age.
Some schools that are involved with the organization are the Archer School for Girls, Beverly Hills High School, Palisades Charter High School and Notre Dame High School.
“I think this is a really positive movement, and it will unite the communities of all the involved schools,” Jadene Meyer ’18 said.
The organization’s headquarters are located at Harvard-Westlake, but for each school there are two student representatives.
With their fellow representatives, Sneider and Alex Deronde ’17 meet every Sunday to talk about the latest issues that will resonate with the club’s members and discuss tactics that can be used to raise awareness on these topics.
“I think it’s cool that students are leading a club like this rather than faculty members,” Ryan Bae ’17 said.
Generation of Change representatives also organize different events to fundraise for various causes and promote activism among participating students.
“So far, we’ve held a brief book drive and headed over to an underprivileged library in Downtown for a remodeling project,” Sneider said. “We organize smaller events such as drives, and we are currently working on a larger event, which, of course, is more difficult to put together.”
Members of the club also went to the Santa Monica Beach on May 14 to clean up trash and help eliminate pollution in the ocean.
Sneider said that the expansion with Indian Hills High School and Ridgewood High School in New Jersey means that Generation of Change is that much closer to achieving what the organization wants to do and is following through with the meaning of its name: actually making change in the world.
“The more you expand, the more you really are uniting everybody as a generation instead of just as a community within a school or within a city,” Sneider said.
