© Causes 2012. Anyone can change the world.
The Pangaea Project empowers low-income youth to become globally aware leaders who are inspired to change their communities and the world.
The Pangaea Project empowers low-income youth to become globally aware leaders who are inspired to change their communities and the world.
The Pangaea Project empowers youth from low-income families to become effective "changemakers" in their community and the world.
Through an intensive yearlong program that includes a one-month international component, Pangaea Project participants build skills that are critical for productive leadership, discover issues about which they feel passionate, and learn concrete tools that are essential for successful changemaking. Students use relevant social justice issues as avenues to meet leaders and to learn about grassroots change.
The global perspective that Pangaea Project students gain abroad allows them to be even more effective leaders because they emerge with the ability to work with people from cultures and socio-economic backgrounds different than their own, the empathy and desire to make change, and creative problem-solving capabilities.
Students complete The Pangaea Project having recognized their own capacity and motivation to become the change-makers that our communities needs.
Pangaea participants range in age from 16-22 and have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of high school. The majority of participants have experienced one or more of the following barriers: homelessness or unstable housing, documented learning disabilities, experience with domestic violence, drug use, experience with the criminal justice system, or a history of gang involvement.
Both the public and alternative school students live at or below 80% of the median family income level as determined by the Bureau of Housing and Community Development with the majority living at or below 30% of median family income levels. Approximately 90% of Pangaea participants qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Despite their barriers, The Pangaea Project believes that all of our youth participants have tremendous leadership potential and a passion to change the world.
1. The founders of The Pangaea Project believe that all youth, regardless of socio-economic class, can be effective change-makers
2. Pangaea currently operates in Portland, OR and facilitates 8-month programs in Portland, Thailand and Ecuador