LOCAL
Nancye Wedajo of Heritage High School
31 March 2024
Youth resources such as tutoring and support in the Brentwood community are expanding with a group of students paving the way. The Community Tree Association aims to provide encouragement for youth struggling with their mental health, assistance with those struggling academically, and aid to the less fortunate through donation drives.
Founded last year by Rojan Mikael Habon, a sophomore at Heritage High School, The Community Tree Association (TCTA), made up of 7 officers and 10 general members, is a student-led organization aimed at helping students excel academically and be more involved with the community.
TCTA has built a rapport with the community as they’ve hosted numerous events for Brentwood’s youth to participate in. According to Caroline Jin, TCTA’s publicist, “TCTA has done donation drives (typically stationed in front of CVS) to collect gently used clothing to donate to homeless shelters in Brentwood and San Francisco.”
The group has managed to create a long-lasting impact as they’ve created avenues and ways for youth to stay connected. As stated by Jin, these arranged drives and study sessions have, “provided teens in Brentwood with a way to contribute and make a positive difference in their community.”
The group also brings awareness to pressing matters as they tackle issues like homelessness head-on through their clothing drives where they’ve been able to collect over 600 items at a time.
“The Community Tree Association’s goal is to also be able to help the less fortunate,” Habon said, “so we will be hosting weekly donation drives to obtain donations for homeless shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
Through these volunteer opportunities they’ve made available, TCTA aims to help Brentwood youth develop social skills.
“We also want to help those in our nonprofit build different skills in helping others, servant leading, and building bonds within our little group,” said Jin.
Simultaneously, this organization is paving the way for more expansion as it hopes to make its resources even more widely attainable. Fiore Bin, TCTA’s Head of Outreach, said they hope to “expand TCTA to developing countries that need help.”
Only a year into action, members and officers of this nonprofit organization have discovered how to build fruitful interactions with one another, learning and teaching along the way.
These students are cultivating an open and resource-rich environment for Brentwood’s youth and there is more to come. To stay in the loop, follow their Instagram @brentwood_tcta for future events.
As said by TCTA founder Habon, “Everyone should join to not only gain community service hours, but to get involved, be connected to our community, and gain an amazing experience.”
The Brentwood Youth Press 