LAFAYETTE – On Friday, April 25, Centaurus students, who participate in the University of Colorado’s Public Achievement program, will host “A Night in the Streets” to raise awareness about the prevalence of poverty in Boulder County and to generate support for a food bank at the school.  The event, which will be held at Festival Plaza (311 South Public Road) from 6:00-10:30 p.m., will feature music, remarks by representatives from local human service providers, and an outdoor screening of “The Pursuit of Happyness”.  

The event is free, though community members are encouraged to make cash or in-kind (nonperishable food items, gently used clothing, or toiletries) donations to support the establishment of a food and supply bank for Centaurus students in need.  Eats and Sweets, a Lafayette-based sandwich shop, which is co-hosting the event along with CU Boulder’s Public Achievement program and the Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee, will designate 15 percent of its total sales on April 25 to the food bank, which will open at Centaurus in August 2014 in partnership with the Sister Carmen Community Center.

Commenting on the event, CU Boulder junior and Public Achievement Coach Colin Wichman shared, “I continue to be impressed by the [Centaurus] students’ commitment to Public Achievement, their project, and their peers.  Not only are they hosting an event to examine poverty in the local community, but they have also committed to support their classmates, who are directly affected by poverty, through the establishment of a food bank.  They truly understand that they have the capacity to create positive change.”  

Public Achievement students are also coordinating a service project on Wednesday, April 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to support continued flood relief efforts.  Students, who do not have classes the morning of April 23, will clean up portions of the Coal Creek trail, which was compromised by the September flood and which remains closed to the public. They will be joined by a small group of CU Boulder undergraduates and staff.      

The Coal Creek cleanup and outreach event are two of 24 Public Achievement projects that Boulder County youth are implementing this spring.  Projects seek to raise awareness and/or address a range of salient and student-identified issues, including animal abuse, bullying, gun violence, global warming, human trafficking, teen depression and suicide, and teen substance abuse.      

The University of Colorado’s Public Achievement program is administered by the Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement with support from INVST Community Studies, the School of Education, and CU Boulder Outreach Committee. Launched in January 2008 as part of a statewide civic engagement initiative, Public Achievement currently involves nearly 80 CU undergraduates and 250 K-12 students at Casey Middle School in North Boulder and Centaurus High School and Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer in Lafayette.