Roots & Shoots Teaches Kitayama Kids to Respect Animals, Earth and Fellow Students

As Cherilyn José sat in the audience, listening to the speaker describe her humanitarian organization, the seeds of thought from a foreign land were planted in Union City.

The speaker was none other than Dr. Jane Goodall — environmentalist, humanitarian, and the modern era’s preeminent primatologist — expounding upon her benevolent Roots & Shoots program, which educates children worldwide. 

Goodall’s speech inspired José to return to her son’s school, , and extend the reach of the global organization to Union City.

Three kindergarten teachers — Charlotte Evans, Kelly McEntee and Katherine Teruya-Acard — joined with José and, in October 2010, the local Roots & Shoots chapter was born.

The international grassroots campaign itself was founded in 1991 by 16 Tanzanian students and the good doctor herself, according to their website. To date, the Roots & Shoots movement is now hundreds of thousands of young people strong in over 120 countries. The desire to create a better world though community based projects has generated new ways to solve local problems.

These projects focus on making positive change happen — for animals, for the environment, for humanity. 

The Kitayama Elementary School chapter of Roots & Shoots was recently recognized for their local efforts and named National Group of the Month for June 2011.

Past Roots projects for the 42 Kitayama kids include picking up litter around their school and raising funds for charitable causes. They collected $1,054 for the North Japan Earthquake Relief Fund by way of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, along with a “Pennies for Patients” fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raised $1,719. 

“It’s eye-opening to watch them — to see them understand their personal effect on the environment,” José said. “Some are disconnected from nature as a result of video games and television." 

Social networking sites and the website www.rootsandshoots.org allow small local projects to add up to the greater good.

Caring parents and socially conscience children are an asset to every community. To begin a chapter in your school visit www.rootsandshoots.org for more information.