Provide opportunity for youth exiting Juvenile Hall

We did it, thanks to you! We have raised $15,000, including the matching funds. (Some donations don't show on the dashboard because they were made offline.) Thank you all so much. Any additional funds will be used to continue to support our expansion efforts.

All donations Were Doubled for #GivingTuesday!

We raised $15,000 - part of our overall campaign to expand our services to continue our trips to Yosemite for youth exiting Juvenile Hall.

Imagine helping these young people to feel safe and find their voice, knowing that they are loved and trusted. And the Sacred Rok model is all about building relationships - we need a mentor/staff to support Ron Kauk, help with transportation, and build a connection with the kids.

Every dollar was doubled, thanks to a generous group of donors who provided matching gifts - all of our Sacred Rok Board members, also Tommy Rosen & Kia Miller, Lisa Mckethan & Brian McInerny, Dan Gieber, Michal Danek, Beth Ogilvie & Susan Straghalis, and Robert Linquanti & Eugenia Solla.

And we even have incentives –

• $1,000 – a Sacred Rok walk in Yosemite with Ron Kauk
• $1,500 – Ron will come speak to your group in Northern California
• $2,000 – a Sacred Rok weekend with Ron

Who Are We? Sacred Rok is led by Yosemite rock climber Ron Kauk. Sacred Rok transforms lives, one person at a time, by mentoring incarcerated youth from Merced County Juvenile Hall, as well as other under-served youth, to experience the ceremony of nature in the healing environment of Yosemite National Park. Ron also brings lunch for the youth in the classroom at Merced Juvenile Hall twice a month, where they reflect together on the trips, their goals, their past and future. He also leads trips to Pinnacles National Park for kids who are locked up at San Benito County Juvenile Hall.

What Is The Impact? Juvenile Hall youth report that the community service work cleaning up the old decaying asphalt from the trails in Yosemite Valley makes them feel valued, and that the experience in nature gives them confidence to be themselves: "When I go to Yosemite I feel like I can honestly be who I am. I can escape my problems in a healthy way. I take that first breath of fresh mountain air, and I inhale nothing but good positive energy, and when I exhale my problems are released out of my body. I love the beauty of Yosemite. It encourages me and gives me hope that I can make my life beautiful too."

So What's the Problem? Sacred Rok is committed to finding ways to follow up when our kids are released from Juvenile Hall back into their neighborhoods. It is all too easy to slip back into old patterns. The support from Ron and the classroom is no longer available every week once they are out of Juvenile Hall. These young people contact Ron on Facebook or by text, sharing that they would like to come to Yosemite, to visit, but they do not have the resources to make the trip.

Sacred Rok's Next Steps - We need to provide aftercare for young people who exit the juvenile justice or foster care system including transportation to Yosemite. We need staff support for Ron – a full time staff who can mentor the youth as well as drive.

The cost of doing nothing - A year in juvenile hall costs taxpayers more than $90,000.

What else can you do? Share with your friends or set up a fundraising site to help us. Check out our detailed pitch deck which is linked at https://www.sacredrok.org/campaign-2017/.

Here is a video with some of the incarcerated youth: