RARE Shares Program Info and Pizza with RHS Students

It’s probably not a surprise that pizza is a winner with high school students at lunchtime! 

RHS & RARE Pizza Lunch

On November 8th the RHS Black Student Union, the Asian American and Pacific Islander Club, the Latin Student Union, and K-Pop all came together at a Pizza Lunch sponsored by RARE and organized by RHS counselor Courtney Judkins. The clubs were given a chance to share what each was planning for the November 21st all-school Unity In the Community Day.

At this annual Pizza Lunch students also learned about various opportunities available to them such as scholarships, grants, mentorships and programs that foster belonging. Joe Hunter, Chair of RARE, which stands for Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity, facilitated the group conversation that included several RARE Board Members. RARE is grateful for the participation by the student clubs with notable RHS staff members present, as well.

• RARE’s Connections program was introduced by Amber Inwood from the Urban League with the question, “What’s the difference between inclusion and belonging?” RARE initiated and continues to sponsor this program which gives participating students at both Roosevelt and Garfield opportunities to explore the answers to this question while engaged in community-building, leadership and service activities.  Questions?  Contact [email protected]
• Allynn Ruth from the RARE Scholarship and Awards Committee explained how seniors can apply for the two $5,000 James A Davis, Jr. Scholarships which is a foundational program of RARE.  She pointed out the favorable odds of winning this scholarship because it is only open to Roosevelt students of color.

For more information on these RARE programs – as well as others, go to rhs4racialequity.org and hover over the Programs menu to select the Connections and the James A Davis, Jr Scholarship pages.

The RHS PTSA Racial Equity Committee Chair Kim Rakow Bernier provided information about the Student Grants Program which gives money to student groups, clubs, teams, and music and arts groups for activities that are focused on supporting students of color at RHS.  RARE donates money to add to the grant fund which can be used for the groups to buy materials, refreshments, pay for speakers, or to sponsor their own event. Questions? Contact [email protected] or [email protected].

John Nelson, Co-Chair of the Club Alpha Mentoring Program, outlined a program focused on providing mentors to young males of color in middle school and high school. Students at Roosevelt and Nathan Hale are welcome to join this free mentoring session that meets the second Saturday of the month from 10 am – 2 pm at the Brooklyn Trails Building located on the UW campus at 3903 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle 98105.  It is a great opportunity for learning about how to succeed in school and how to achieve educational and career goals.  Questions? Contact  [email protected]

RHS Staff & RARE Representatives

RARE believes these Pizza Lunches contribute to building community at Roosevelt and plans on having another one in the spring.  We hope that the RHS students and staff were re-energized by their peers and these supporting organizations…..as well as the pizza!