The Fearless Poets Feet Fleet a group of 38 students, faculty, and staff represented Whittier College in the 2015 Homeboy Industries Every Angeleno Counts 5K run on October 24 taking them across the LA River and back toward downtown LA. The race is a fundraiser for Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles organization that provides training and support to help former gang members redirect their lives. Homeboy Industries is led by Father Gregory Boyle, author of Tattoos on the Heart, Whittier College’s First Year Reading.
The race was an activity part of Whittier’s First Year Experience (FYE), a program designed to help freshmen transition to Whittier College and develop dispositions of academic and social engagement. The theme of this year’s FYE was Community, one of the College Curriculum’s Four Cs. The other Cs include Communication, Cultural Perspectives, and Connections. As part of the FYE, students and faculty read Father Greg Boyle's Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, met for two hours during orientation with former gang member and now Homeboy administrator and artist Fabian Debora, heard Father Boyle himself speak at their First Year Convocation on September 28 at Whittier’s campus, and then put it all into practice through participating in the 5K.
The Fearless Poets raised $13,240 for Homeboy Industries surpassing their fundraising goal by 132%. The event overall raised more than $300,000 in funds that will directly impact programs that provide educational, employment, and legal support services for former gang members.
