The Amy Biehl Foundation Human Rights Program for High School Students (ABF Program) kicked-off its first week at the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier on Wednesday, June 10 with an informal question and answer night with Linda Biehl, co-founder of the Amy Biehl Foundation. Hosted at Whittier College's Hanover House, home of the Center for Engagement with Communities, six students engaged in a conversation about Amy’s legacy in today’s world. Linda made connections between post-Apartheid South African and current problems facing the United States. She also encouraged students to find an issue they were passionate about and fight to solve it. She emphasized Amy was proof that young people can make a difference in the world.
The ABF Program at the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier runs from June 8 to August 6. A second ABF Program takes place at Pioneer High School in partnership with LEARN, a non-profit organization. The Pioneer program is in its pilot phase and runs for six weeks. Both programs are abridged versions of a yearlong curriculum taught as a co-curricular activity for students from the Whittier Union High School District. The program is designed to expose high school students to college level research and writing skills using human rights as its focal point with a strong mentoring component. Students learn about human rights issues around the world, culminating in a research paper discussing an issue of their choice. The ABF curriculum is also taught in Millikan High School in Long Beach, CA as a senior capstone project.
The ABF Program began in 2013 after Linda Biehl's service as the Center for Engagement with Communities' Scholar in Residence. It is one of three mentor programs run by the Center, where Whittier College students work directly with the high school students on research, writing, and presentation skills. The ABF Program is generously supported by the BCM Foundation and the Amy Biehl Foundation. To learn more about the ABF program, please contact the Center for Engagement with Communities at 562.907.5073. For more information on the Amy Biehl Foundation please visit their Facebook page.
