About Our Community

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WHO WE ARE

CUMBRE Humboldt is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to seeking and promoting educational and enriching opportunities for Latinx families and individuals throughout Humboldt County.

Life is often an uphill struggle towards each person’s own individual and unique star. Through hard work and assistance from others, this summit, “Cumbre”, can be reached. CUMBRE also defines the guiding principles that we encourage within our Latinx community:

C = Confidence

U = Unity

M = Motivation

B = Balance

R = Respect

E = Empathy

Latinx students of all ages often encounter multiple hurdles in their educational path - language barriers, adverse childhood experiences, poverty, no home computer, the lack of access to enriching activities. The combination of these various challenges ends up hindering the academic and personal success of Latinx students, families, and individuals.

Over 1,200 Spanish-speaking English Learners attend Humboldt County schools. Latinx children lose, on average, 25-30% of their school year’s learnings over the summer. The impact of the 2020 Coronavirus school closure is even more severe for disadvantaged children and their families. This can include interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare problems, and consequent economic cost to families who cannot work.

The number of Hispanic students attending Cal Poly Humboldt, formerly known as Humboldt State University, has increased dramatically over the last few years, up to 30% in the fall of 2023. Many of these Humboldt State and College of the Redwoods Latinx students are the first in their family to attend college and are also disadvantaged and struggle financially.

COMMUNITY CHALLENGES

SOLUTIONS

Provide scholarships for college tuition/books and summer youth camps
Support and promote mentoring and tutoring opportunities between Latinx college students and Latinx youth and individuals
Highlight the need for early and year-round academic attention for English Language Learners and help develop solutions for these gaps in development
Collaborate with educational institutions and other entities to develop a Science Bus that will focus on enrichment for disadvantaged children, neighborhoods, and schools
Help increase the number and accessibility of English classes for parents and other adults
Help facilitate and encourage opportunities that improve the Spanish bilingual capabilities of students and the development of professional translation services
Monitor, encourage, and support schools in their fulfillment of laws and regulations regarding English Language Learners
Collaborate with universities, agencies, and other nonprofits to help organize multigenerational field trips to local colleges, natural areas, museums, and the zoo
Expand accessibility of computers and other technology for disadvantaged individuals and families
Encourage and promote training opportunities and mentors for the development of Latinx small business entrepreneurs