The California – We the People program is very grateful to those in the public and private sector who have provided us with support!  For the past few years, program funding by the national and state government has been reduced and/or in jeopardy of being reduced.  It is critical the programs’ obtain support from the private sector to continue our proven success.

Although California – We the People provides free textbooks and training for the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution instructional program in California public and private schools, the cost of competing in the California State Finals is the responsibility of the participants. The full competition fee is $125 per person attending (students, teachers and chaperones). Most of the competition fee is used to provide meals with a small amount applied to competition costs such as the event programs and awards. In addition, participants must pay approximately $60 each for their hotel rooms as well as the cost of traveling to and from Sacramento. Travel costs vary as the classes come from schools throughout California. $185 plus travel costs is a substantial sum per student, especially for low- and/or moderate-income students estimated at approximately one third of participants each year. In past years, despite their hard work and success in winning district and regional competitions, classes from Leadership Public High School in San Francisco and Yerba Buena High School in San Jose, schools which serve low-income areas, were not able to attend the California State Finals due to a lack of financial resources. And in 2007, Montclair High School from the Chino area was only able to fund the participation of 16 of its 22 students in the California State Finals.

Opportunities for sponsorship include financial support and or fundraising assistance as well as goods and services such as awards, snacks, printing, travel arrangements, hotel accommodations, etc. Again, we greatly appreciate our sponsors and thank them very often and publicly in legislative hearings, press releases, event programs, professional development trainings, presentations at conferences and on our website. If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact David Richmond, California State Coordinator at cawtp35@yahoo.com.