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Hi! My name is María Elena Barragan. I’m currently studying at Chabot College seeking to transfer to a four-year school, and my major is Aerospace Engineering. Besides that, I’m working full-time as a security guard at Pinterest and doing CARP part-time. I love studying about space and the universe, singing, going to the movies or the beach, and blogging online. I have three beautiful sisters who are my best friends :)
The University of California (UC), Berkeley chapter of CARP Bay Area hosted their second campus impact event for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula focused on “Hope for Resolving Ideological Conflict” on May 5th, 2022 in Berkeley, California. In total, 33 people attended, including those joining virtually.
Reaching the halfway point amidst a jam-packed spring semester, CARP Bay Area and Bay Area Family Church Young Adult Ministry (BAFC YAM) core leaders recognized a strong need within the community for spiritual revival and reconnection to a thriving relationship with God. Thus, the “Truly Alive” retreat was born!
On February 26th, 2022, CARP Bay Area, in collaboration with Service for Peace and High Street Coalition, carved out time on their Saturday morning to volunteer for a off-ramp garden beautification project in Oakland, California.
CARP Bay Area and YSP-SFP (Youth and Students for Peace - Service for Peace) gathered on the evening of November 22, 2021 to prepare boxes of fresh produce, canned goods, turkeys, chickens, and Thanksgiving ingredients to distribute to families from the Oakland Community.
Culminating the spring semester and school year, CARP Bay Area, a hub of CARP chapters on Chabot College, California State University East Bay, and University of California Berkeley campuses, in partnership with Generation Peace Academy (GPA), held their first-ever 7-Day Unification Principle (UP) Retreat with the theme of “Find My Purpose, Change the World” on June 1st to 7th, in the pristine mountain town of Twain Harte, California. T
On May 29th, 2021, CARP Bay Area, the hub consisting of chapters from Chabot College, California State University East Bay, and University of California Berkeley, teamed up with Service for Peace (YSP) and Generation Peace Academy (GPA) for a service project in Oakland Chinatown.
CARP Bay Area concluded a successful MLK 40 Days of Service from January 18 to February 27, 2021.
During the 40 Days of Service, the mural team and volunteers from various organizations would meet once a week to help paint the welcome section of the mural stating: “Welcome to Sobrante Park.” Each service day, a group of 15 to 20 volunteers would show up early in the morning ready to contribute to beautifying the wall. Many times while painting the wall, passersby would stop and express their utmost gratitude for our service and also want to learn how they can begin to plug in and contribute to the project. It was an incredible feeling seeing the face of true joy and gratitude from the community.
For the past two to three months, a small team has been meeting to create a design to paint on the wall along Sobrante park on Edes & 105th Ave. For Martin Luther King Jr Day this year, it was wonderful to see people come out eager to serve whether that was to help with the mural or another local project in the Sobrante Park Neighborhood and all over Oakland. Volunteers from CARP, Higher Ground, and the Bay Area Family Church gathered together to begin the mural project by first being reminded of Dr. King’s spirit of serving and the hopes and goals for the mural we are painting.
On September 25, CARP Bay Area hosted an online peace rally with over 50 participants who gathered to hear two guest panelists speak on the theme “Peace Starts With Me: Empowering Individuals.” The two speakers—Mrs. Stephanie Mann and Mrs. Debby Gullery—shared their experience in their respective fields making strides towards real peace. They also took time to answer questions, providing us with practical tips and guidance on how we can be empowering individuals that practice, embody, and live the mindset of ‘peace starts with me.’
