Give today to help ANV upLIFT more children as we CLIMB!

Keeping kids engaged, safe and healthy. Now and in the future!

Give today to help ANV upLIFT more children as we CLIMB! image

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Keeping kids engaged, safe and healthy. Now and in the future!

Help ANV Show Our Youth KNOW that THEY are LIMITLESS by Donating Today!

Help Acta Non Verba Grow by Donating today!

Dear Friends and Supporters,

With the passing of my powerhouse mother, Ms. Ashwana, this year, I feel like I've been in a STORM of memories. One thought that keeps coming to me over and over again is… “What would all of our lives be like without the overbearance of fear?”

My sisters and I were my mothers caregivers for the 8 months since her diagnosis, I realized that I never knew or understood the depths of her fear.

From the day I was born until the day she transitioned, she seemed impervious to fear. I don’t mean that she wasn’t nervous or anxious when situations warranted it, or that she was reckless in her bravery; what I mean is that I saw her actions in spite of her fear, and from my lens, lack of experience, and naiveté, she was FEARLESS. I aspire to be like her, especially in this way.

What I know now, as an adult, a mother, and the founder of Acta Non Verba, is that oftentimes, our fear doesn't come from within, but from without.

Society tells young female-identifying folx that they are smaller, weaker, and don’t belong in certain environments, positions of authority, and influence.

In turn, it reminds young male-identifying folx that they MUST be stronger, louder, control and subjugate those smaller than them in order to be considered a man.

It shows AND tells young Black and Brown folx everyday that a myriad of opportunities, interests, experiences, and spaces Do Not Belong to them, and that they shouldn't be there.

And when it seems that the entire WORLD is telling you this….how CAN a young person fight back? How CAN anyone be brave in the face of such suppression and repression?

When I was a child in East Oakland, the historic Mills College campus was Camelot to me. I was afraid of Mills and never set foot on campus until my mid-20s. Even when, as an adult, I was invited to a graduation there, I didn't touch anything. I felt like it was WAY too fancy for me. Like, I really was gonna sully it in some way.

Now (because I believe that life is a wheel) our cornerstone program, Camp ANV will be held at Mills College for the foreseeable future. Our amazing, award-winning program which exists to inspire young people of all walks of life to reach for and demand MORE will be held on this historic campus of higher learning. And I am in AWE of how far we have CLIMBED.

Help Our Youth know that THEY BELONG by Donating Today!

How many times do we feel like we don't belong somewhere? How many places do we tell ourselves, “This isn't for me”, or, “Black/Brown people; Women/Men don't do those things.”?

We often stifle our own greatness because we’re afraid of being who we are, where we are.


ANV is normalizing the experience of higher education for young people of color and instilling the knowledge that WE Belong EVERYWHERE.

We DO farming, archery, swimming, hiking, camping, science, and cooking.

We DO activism, advocacy, academics, AND athletics.

We DO imagination, innovation, ingenuity, brilliance, and excellence!

With your help, we'll continue to DO these things at Mills College, so DONATE TODAY!!

We continue to fight society’s pressure, underestimation of us, self-doubt, and the feeling that we're not supposed to be here.

As we approach 10 years of Camp ANV, everywhere we go, we proudly, limitlessly, relentlessly sing our ANV song: “Hey, East Oakland”!

We are a FORCE, we're here, we're taking up space, dauntlessly.

DONATE TODAY if you support a life without feeling the bonds of racial, gender, and economic oppression. We want this for all people, but since we DEEPLY understand that children are our future, we choose to focus ALL of our strength, energy, and passion on the next generation of activists, advocates, and leaders - who Belong WHEREVER they want to be. Fearlessly.

Standing in Resistance and in Love alongside you and our next 7 generations,

Kelly D. Carlisle, Founder and Executive Director

  • $155 Supports youth for one week of After School Program
  • $600 Send 1 youth to camp for one week
  • $3,600 Sends 1 youth to camp all summer at ANV!


Help ANV reach our goal of $40,000 by Dec. 31 by digging deep and making a donation today. Together, We can LIFT as We Climb.

Your belief in our mission to Make More Smiles in East Oakland and beyond means so much to us and the communities we serve