This non-profit organization is the best! They give me lots of opportunities to express myself, speak up, connect with more people, and make me think about the social issues around me.
This organization has thourougly improved my communication AND research abilities. Awesome experiece and this organization is very well manitained and a fun and safe place to learn and develop.
SVUDL is one of those rare organizations that is able to make both an immediate and a long-term impact on students. The confidence that speech and debate instills and the research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills that SVUDL teaches bring lifelong benefits. With most other extra-curricular activities sidelined for the past 18 months, this is an organization whose outreach has thrived and whose students have continued to succeed.
My experience in attending events hosted by Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) is that the staff are professional, knowledgeable, and compassionate. The agendas are well-crafted and always include the youth voice. It is so inspiring to see that and to see how the community responds to their work. I am grateful that SVUDL is serving the Santa Clara County community!
The SVUDL has given to the community a Great service and intimate experience provided by truly unique professionals.
Silicon Valley Debate League has been super friendly and useful for people who are low income and love debating because they support you and help you learn. Throughout time I’ve been in this group I’ve learned and grow a lot and I didn’t have to worry about money or traveling fees. All the things I needed to worry about was becoming a better debater and that was really nice!
During my time at SVUDL, I have learned so much that I am going to cry from happiness. In fact, I like SVUDL more than calculus and chemistry and every other thing I am part of. In fact in fact, I am going to name my first child SVUDL. I am so blessed that SVUDL has been gracious and kind enough to come help my school. May God bless SVUDL.
As a former debater, I know how useful are the skills taught through debate! Lifetime skills! Great to see SVUDL reaching more students every year.
I’ve met people who work for this organization, one of them being Lucia who is an inspiring individual and who is passionate about her work. I support any program that motivates our youth to dream past the limits society places on them!
A value driven organization with a tangible impact on the children it serves. This organization teaches confidence and self assuredness in an educational and fun setting. The students who participate talk of a lasting impact and rewarding experience. Debate is just a vehicle, the journey is the countless lives that have benefitted from access to great institutions and unlocking of potential. A++++
SVUDL is a truly life changing organizations! Teaching high schoolers how to think critically and speak effectively is a game changer in terms of their school performance, college access, and life trajectory. I have personally seen students in the program blossom in terms of their confidence and abilities.
SVUDL gives students in under-served schools the tools that they need to achieve their potential as the critical thinkers, effective speakers, and inspiring leaders that they are each capable of becoming. The organization's executive director and staff have done an amazing job leading this organization towards success. They were particularly impressive in the way that they navigated the organization through the pandemic by pivoting in strategic ways to allow SVUDL to reach even more students in an impactful way and taking advantage of virtual resources and opportunities. Over the last few years, SVUDL has been effective in driving its mission of empowering low-income students of color to find their voice and achieve success.
The profound effect that participation in competitive debate has had on my life is hard to quantify. Besides the extremely valuable research, critical thinking and public speaking skills skills I developed, high school debate was where i discovered who I was and what I was capable of. I was very fortunate to grow up in a place where the schools had the resources to support the speech and debate program. SVUDL is bringing those resources to kids going to school in lower income, largely minority communities where activities such as speech and debate are not available. Not only does it provide the training, coaching and financial support to facilitate competitive speech and debate programs, SVUDL has also developed and implemented A-G curriculum that integrates debate and speech into subjects like English, History and even the sciences. I joined the SVUDL Board in late-2019 and have been amazed how the staff negotiated the challenges of COVID and, in significant ways, turned some of the difficulties into opportunities. I am extremely proud of the work SVUDL has done and am excited to be part of what I know will be a great future. I strongly endorse this organization and encourage others to learn more about its work and, hopefully, support its efforts.