Our Story

Teacher Amy Donofrio and her students started the EVAC Movement in Jacksonville, Florida upon realizing shared experiences with violence, racism and the justice system. Out of 15 youth:

• 6 had been arrested
• 12 had been stopped/searched by police 3+ times
• 14 had immediate family incarcerated long-term
• 14 had a close loved one murdered

By sharing these experiences with each other, they found relief…and a desire to create change. They began by inviting police officers and officials to class for roundtables and in just a over ONE year they achieved:

• going to the White House
• meeting President Obama
• making the front page of The New York Times
• winning a national contest sponsored by Harvard

ABOUT OUR BRAND

The concept of "I am Not a Gang Member" began as a result of EVAC Movement members' daily experiences of being profiled as Black young men. These hoodies are their message to the world: to SEE THEM as they are.

ABOUT EVAC MOVEMENT

EVAC Movement operates without any formal funding or paid staff. We began our efforts simply as members of a regularly scheduled class at a public high school. All staff is 100% volunteer based and all donations go directly back into efforts to support youth.

To learn more about our story, check out our TEDx Talk: www.tinyurl.com/EvacTedTalk