Rising Young Leaders Encourages Youth to Give Back to the Community

After nearly two decades as a teacher and administrator at various schools, Eric Dillie joined the nonprofit organization Key Educational Group (KEG) as the Superintendent of Schools. KEG provides a range of support services to a cluster of Bay Area charter schools. In addition to his work with KEG, Eric Dillie is a member of the board of directors of two nonprofit organizations, Partners for Change Tri-Valley and Rising Young Leaders.

Rising Young Leaders, which was previously known as the Mony Nop Foundation, is a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging middle school students to undertake community service in the Tri-Valley area of California. The founder of the organization, Mony Nop, was born in Cambodia and grew up in the slave labor camp known as the Killing Fields of Cambodia. In 1983, he managed to escape to the United States, where he had to face many challenges before becoming a police officer in 1995. His work enabled him to interact with youth, families, and school groups, which inspired him to create the Mony Nop Foundation.

The foundation awards scholarships to students, enabling them to enroll in programs in various areas ranging from the visual and performing arts to sports and athletics or leadership development. Students can earn scholarships by completing a certain number of volunteer hours.

Under the leadership of Mony Nop, the organization believes that all children deserve an opportunity to grow and reach their potential, and they seek to provide them with the tools to do so. By mentoring and guiding youth, Rising Young Leaders seeks to work toward creating positive change in the community.