When you support the Education Exchange Corps:
You are giving kids empowering enrichment programs. During the summer, we run a free academy in North St. Louis during which our kids get to participate in a lot of activities they normally wouldn't experience during the school year.
Our kids have made slime, put on Shakespeare plays, produced their own news shows, built bridges, and then destroyed those bridges. In the coming weeks, we will debut our weekend programming - a
leadership game that puts kids in charge of countries as they try to maneuver through the complexities of global challenges. We'll be holding our first sessions at the
Ferguson Library.
You are helping teachers run better classrooms. During the school year, we place volunteers as part-time teaching assistants in classrooms in St. Louis City. These volunteers partner with their teachers to identify and work with kids who need help. By having an extra set of hands, eyes, and ears in the classroom, teachers can more effectively address the individual needs of their students.
You are giving kids college and career guidance. We have worked with kids applying for college before, but now we're trying to reach kids more systematically to let them know what resources are out there and how they can take advantage of them. Every child deserves opportunity.
You are creating a generation of future teachers, activists, and philanthropists. Many of our volunteers are undergraduate students, and almost all of them are so moved by their time volunteering that they continue to find ways to continue giving back to their communities. By exposing young people to the challenges involved in our education system, we are shaping a more aware group of leaders.
You are helping communities in need. This August,
we were able to help work with over 200 kids from the Ferguson-Florissant School District when their schools were closed during protests. We assisted
again in November when schools were closed after the grand jury decision was announced. We also developed a
list of ways to support Ferguson and South St. Louis businesses and organizations that suffered damage. All of the schools we work with in St. Louis City struggle with the effects of poverty, and almost all are racially isolated. We need to do more to make St. Louis a fairer home for all.
You are bringing St. Louis together. We try to be as inclusive as possible. In Ferguson, we have invited protesters, politicians, police officers, parents, and community members to work together for our kids. We are working with
Qeyno Labs to bring
an inclusive Hackathon to kids in St. Louis. And we will continue to invite diverse groups of professionals to teach our children. We firmly believe that no matter our disagreements, we can all agree that we must provide a better future for our kids.
I hope you consider supporting our programming. You can
donate,
volunteer, or send us something on our
wishlist. You can share our website:
www.EdExCo.org. You can email me to discuss ways we can work together to make St. Louis better:
Elad.Gross@EdExCo.org. You can help us find groups of people to talk with so we can all share our ideas and experiences. You can look for other St. Louis or Missouri or national organizations to support, and we'd be happy to help you with that too.
But whatever you do, please try to do something. We can't afford not to.
Elad Gross
President and CEO
Education Exchange Corps
www.EdExCo.org
Elad.Gross@EdExCo.org
