On today's show we look back at three of our earlier charity interviews... KidsPack, Beanstalk and America Scores LA.
It's that time of the year so before we begin, we here at The Peace Fund would like to congratulate all of our graduates. It is no secret that a good education has the power to change a life.
Nonprofits are all around us and touch millions of lives each day. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has not been touched in some way by a nonprofit organization, whether they knew it or not. Nonprofits embody the best spirit and values of our nation. They help millions of individuals and families daily. Working in every community, nonprofits are making a difference every day.
Governments are typically slow to respond, and people who need help in the short term are often left without any assistance. Local charities and local chapters of larger charities can often step in to be of aid.
Just imagine where we would be today without charities that spearhead research into cancer, that work to relieve the grinding poverty of hope and expectation that affects so many billions around the world, that support children who are abused and neglected.
Poverty and disadvantage still exists. Not all children have a safe, happy and loving family life and the life chance gap between some children and their peers is not closing. There are so many charities out there working diligently to improve the lives of those less fortunate. We've had the opportunity to visit many of these organization and see first hand the impact they are having on the children they serve.
Let's look back at three charities we visited last year...
While in Lakeland, Florida, Adrian visited KidsPACK. KidsPACK is based on a simple principle - ACTION. There are disadvantaged children all around us that go hungry every day. We just don’t often hear about them. @polkproject
A hungry student is less likely to learn and more likely to lose hope. KidsPACK is striving to bridge the gap.
Working with local community volunteers, they are able to pack food for children to take into their homes and serve as sustenance when they are not at school. The benefits are long-lasting. Hunger has a direct link to a child’s ability to learn as well as health.
Whether a child is living out of a car, with a relative, or in a hotel – kidsPACK serves to help make sure that no child goes hungry.
More than 20 million children and youth live in communities of concentrated poverty, many of them attending schools with high dropout rates. Quality after-school programs keep students safe, inspire them to learn and help working families, and they can improve prospects for children and youth growing up in impoverished communities.
Adrian visited America Scores Los Angeles (ASLA) and talked with their Executive Director, Geoff Wilson. America SCORES LA uses soccer, poetry, and service to inspire urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. Their innovative approach improves students’ health, academic achievement, and civic engagement. America SCORES LA students outperform their peers in the classroom, are healthier, and demonstrate increased confidence. In addition 98% of Alumni participants have graduated from High School—far exceeding the District average of 60%.
ASLA provides a safe after school alternative in an area where youth centers, libraries and parks are noticeably absent. It is well documented that kids across the country continue to suffer from rising obesity rates and low literacy rates. This is an even greater problem for schools in under-resourced communities with less and less time to incorporate physical activity and creative arts into the school day. This is the disparity ASLA was formed to address. The recipe is simple. ASLA brings students together to play soccer, write, and perform community service. This helps them engage in their health, school, and community, providing students in under-resourced neighborhoods with the tools to succeed in school and life.
Beanstalk, located in London, was founded by their President, Susan Belgrave, in 1973. They were originally called Volunteer Reading Help and became Beanstalk in 2012 in time for their 40th anniversary. @Beanstalkreads
Susan saw a volunteering scheme in action in a Harlem school in New York. Impressed by the results she decided to set up a similar scheme in schools in North Kensington. Since then, Beanstalk has gone from strength-to-strength. They have grown from a handful of volunteers to a network of almost 3,100 trained reading helpers supporting approximately 11,000 children across England.
Illiteracy is a persistent national problem in the UK. Their challenge is to ensure that every child leaves school with the skills and confidence to reach their true potential and control their own lives. In 2016 over 200,000 children left primary school unable to read to the expected level. 70% of pupils permanently excluded from school have difficulties with basic literacy and 25% of young offenders have reading skills below that of the average 7 year old.
Thanks to their volunteers, Beanstalk is now a respected voice in the children's literacy landscape and is a leading member of campaigns to improve literacy across the UK and Europe.
Adrian had the opportunity to visit Beanstalk while in London and learn about what this organization is doing for children's literacy.
