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When the world’s problems bring you down, help your community

Our op-ed: published in the Tufts Daily today

Sometimes the problems facing our country seem despairingly large and complicated without any feasible solutions in sight. The gap between the wealthy and the impoverished relentlessly grows as more than 15 percent of citizens are unable to find a full-time job. Small businesses face rising rents, growing health care costs and heavy competition from "big-box" and Internet retailers who offer cheaper prices to consumers while failing to pay a living wage to their workers. At the same time, "70 percent of school districts nationwide endured budget cuts last year [and] 84 percent anticipate cuts this year," according to the Center on Education Policy.

As we grapple with such problems and uncertainties of the present and future, it can sometimes feel that it is beyond our capabilities as individuals to make a difference. The powers that be are too large, and the problems are inexorable, but the human spirit is more resilient. Instead of feeling discouraged we should seize this unique opportunity to address the problems in our own community. While problems abroad may be beyond our control (for now), we have a commitment to make our own communities stronger.

A good example is the American civil rights movement. More than 50 years ago, ordinary citizens found their strength through boycotting segregated lunch counters and bus companies. African-American citizens in Selma, Ala., did not ride the bus for more than a year after Rosa Parks was arrested, until the city finally relented.

Their leaders knew the economic impact of their purchasing decisions would translate into a larger social impact, and the community rallied around their collective pursuit for justice and equality. The current injustices may not be comparable to the evils of segregation, but we can learn from the lessons of a community working together to change the world.

We, the individual authors of this piece, having grappled with such issues for years like many other members of our generation, felt overwhelmed but also curious about what daily decisions we could make to help others. We thought back to our experiences visiting New Orleans, where small business owners returned to a very uncertain and fragile future in the aftermath of Katrina. And while the insurance companies and the government did not necessarily make that return easier, they ultimately did act as pillars of strength in the community.

We also heard from friends and family who are teachers about the amount of money they spend out of pocket every year for supplies. The problem seemed obvious — why is America asking the educators of its future labor force to do more with less? Kara Smith, an Idaho public schoolteacher, captures this sentiment in a recent Fast Company article in which she said, "Public education right now is like telling doctors and nurses that they have to save lives without any materials … We're expected to produce great citizens after students go through 12 years of school, but we're not given any tools to make that happen."

A little less than a year ago, we started thinking of sustainable methods we could use to address some of these problems. We believed strongly in building a mission-driven for-profit company, a venture that would add value to society instead of decreasing it. While millions of people face years of economic distress because of the lack of regulation on Wall Street, we wanted to build something that could help Main Streets, rather than hurt them.

It is only fitting that we begin our venture in the Boston area, where the Main Street program was started. After many of the urban renewal programs of the 1960s did not achieve as much as has been promised, the state of Massachusetts looked for other ways to provide resources to the small business clusters in urban areas. Forty years later, the Main Street program is all over the country, and has succeeded in promoting and developing small business clusters. Somerville is a great example of the success of this program — consider the Union Square and East Somerville Main Street Associations.

At the same time, a quality education for all may be the best model for upward mobility. Nicholas Kristof, who writes mostly about the third world, noted as much in a recent New York Times op-ed: "When I report on poverty in Africa and poverty in America, the differences are vast. But there is a common thread: Chipping away at poverty is difficult and uncertain work, but perhaps the anti-poverty program with the very best record is education — and that's as true in New York as it is in Nigeria."

Every day, people make a choice with their feet, such as walking to class or volunteering at a school, but also with their wallet, such as supporting their favorite local business or walking a little further to the fair trade coffee shop. These choices matter, and we want to create a platform that would give people the opportunity to make their dollar go further — not only to be able to shop locally, but to also be able invest in an education project they care about with that same purchase.

Here in Somerville, there are many great locally owned businesses, as well as many important education projects to support. As you look for opportunities to assist the community around Tufts, we hope to help further your support of local businesses and investment in education.

Welcome Back to School from Soundbites

A different way to give back

When we have the opportunity, we all enjoy giving back to others. A friend asks us to donate to the cause they care about, and we say yes. We also have our own causes that we care about: the place we volunteered at, the organization that helped a sick family member, the school where we had a teacher that made a mark on our lives. Part of who we are is where we give.

This week, we are giving you another incentive to support locally-owned businesses and the causes you care. You can also win Red Sox tickets. With one purchase (until Sunday at 11:59pm), you will be entered to win 2 tickets to the Red Sox/Blue Jays game on September 14th. So go ahead, try some sushi, thai or a great breakfast and each purchase triggers a donation to the cause you care about.

Look how happy the last winner was:

Back to School with Less

For most teachers in Massachusetts, after labor day, a day of rest and reflection, the school year begins. Students will rush through the doors, and teachers, once again, will be asked to do more with less. The stakes are higher. All of politics of the summer, the debt debacle, the looming budget cuts-- all these issues are played out in the classroom. Teachers see the everyday problems of an unstable and volatile economy-- food not a constant on the dinner table, or one parent depressed because of their inability to find meaningful work. In addition, teachers are asked to spend more out of their own pocket for basic school supplies.

The Globe had a front page story today detailing this problem. In the last four years in Massachusetts (a state that is more economically stable than many across the country), the line item budget for general supplies has been slashed by close to $2 million dollars. As teachers spend more out of pocket, the kids also come to class with less: ““A lot of students these days can’t afford to bring a notebook,’’ said Laura Mulcahy, a fourth-grade teacher in Quincy. “I want everyone to have what they need.’’ Mulcahy estimated she spends several hundred dollars on supplies and furniture, including rugs and bookcases, beyond her $200 yearly classroom account.” In the past eight months, we have spent a lot of time talking to teachers, parents, PTA members, small business owner, politicians who are all members of the community. They are all worried and concerned about a country that does not value education as much as it once did. Teachers are being constantly attacked for not improving test scores, as the support system around their students crumble. As art and music programs shut down, and parents are asked to contribute more, with less results to show, people are desperate for change. The costs of bringing students on a field trip, or listening to an inspiring guest speaker, or making sure they have independent reading books during free reading time-- are not insubstantial. Those costs are very real and have to come from somewhere. We need to continue to lobby our representatives to support education, but we also hope our platform can help support the education needs in your community.

Sara draws the winner of the Red Sox/Yankees tickets for buying on Swellr.com last week... watch to see if you're the winner!

#red sox #drawing #swellr

When you buy on Swellr.com this week, you will be entered to win two tickets to the sold out Red Sox/Yankees game on August 31! Purchases must be made before midnight on Sunday, August 28. The winner will be drawn at 10am on Monday, August 29, and announced on the Swellr Facebook page.

Pitchfest 2011

By Sara Hopson, Community Engagement Associate (@sahopson)

MC provided us with this handy little visual of all the companies participating in #pitchfest2011.

Last night at the MassChallenge HQ, the finalists and other special guests were regaled with 30 one-minute startup pitches, complete with an ominous gong to close out each minute (great job on that, Erica!) and hashtagged critiques for those pitching.

Our very own Shonak Patel - aka #Shonak - gave the pitch for Swellr and did a great job. I feel like I learned a lot about what makes a pitch effective and memorable. Libboo.com's Chris Howard arguably stole the show by breaking out his guitar and a pitch-perfect ditty about their great site (I'm a little biased, being a writer and all, but still!).

But what makes a pitch the right level of natural, persuasive, and simple to snag the attention of whoever you're pitching to? That is the question.

Here's a list of a few of the pitches that hooked me and why.

Day2Night Heels went first, and I doubt anyone in the room who had ever worn heels before needed much of a pitch to believe in this product. It was helpful that they had an actual prototype to show during the pitch. Here's their Twitter @D2NHeels and their site.

ARO Medical's founder Bruce Robie was the first to fall victim to the dreaded gong, but his pitch did well at a hard task: describing an innovative medical device succinctly yet clearly enough to be persuasive. Their MC page is here.

KidsCOOK Productions pitched their interactive site, KickinKitchen.tv, which aims to empower kids to learn about nutrition and cooking in fun ways. Tweet them @KickinKitchen

Diffuse5 provides "queer life access". What does that entail? This pitch explained it perfectly, utilizing concrete examples of the site's possible uses. Check them out on Twitter @Diffuse5 or on their website.

Our friend Jason of Precision Slip gave boat owners in the audience something to clap about with his pitch on their product. With a no-frills approach, he presented the problem (fuel costs rising) and the solution that the product offers. Read more here.

Pitching advice from Zyrra CEO Derek Ohly: Make customers believe what you believe about your product by finding out how what you're offering can help them or someone they know. (Coming from a guy who designs bras, I trust he's had ample experience with this!) Here's @Zyrra_Bras

...and Casa Couture, Sitting Around, GoodTwo, and RepeatReceipt did just that, presenting clear-cut problem/solution models for why what they're doing is important. Good job, guys!

There's our very own Shonak Patel pitching Swellr at #Pitchfest2011!

Shonak opened his pitch for Swellr with a stat that everyone in the room could relate to: that 84% of education budgets will be cut this year, which leaves parents and teachers struggling to do the same with less. He closed with an action item: "Sign up and buy, buy, buy!", which you should heed by clicking here :) Tweet us as well @Swellr

Roof for Two made use of its team members by two of them acting out the product while the other pitched it. Very innovative! Find them @RoofforTwo

I loved Learning Unlimited's approach to nontraditional education opportunities for kids, and after hearing a few examples of what they do, I would definitely support them. You should too: @LUMakeaSplash

The Tap Lab is an app that allows users to gamify their world in order to better interact with the places they frequent in real life. Neat! Who doesn't love games? Co-founder Dave Bisceglia got a laugh out of the crowd - always tough - and made me, at least, want to try their product. Check it out: @TheTapLab

I have to include Ubersense Inc., not only because the pitch was good (complete with iPad prop), but because it got our CTO Andrew pretty excited. They're helping athletes and coaches better refine technique through media. Could've used that in track practice five years ago! And something tells me golfers are going to love this. Their site.

Lessons learned from an audience viewpoint: (because you gotta record those valuable takeaways!)

Be comfortable talking about your product. I feel like in the startup community this is rarely a problem - all everyone does is pitch, day-in and day-out, to everyone they encounter. Or, they should be if they aren't, right?

Don't talk too fast! This seems like a no-brainer if you've ever taken a public speaking course or... spoken in public at all, but nerves can get the best of you. If you only have a minute, speak your words as carefully as you choose them.

Make it personal - I feel like the best pitches were the ones that asked the audience members to consider a proposal or a problem in light of our own experience. That connection is what makes you remember a product and envision it in your own life.

Be specific, but not TOO specific. Show, don't tell. Examples are key. Numbers help but only ones that really matter and will stick with me after the minute's over.

Don't be a robot. I would think this goes without saying, but a few of the pitches felt like a paragraph of text rather than a real live human being. I need to feel like I can approach you and discuss what you're pitching afterward if I'm interested - monotone and a blank expression won't encourage that.

For more commentary on MassChallenge's Pitchfest, check out #pitchfest2011 or my personal Twitter @sahopson. What did you think of the pitches? What do you think makes a perfect pitch?

#entrepreneurship #masschallenge #pitch #startup #pitchfest2011 #swellr

Greenward Shop will close...

...but the great owners, Scott & Simone, are still supporting youth education through Swellr until then, which is fantastic of them!

By Sara Hopson, Community Engagement Associate (@sahopson)

Their August newsletter, which you can find online here, explains their reasons for having to close up shop and their hopes for the future. I especially like and agree with this tidbit: "If you value independent retail stores of any type, please support them with your business, as well as measures to create sales tax parity between internet and brick-and-mortar stores" - since that's what we're all about!

I went into Greenward with my fellow intern Betsy a couple weeks ago to spend my very first Swellr gift certificate. I was excited to buy a Klean Kanteen, as Scott had mentioned in our conversation that it was one of their most beloved sellers and product lines. Boston is a place where an insulated bottle comes in more than handy.

When I bought this beauty, $3 of the purchase went toward a local education project on Swellr, thanks to the owners of Greenward. What a great feeling :)

I implore you to show these hardworking, socially responsible local business owners your equally hard-earned dollars as they power through the end of Greenward Shop's tenure on Mass Ave. in Cambridge. They're located super-close to Porter Square T at 1764 Massachusetts Avenue.

If you want to know more, check out their site or my post featuring their mission and products.

This is a joke-y sort of picture, but really - they sell amazing little terrariums and Betsy loved the one with a mini pig in it. So, there ya go.

#greenward #eco-modern #green #cambridge #swellr biz

BUILD: In Business To Learn

By Betsy Hinchey, Community Engagement Associate (@BetsyHinchey)

One of Swellr’s projects right now is BUILD – a nonprofit four-year college prep program that focuses on entrepreneurship to engage high school students in learning and motivate them to go on to college. BUILD’s project on Swellr.com aims to raise money for a bus to take 10 students on their first college tour, an integral part of the college application process. I met with Ayele Shakur, the Regional Executive Director of BUILD in Boston, who told me about all of the other great things the BUILD program is doing.

BUILD was started by Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, who began a counseling program for adult entrepreneurs. One day, four students came into her program because they wanted to drop out of high school and start their own business with help from the “business lady”. Suzanne promised the students she would help them on the condition that they stayed in school and worked hard. From these four students, who started their own business and proceeded onto college, BUILD began. Build has now expanded to two locations in California, one in D.C., and Boston location. Suzanne’s former employers, the Mintz Levin law firm, is giving free office space and financial support to BUILD because their commitment to the work.

BUILD is a program that runs throughout high school with a class of about 25 students. (In total, there are 100 BUILD students in Boston and 700 more nationally). These students learn business entrepreneurship through their teacher, afterschool mentors, and corporate partners, which leads them towards greater academic success. As the BUILD motto goes, “Business is the hook, college is the goal”. In 9th grade, the BUILD students have a BUILD class every day of the week during school and after-school mentoring one day a week. In class they create business ideas and write a 30-page business plan paper to participate in the end of the year business plan competition (of which there is a cash prize). In 10th through 12th grade, the program becomes purely after-school, one day a week, and the location is no longer in school but rather in an incubator space. Through these grades, the academic rigor is exponentially increased.

Part of the program, also includes connections to the venture capital community, who invests in their businesses. Test prep is introduced in 11th grade, at which point the students actually start selling their product, while 12th grade focuses primarily on college selection, application, and aid. By 12th grade, students focus primarily on getting ready for college.

The program is rigorous with rules, high expectations, and minimum GPA requirements and each student is given enormous amounts of love and encouragement to prevent anybody from dropping out. They have begun amazing businesses ranging from clothing to food. One of the student-run businesses-Dricol--sells biodegradable, eco-friendly shoe polish that has become so popular that BUILD is putting out its first patent on it! And even better, 100% of BUILD students have gone on to college – 91% to 4-year colleges.

Ayele was hired in December to start the BUILD program in Boston. Previously the President and CEO of the Boston Learning Center, Ayele also has a background teaching in the Boston Public Schools. She knows how much some of these schools need help from programs like BUILD as they struggle to get kids graduated and off to college. Seventeen Boston schools applied for the BUILD program, and of those, 4 were chosen: Another Course to College in Brighton, Community Academy of Science and Health in Dorchester, Charlestown High School, and Burke High School in Dorchester. These schools have very low graduation rates (67%, 44%, 42%, and 34%, respectively), and need a program like BUILD to help motivate some of their “disadvantaged and disengaged” students. These students, who compose the BUILD classroom, will be the first in their family to attend college and are assessed by the school as some of the most likely to drop out. Through the BUILD program, these students will make connections between school and tools in business.

But right now, BUILD desperately needs volunteers. Individuals and corporations can volunteer every week as mentors or only two to three times a year as business coaches or venture capitalist advisors. For one-time participation, people can host a “Lunch and Learn”, a job shadow day or internship, a sales bazaar, or judge at the business plan competition or showcase.

1,300 students in Boston drop out of school every year. 80% of those dropouts are because they’re “bored”. BUILD can lower this number by increasing motivation and engagement in learning, and YOU can help BUILD. To apply to be a mentor or get more information on how you can contribute in any way, email Ryan Oliver, the Site Director, at [email protected].

Or, simply buy a gift certificate from your favorite local business at Swellr.com for a percentage donated towards the BUILD college visits!

Tutoring Plus

By Betsy Hinchey, Community Engagement Associate (@BetsyHinchey)

For the past 47 years, a small but impressive organization has been helping to “inspire academic and personal growth” among the Cambridge youth. This organization is called Tutoring Plus, and the other day I met with the Executive Director, Ellen McLaughlin, at Cambridge’s Flour Bakery.

Tutoring Plus is an nonprofit organization that offers both one-on-one tutoring and center based programs. The one-on-one tutoring of high school and middle school students is unique in its selection of tutors – all tutors are young, highly educated, and double as role models and mentors for the kids. Not only are the students helped academically with specific subject areas, but also they are tutored on “organizing myself effectively”. (Having worked at a center specializing in attention deficit disorders and soft skills, I know that organization is at least as important as the actual academic work).

Along with the one-on-one tutoring, Tutoring Plus also offers enrichment programs. Their 4 programs are Science Explorers for grades 4-6, Future Engineers for grades 7-8, MCAS Math Prep for grades 4-6, and Girls, Media, and You for grades 6-8. Ellen told me about this last program, which I though was very unique. In the Girls, Media, and You program, Tutoring Plus takes girls to a Women’s Culture class at Lesley University. The middle school girls work with the college students exploring issues of how girls are portrayed in the media. I was very impressed by this program that was not only preparing girls academically and talking with them about the often-avoided issues surrounding being a woman, but also introducing a college classroom to them and implanting the idea of going to college. This is very important because many of the students involved with Tutoring Plus are low-income and are their family’s 1st generation to go to college.

In 3 years, Tutoring Plus will be celebrating its 50th anniversary, but even after all of these years, the program has still remained small, within the same neighborhood (Area 4), and with the same goals. 5,100 hours have been donated and there have been over 200 weekly tutors just in the past year. This is no small feat. And Tutoring Plus has plans to grow in order to serve more of the children in need. In the past 5 years alone, the number of tutors has gone up from 60 to 200 and the number of students from 40 to 180

Ellen started at Tutoring Plus 5 years ago, and although she doesn’t give herself the credit for the organization’s growth, it is clear that she has had a major impact. After working with special needs children for years, Ellen left the education field and went into management of software companies. Five years ago, she left this huge industry that had millions of dollars in revenue and could fly her all over the world, to return to education where she took her current position at Tutoring Plus. At the end of our meeting, I asked her why. With a smile she told me that during her recuperation from a bad accident, she realized that she had been very fortunate in her life and now it was her time to give back. A friend told her about the position at Tutoring Plus and she applied. She describes her job now as “less money and harder work” – she comes home every night “truly exhausted”, and every night before she goes to sleep she worries about where the next dollar for the program will come from. But she has learned a lot, and with a big grin, she tells me that she is happy.

After speaking with the Director of Cambridge School Volunteers, Jennifer Fries, the Director of BUILD in Boston, Ayele Shakur, and now the Director of Tutoring Plus, Ellen McLaughlin, I’ve noticed a recurrent theme – these women are all smart, hard working women who could be doing anything they wanted, and making a lot more money, but instead they are here, in our communities, helping to educate our children so that our world can be that much better, and they are loving every minute of it. It is because of people like this, like most teachers, that I decided to work for Swellr. I want to thank them and help them get a little bit of the money, supplies, and support that they so desperately need.

You can help this amazing program by volunteering. Currently, Tutoring Plus is recruiting new tutors. The commitment is only one evening per week for either an hour for the middle school program or an hour and a half for the high school program. Check out the volunteering webpage for more info on how to apply.

The Buzz on a Swellr Biz: Greenward Shop

By Sara Hopson, Community Engagement Associate (@sahopson)

For four years, Greenward owners Scott Walker and his wife, Simone, have been helping Cambridge residents and beyond be more cognizant of the ways in which the things they buy affect our planet. “Our hope is that people who shop at Greenward don't feel that their environmental responsibility begins and ends with shopping here, and that they start to think more about what they buy elsewhere and how they can reduce their environmental impact in other, more important aspects”, Scott said.

By focusing on “eco-modern” goods, which they qualify as items that are eco-friendly and well-designed (attractive and functional, not just cheap and adequate), the shop’s inventory appeals to the aesthetic sensibilities of consumers and not only their consciences. With the resurgence of interest in ‘going green’ around late 2006, Scott and Simone thought a store offering those type of products – along with unique items by local crafters using recyclable materials – would fit well in the area.

For his part, Scott can point to a few instances in his upbringing and young life that inspired him to feel drawn to this industry. Although he’s always been interested in the environment, he remembers especially noticing the differences between growing up in Orlando, FL and summers he spent with family in Vermont, swimming in a pond and reading old paperbacks. That lifestyle stood out compared to those typical of Orlando, a city which could be said to exemplify the urban sprawl of 20th century America with its “wasteful suburban development, car culture, strip malls, chain stores, and tacky tourist junk”, as Scott described it.

Luckily, his New England-bred family taught him not to be wasteful or buy things he didn’t need and he believes this philosophy meshes well with an adherence to environmentalism. After studying at Cornell, he wanted to pursue a career in renewable energy or mass transit, but at the time (1998), the only viable options were to work for defense contractors. Instead, he moved to Cambridge to work for a software company before returning to school for Urban Planning. His last job doing that involved bike and pedestrian planning for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) – an apt job considering Scott hasn’t owned a car since the last year of college, and his shop also encourages residents of the area to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible.

Greenward actually has several initiatives in place to reward community members for greening their daily lives. Their Zipcar member discount is one of these, rewarding people who do away with unnecessary ‘car culture’ in a city like ours that is so bike, foot, and public transit-friendly. To that end, they’ve also introduced customers to Bicycle Benefits and have participated in Green Streets Walk/Ride Days. Scott explains: “I've always thought that incentives for good behavior are a good idea, and it's one reason we have tended to offer discounts for things like that.”

Scott & Simone have one corner of the shop devoted to helping you green your everyday life - with brochures, flyers, and even bins for recycling corks and compact fluorescent bulbs.

Other successful ventures have been helping people learn to compost and recycle in order to rid them of habits like buying bottled water and using disposable shopping bags. Products that ease this process for Greenward customers include water bottles from Klean Kanteen (one of which I bought with my Swellr gift certificate and absolutely love) and reusable shopping and produce bags from ChicoBag. Other popular products are kitchen and home goods from bambu and one of Scott and Simone’s favorite local companies, Preserve. They’ve also recycled hundreds of pounds of e-waste with their Technotrash bins.

Scott makes it a priority to keep open channels of communication with anyone interested in the shop and going green. Greenward has an award-winning an email newsletter, a blog featuring local green businesses, and active Facebook and Twitter pages that focus on news specific to goings-on at the store or local events. In-store events have included a worm composting workshop this spring and a presentation on a co-housing community in Belfast, ME. Also, they’ve been conducting outside events with their bicycle-powered "mobile unit”, and look for them selling a selection of food-related products at the Allston Farmers' Market on the last Friday of every month.

As we at Swellr wholeheartedly believe, it needs to be a two-way street between community members and business owners for innovative solutions and lifestyle changes to truly work. Scott says it well himself: “Cantabrigians are a pretty educated, informed, and environmentally-minded bunch, which is why we thought Greenward would be a good fit. Sometimes it's the customer who's teaching us, which is great.” Learning, and helping others to learn – that’s what it’s all about.

#swellr #business #shop local #local first #greenward #eco-modern #feature

Breakthrough Cambridge

(By @BetsyHinchey )

Last week, Nathan and I visited Breakthrough Cambridge’s summer program at the Kennedy Longfellow School in Cambridge. Formerly known as Summerbridge, Breakthrough Cambridge is a year-round, tuition-free academic program for middle school and high school students. Breakthrough aims to get their students excited to learn and secure their paths to college. Over 90% of Breakthrough students go on to 4-year colleges, even though 50% of them are the first generation in their family to do so. All Breakthrough teachers are either high school or college students. In this way, Breakthrough promotes careers in education with 72% of Breakthrough teachers going on to work in educationally related careers or internships.

The Breakthrough program begins in middle school when students go through a lengthy application process. Through this application, Breakthrough selects students that are “high motivation and high need”. They say they have never turned down kids that fit these two criteria. The accepted students then make a 2-year commitment to weekly afterschool classes and tutoring as well as the 6-week summer programs, which is the heart of Breakthrough as teachers and students are together all day. After the first 2 years (in 7th and 8th grades), students can then apply for future years at Breakthrough in high school. The high school program includes internships and a college access program.

The program selects college students and a few high school students to teach math, science, literature, social studies, and writing classes. Each year, Breakthrough receives over 300 applicants for only 40 teacher positions.

During our visit, we walked around the Kennedy Longfellow School visiting classrooms. The first thing we noticed around the school was all of the college banners and t-shirts that hung from the walls – all of which were donated by colleges and universities throughout the school year. This college presence was great for getting the kids to internalize that a 4-year college would be part of their future. One class we went into was taught by one of the two high school students who were teachers. As he taught the 7th graders positive and negative integers, I was impressed by the amount of respect that the students had for him even though he was only a few years older. Instantly I saw that Breakthrough was living out one of its mottos – “students teaching students”.

Later, we went to the daily “CM” (Community Meeting) where all of the students came together to go over announcements and participate in small skits and games that both convey information and serve to reinforce Breakthrough values. One of the attractions of CM was “Spirit Sticks”. Two teachers came out in sparkling, silly costumes to award the “Spirit Stick” to a student who showed community membership, persistence, creative problem solving, and effective communication. They were welcomes by lots of cheers and laughter, which continued throughout the meeting. At the end of CM, there was a “One Minute Challenge” where a student was chosen to talk about a surprise topic for one minute without saying “like”, “um”, or pausing. We were lucky enough to see one of the few students who made it through the whole minute flawlessly with a hilarious speech about Taco Bell.

After CM, we talked with a couple of the students at Breakthrough. Just from the few minutes we had with them, it was clear that they loved the program and were very grateful to be in it. They liked how it prepared them academically for the school year as they learned the same topics taught in school, such as algebra. But they also gushed about how much more fun it was than school, mostly because the teachers at Breakthrough had so much energy all of the time. The only thing that wasn’t fun for them was the homework, although they admitted that this pushed them – a good thing. One student said, “I like having high expectations because it pushes me to do the best I can”.

We also spoke with three Breakthrough teachers, all college students. Although they admitted it was a lot of work (between designing a curriculum, submitting lesson plans, teaching the kids, and participating in other Breakthrough activities), they spoke of how much they loved the program and wished the summers were longer. Although some of them had no plans or had been skeptical about going into education, Breakthrough showed them how fun and rewarding it is to be a teacher, and now all of them have plans to be involved in education in some way in the future.

We left the school around the same time that the 9th graders were leaving for their annual overnight camping trip – something that everyone was obviously excited about. And just like the kids, we were leaving with smiles on our faces. We were impressed by the breakthrough program that was pushing kids to overcome the achievement gap, go to college, and perhaps, find a career in education.

Give your macbook an etching. Invest in Education

Innovative New Online Tools for Parents

Check out these great resources for parents!

Company: thredUp

Site: http://thredup.com

Problem it Solves: Kids grow quickly and their clothing is expensive

Overview: Kids grow fast. By age 17 your child has outgrown 1,360 pieces of clothing. Worse yet, you’ve spent upwards of $20,000 replacing clothes that are practically new. What if you could easily trade all that outgrown clothing for sizes you actually need? thredUP is where moms swap children’s clothing, toys and books online. thredUP connects thousands of moms across America and facilitates simple trades. For the first time, parents can exchange boxes of kids’ outgrown clothing, for boxes of clothes that fit – without ever leaving the house.

Company: Speedbump

Site: http://speedbumpgps.com

Problem it Solves: Teen driver safety

Overview: an Android app that keeps your teens safe on the road. Unlike other driving safety solutions, the Speedbump application – easily downloaded onto a teen’s Android phone –provides parents with instant alerts about both driving speed and driving patterns. Their unique SpeedSmart™ technology lets users set and detect realistic speed limits on any type of road – residential, secondary and highway. Created by a teen for teens, Speedbump encourages a dialogue between teens and parents about driving safety and protects teen privacy while providing the parents with peace of mind.

Company: Casa Couture

Site: http://casacoutureinc.com

Problem it Solves: Children's ever-changing shoe size

Overview: Casa Couture has developed a patented "Growth Indicator" technology that can be used in the construction of children’s shoes to alert a parent when the child has outgrown his or her shoes. Outgrown shoes are uncomfortable, unhealthy and bad for a child's feet. This innovative technology is designed with a child's comfort and healthy foot growth in mind. These shoes will accommodate up to three whole sizes, saving parents from having to replace their kid's shoes every 2 to 3 months.

Company: Lynx

Site: http://lynxsportswear.com

Problem it Solves: Post-baby breast support

Overview:: Lynx Sportswear makes sports bras for larger-breasted women that actually work! The Lynx Sports Bra was created by a large breasted woman, Cynthia Smith, who started running after her son was born as a way to get back into shape. After more than a decade of trying every sports bra on the market without success, she took matters into her own hands and made a sports bra that eliminates bounce without causing any pain or discomfort. Cynthia is passionate about helping other women feel strong and capable, no matter what their breast size!

Company: SittingAround

Site: http://sittingaround.com

Problem it Solves: Childcare

Overview: SittingAround is childcare, made better. SittingAround revives the notion that “it takes a village” in a modern way, through babysitting coops. By trading sitting with each other, families who participate in a coop provide each other with not just care but the social support parents today so often lack (yet so desperately need). SittingAround makes it easy for families to start and run their own babysitting coops and transforms the way parents think about childcare.

Company: Swellr

Site: http://swellr.com

Problem it Solves: School funding

Overview: Swellr is an online marketplace to fund education needs by shopping local. A PTA group can raise money for their school by creating a project on Swellr. A project could include school supplies, field trip costs, guest speakers or miscellaneous costs for an end of the year party for students. Each project organizer then asks their friends and family to buy gift certificates from participating businesses on swellr.com, and a percentage of each purchase goes to the project of the consumer’s choice. The business makes the donation. It's a great way harness local spending power to boost investment in local business and education.

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