Honored that I was able to attend the release of this report and hear the stories of several students who have experienced homelessness. It broke my heart to learn that nearly 2/3 of formerly homeless youth say they were uncomfortable talking with people at their school about their challenges and 68 percent reported that it was hard to succeed and do well in school. There is so much to learn about the impact homelessness can have on youth, and I was lucky to hear about how to tackle the issue first hand. #UnSeenStudents #GradNation (at United States Capitol)
Thank You Promise Fellows, for Your Service to Communities’ Youth
By John Gomperts
Among his many accomplishments, Harris was one of the driving forces behind the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future in Philadelphia in 1997, and the creation of America’s Promise. For Harris, creating the conditions under which every young American has a real chance to thrive is a key part of the unfinished work of the civil rights movement. And, of course, for Harris national service is a central means to the ends of creating those conditions for success for every young American.
Using service to accomplish this big goal means putting people in service of young people. So it isn't surprising that another of Harris’ legacies is the fact that the Corporation for National and Community Service, which Harris led from 1995 – 2001, invests more than half of its resources to programs that are specifically designed to help young people have a greater opportunity to learn and thrive.
In the wake of the Presidents’ Summit, Harris launched a special effort to bring together his belief in national service and his dedication to the goals of America’s Promise: he created the AmeriCorps Promise Fellows program. Across 16 states, AmeriCorps members were selected and deployed specifically to help deliver the Five Promises to young Americans in need.
Over the years, thousands of AmeriCorps members served as AmeriCorps Promise Fellows. And nearly two decades later, two states are still operating vibrant Promise Fellows programs – Massachusetts and Minnesota. I've visited with both of these programs, and can happily testify to both their spirit and impact. These are just the kinds of people and efforts we need on the frontlines with young people who need support to stay and succeed in school.
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows are celebrating their history with a week of high-profile activities and connections. From my current perch at America’s Promise, I want to thank and congratulate all who have served as AmeriCorps Promise Fellows and those who are currently serving. For all who believe in the power of national service to lift the sights and prospects of young Americans, your service should be celebrated. I hope you use this week to share your stories, insights and ideas for the future. We’ll be watching with great interest.
John Gomperts is the President and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance and a former director of AmeriCorps. This article originally appeared on the GradNation blog.
GradNation, a campaign of America's Promise Alliance, has released a study, sponsored by Target, focusing on young individuals and the reasons they leave high school before graduating. The documentary above spotlights a few individuals of the approximately 200+ interviews conducted by the Center for Promise at Tufts University. Read the full report here: http://www.gradnation.org/NotDropouts
We're pleased to announce that, along with our new GradNation website, we've launched a new blog. This will be our final post here.
We won't be deleting our Tumblr, so that the content we've posted and shared here will remain available, but for current news and the most recent information from America's Promise Alliance and the GradNation campaign, please visit GradNation.org/blog.
"When I was in middle school, my mother and I lived alone in a dingy apartment complex where the cockroaches leapt out from kitchen drawers in the middle of the night. I slept on a beat up mattress we had salvaged together from the dumpster and heaved up to our sweltering third floor apartment. That would be my bed for the next three years."
Eva Shang is one of our Summit Scholars for this year's #GNsummit (and an excellent writer).
Read more of Eva's story here: http://bit.ly/1rpJw0P
The first day of school, I felt like an outsider. This school was new to me: the faces, voices, and even the language were different. I moved, or rather was forced to move, from Mexico to the U.S. leaving my all of my friends and most of my family. A part of me felt excited because I was going to be reunited with my mother after a couple of years of being apart, but the other part felt angry. Why was I the one moving away from my family and friends? Why couldn’t my mom move back with me instead? As unfair as it was, I could do nothing about it.
GradNation Youth Scholarship recipient Martha Ortega didn't let language or other cultural barriers keep her from succeeding. Read her story here.
The new AmericasPromise.org site is now LIVE! Find information on how you can stay connected and help to further create the conditions for success for all young people, including the millions currently being left behind.
