1:1 Match Today, Giving Tuesday; For every donation received there’ll be a 1:1 Match up to $500012/1/2020
Give to Cultivate Upward Mobility & Stories of Achievement Education in the US, unlike other developed countries, is fraught with under-resourced schools, and systemic injustice, built-in roadblocks for youth from families with limited financial resources. All Out for Change®, via organizations and students we support with College Access Funds and Supplemental Scholarship Funds, helps break through socio-economic roadblocks along the journey to higher education and upward mobility. "I just want to make life better for myself while helping my mother and the rest of my family," remarks Delonte in 2017 during his senior year, homeless throughout high school.Now, as a junior in college and a scholarship recipient, he’s pursuing his dream. Paul, the Director of the college prep program Delonte participated in, drives him and others to college out-of-state. It “takes a village” to facilitate Delonte’s success and achievement, and to cultivate his gifts. What a difference we can all make, one student at a time! Contributions, and donated Macs and gift cards allow us to support invaluable programs like Paul’s, and to help ambitious students, like Delonte, pursue their dreams, change their lives and the lives of those around them. Following Kevin's Achievement, Thanks to an iMac and "the Village" In April we made an enormous difference in Kevin's life with a IMac. Kevin is among the fortunate few who through us and others, pulling for him, is making it now through the school shutdown: continuing his classes online and his college prep workshops, and searching for colleges and scholarships. He's excelling now as a senior and considering tech related studies at University of Maryland, George Mason University, and Morgan State as a safety. Let’s hope he gets the full scholarship offer he needs! Stay tuned! His good fortune includes also a mentor who is a program alum, who 10 years ago followed a vocational track, now successful in the IT field, and purchased a home for his family! That’s the upward mobility we’re talking about that “takes a village” to bring their ambition and talent to fruition. It's heartbreaking to imagine what it's like for less-fortunate students in our country. Kevin's life is a vastly different life from his wealthier peers who not only have access to their classes online, but also have parents receiving pitches daily for online acting classes, music lessons, tutoring, on-line read-alouds, science & technology websites. All Out for Change® provides hope and help to low-income students like Kevin, Taronne, Da-Quon, Janiya and American Indian college scholars faced with potentially tragic consequences due to their limited financial resources and our educational system's failure. Give to Cultivate Upward Mobility & More Stories of Achievement Donations will fund College Access programming and provide Supplemental Scholarship Awards to 12th graders to cover the cost of essentials such as: tuition gaps, books, SAT prep courses, college counselors, transportation to school or to visit colleges, college application fees, AP exam fees, laptops, dorm supplies, school supplies. Spread the Word via Instagram & Facebook Please help cultivate awareness of our students' conundrums and the importance of College Access Funds. Thank You to All Who Made Our 2020 Impact Possible!
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder] AllOutForChange® What Spring-Fall College Access Donations Have DoneExpect to hear of the achievements of 3 student scholars through their final high school year at Washington DC’s McKinley Tech Educational Campus, and then into college. We’re confident that Maurice, Daivon, and Dimya will not be academically harmed by the pandemic-forced virtual classes, they'll will do well and find scholarships at colleges where they’ll pursue engineering degrees as first generation college students. Why will they get through this unscathed? All 3 are fortunate to have mentors, and dedicated tutors who “sit-in” on their classes and then have follow-up virtual tutoring sessions. Many less fortunate students’ grades and higher education goals suffer, as they don’t have the support of an invaluable non-profit with tutors and college prep workshops. Donations helped fund critical programming and provided Supplemental Scholarship Awards to 12th graders to cover the cost of essentials such as: tuition gaps, books, SAT prep courses, college counselors, transportation to school or to visit colleges, college application fees, AP exam fees, laptops, dorm supplies, school supplies. Additionally, donated gift cards and almost 50 refurbished macs have gotten into students' hands. The macs are essential equipment that work in tandem with tutors and college prep programming to facilitate high school achievement, college and scholarship research and applications, and good outcomes like these: Janiya, a recent MacBook recipient and a Freshman at McKinley Tech is planning on studying Information Technology, Accounting & Finance in college. Another MacBook recipient, Desmond, is 1 of 10 DC public school students awarded a full tuition scholarship to American University. We also directed donations in the following ways: To support American Indian scholarship students in Spring 2020 with pandemic related Emergency Relief Funds; a student, Thomas (Muscogee Nation) expressing gratitude, remarked, “…thank you for the support and for believing in me and the rest of my people because we need change, and without education there will be no change.” ; Top-notch college prep programming for DC high school students who live in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, many with so much potential. I reflect on Anthony Anderson, pursuing a degree in music toward a profession in opera on full scholarship at Oberlin Conservatory. Had he not been a participant in an invaluable youth development program we supported, and immersed in a strong curriculum at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC, his gift and potential would not have flourished; To support American Indian scholarship students with Stay In School funds to help Native students stay in school and earn college degrees. American Indian students are among the most underserved when it comes to education. Without computers and internet access when forced to leave campus, their classes, housing, meals, and jobs, the pandemic related campus closures put students in even more precarious situations: job losses, housing and food insecurity, and college degrees at risk; A Supplemental Scholarship Award of an iPad to Anthony Anderson, a Junior at Oberlin Conservatory. Our mac wizard remarked, “an iPad for Anthony is like giving a musician an instrument!" Listen to his solo, “Deep River. Bottom line … these students with limited to no financial resources receive the support and help from others like us and you, their “village”, that their wealthier peers' families cover with ease. More to Do for 2021Donate now toward College Access & Supplemental Scholarship Funds that continue to support student programming for Juniors & Seniors in pursuit of higher education and upward mobility. We’ll also fulfill essential needs as they arise. For example, London, a past award recipient at Emory University, once again faces a scholarship/work-study/Pell Grant/student loan tuition gap that could impact his enrollment for spring semester if the additional $5,600 doesn’t materialize from small scholarships he’s applied for. Once he reports back in by early January what he was rewarded, any balance remaining will be covered and sent to Emory.Spread the Word via Instagram & Facebook Please help cultivate awareness of our students' conundrums and the importance of College Access Funds. Thank You to All Who Made Our 2020 Impact Possible!
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder AllOutForChange® "For cyclist, trek with his new pal is the cat's meow" KidsPost, The Washington Post, November 17, 2020 Enjoy and hang onto the smile from this fun thought provoking very short story. For us, it’s fun, and also illustrates allegorically what a difference it makes in one and an other’s life when one seizes the opportunity to give a hand ... the mutual gift it cultivates. For example, through All Out for Change®, our supporters, Beth, Mitch and I, all experience the gift of knowing what a difference donations and refurbished computers will make in ambitious students’ lives … hope, high school diplomas, higher education scholarships and degrees, fulfilling careers and upward mobility. Would you like to start a supplemental scholarship award in your or someone else's name to support an ambitious student scholar in need? Why Supplemental Scholarship Awards? Education in the US, unlike other developed countries, is fraught with systemic injustice, built-in roadblocks for youth from families with limited financial resources. All Out for Change®, via organizations and students we support with College Access Funds and Supplemental Scholarship Funds, helps break through the roadblocks along the journey to achievement and upward mobility. Spread the Word via Instagram & Facebook
Please help cultivate awareness of All Out for Change® and supplemental scholarship funds. In late summer 2017 I learned of a gifted student, full of talent and potential, who faced financial conundrums that threatened his aspirations to be an opera singer. I knew immediately upon meeting Anthony that we had stumbled upon our first grant recipient. WHY? See and hear for yourself- listen to his solo, “Deep River. And while you’re at it, spend a few more minutes listening to the eye-opening Today Show segment to learn more about Anthony and the challenges he and his peers with dreams and potential face in the pursuit of upward mobility and professional goals. This fall I reached out to Anthony to see what he’s been up to and if he needed help with anything. An iPad was on his wish list but not within his tight budget. Our mac wizard remarked, “an iPad for Anthony is like giving a musician an instrument!" Thanks to a few donors we provided him with another grant in October for an iPad. We’re looking forward to Anthony's updates, additional solos, and the zoom opera he’s working on this semester that will explore homelessness through the pandemic. Stay Tuned! And while you're on the inspiring Stories page, give a shoutout for our student scholar, Anthony, via the Like/Share and Follow icons. London, an Aspiring Orthopedic Surgeon's $5,616 ConundrumLondon's tuition gap of $5,616 if not filled will prevent his enrollment spring semester. We helped London out of a pickle in August 2019 when he couldn't have registered for freshman year at Emory University without our grant to cover a scholarship tuition gap. He faces another shortfall for spring semester of $5,616, the balance due after the university's scholarship, Pell grant, student loans, and work-study aid. Every semester he submits numerous applications with essays seeking small obscure scholarship awards to cover the shortfall. London commented, "It creates a whole level of stress because you don't know who's going to help and when you'll hear from them. You may hear back eventually from one or two." We agreed to assist with whatever gap remains at year end; so some portion of College Access Fund donations may be directed towards his need. To donate, click on the button below. “We do not have to save the entire world on our own, but we can each repair some small corner of it,” writes former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in his book, A Reason to Believe, Lessons from an Improbable Life. YOUR DONATION IN ITS ENTIRETY IS INVESTED IN OUR STUDENT SCHOLARS Gratitude From All of Us!We, our students and their college counselors, program directors and tutors are grateful for all who have pitched in to support aspiring student scholars. Your help is essential! Unfortunately our dysfunctional educational system necessitates we step up to the plate for our students from working poor families to facilitate the pursuit of their dreams and upward mobility. There are too many youth in our country with potential that may never come to fruition. Our educational system not only does a grave disservice to many students, but it also fails to provide access to much needed technology. Thanks to Mac-alchemist Mitch, of MacsOnDemand, we can tackle the digital divide. Thus far, we've provided 46 refurbished mac laptops and desktops to students in need. This essential and invaluable tool allows 46 college-bound and college students to work virtually with tutors and college counselors, and stay on track for their degrees while classes have switched online. All Out for Change® is committed to standing behind all of them, and trust they will have great success on their journey. Would you like to start a supplemental scholarship award in your or someone else's name to support an ambitious student scholar in need? Please call or email to explore possibilities. Spread the Word via Instagram & Facebook Please help cultivate awareness of All Out for Change® and supplemental scholarship funds. Stay well and help make independence and achievement happen! MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder AllOutForChange® “Thirty million American students eat school meals. Of them, 22 million qualify for free and reduced-price meals.” |
Last week we provided refurbished MacBooks to 2 DC college students,Taronne and Da-Quon, who left their shutdown campuses with computers on their last legs. Imagine being Da-Quon, an honor roll candidate, 2nd year of college and first in his family to attend, with a computer that gives out ... up that creek without a paddle, navigating way rougher waters these days. Fortunately, Da-Quon's "paddle", a MacBook, puts him back on course.
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Imagine being an American Indian college scholar, your campus served as access to technology, housing and food. How do you continue pursuing your healthcare, STEM or education degree? You might have to dropout! What do you do without a computer to stay on track ... up that creek floating helplessly downstream without a paddle?
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"Conspicuously left out of the $2 trillion stimulus package, most high school seniors and many college students are not eligible for broad financial assistance from the government to help them dig out of the pandemic's economic hole." The Washington Post, April 24, 2020
Campaign Ends May 5th, Giving Tuesday
According to The Washington Post, 44% of all workers in the US have jobs that are considered low wage, with median pay of $10.22/per hour; additionally they lack benefits such as health insurance. Many students and their parents held low wage jobs and no longer have them! What a predicament ... up that creek without a paddle. You can’t just go out and buy a new or used laptop; neither you nor your family has the money, especially now if both of you lost a job.
All Out for Change® provides hope and help to low-income students like Kevin, Taronne, Da-Quon and American Indian college scholars faced with potentially tragic consequences due to campus shutdowns along with their limited financial resources (the socio-economic conundrum built into our country’s educational system).
All Out for Change® provides hope and help to low-income students like Kevin, Taronne, Da-Quon and American Indian college scholars faced with potentially tragic consequences due to campus shutdowns along with their limited financial resources (the socio-economic conundrum built into our country’s educational system).
Campaign Ends May 5th, Giving Tuesday
DONATE ($10 minimum) and we'll donate $10 more.
Help spread the word about our students and American Indian college scholars' urgently needed computers, housing & food: share our e news; like or share our facebook page.
Help spread the word about our students and American Indian college scholars' urgently needed computers, housing & food: share our e news; like or share our facebook page.
Stay well and help make good news happen!
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder
AllOutForChange®
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder
AllOutForChange®
This week we provided “paddles” (refurbished MacBooks) to 2 DC college students, Taronne and Da-Quon, who left their shutdown campuses with computers on their last legs. Imagine being Da-Quon, an honor roll candidate, 2nd year of college and first in his family to attend, with a computer that gives out ... up that creek without a paddle, navigating way rougher waters these days. Fortunately, Da-Quon's "paddle" puts him back on course.
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Imagine being an American Indian college scholar, your campus served as access to technology, housing and food. How do you continue pursuing your healthcare, STEM or education degree? You might have to dropout! What do you do without a computer to stay on track ... up that creek floating helplessly downstream without a paddle?
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"Conspicuously left out of the $2 trillion stimulus package, most high school seniors and many college students are not eligible for broad financial assistance from the government to help them dig out of the pandemic's economic hole." The Washington Post, April 24, 2020
According to The Washington Post, 44% of all workers in the US have jobs that are considered low wage, with median pay of $10.22/per hour; additionally they lack benefits such as health insurance. Many students and their parents held low wage jobs and no longer have them! What a predicament ... up that creek without a paddle. You can’t just go out and buy a new or used laptop; neither you nor your family has the money, especially now if both of you lost a job.
Imagine you’re an ambitious 11th grade student and fortunate participant in a non-profit’s college prep program. You need to keep up your grades since you’re reaching high, for college acceptance, a scholarship, and a degree en route to upward mobility. With no computer at hand you sit helpless ... up that creek without a paddle! Read on about the “paddle” we provided Kevin with.
Imagine you’re an ambitious 11th grade student and fortunate participant in a non-profit’s college prep program. You need to keep up your grades since you’re reaching high, for college acceptance, a scholarship, and a degree en route to upward mobility. With no computer at hand you sit helpless ... up that creek without a paddle! Read on about the “paddle” we provided Kevin with.
Kevin’s iMac - a Silver Lining Around a Massive Cloud
For many, it’s just a photo of an everyday activity, a student at a computer, because so little is known about our “Kevins”. For me it’s a heartwarming photo. And if you read on, you’ll get the picture from a new perspective. I look at Kevin perched at his little desk at the iMac, with a smile on my face and in my heart, knowing we’ve made an enormous difference in his life. Kevin is among the fortunate few who through us and others, pulling for him, has a good chance of making it now through the school shutdown:continue his classes online and his college prep workshops, and search for colleges and scholarships. What an empowering tool, a basic necessity in the educational system today. Where would he be without it ... up that creek without a paddle, floating helplessly downstream.
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His good fortune includes not only the iMac and the college prep program, but also a mentor who is a program alum, who 10 years ago followed a vocational track, now successful in the IT field, and purchased a home for his family! That’s the upward mobility we’re talking about that “takes a village” to bring their ambition and talent to fruition.
Now do you get the picture? Kevin is among the many students struggling to stay on course with schoolwork and couldn’t without access to the technology. We hope he continues to have a roof over his head and healthful meals. His is a vastly different life from his wealthier peers who not only have access to their classes online, but also have parents receiving pitches daily for online acting classes, music lessons, tutoring, on-line read-alouds, science & technology websites. Is the photo becoming more heartwarming for you as well, knowing what a difference that little old iMac will make in his life… someone else’s trade-in gets a new life, and gives a new life. Thanks to our alchemist Mac wizard we provided 3 students and a tutor with iMacs.
All Out for Change® provides hope and help to low-income students like Kevin, Taronne, Da-Quon and American Indian college scholars faced with potentially tragic consequences due to campus shutdowns along with their limited financial resources (the socio-economic conundrum built into our country’s educational system).
Now do you get the picture? Kevin is among the many students struggling to stay on course with schoolwork and couldn’t without access to the technology. We hope he continues to have a roof over his head and healthful meals. His is a vastly different life from his wealthier peers who not only have access to their classes online, but also have parents receiving pitches daily for online acting classes, music lessons, tutoring, on-line read-alouds, science & technology websites. Is the photo becoming more heartwarming for you as well, knowing what a difference that little old iMac will make in his life… someone else’s trade-in gets a new life, and gives a new life. Thanks to our alchemist Mac wizard we provided 3 students and a tutor with iMacs.
All Out for Change® provides hope and help to low-income students like Kevin, Taronne, Da-Quon and American Indian college scholars faced with potentially tragic consequences due to campus shutdowns along with their limited financial resources (the socio-economic conundrum built into our country’s educational system).
Help spread the word about our students and American Indian college scholars' urgently needed computers, housing and food: share our e news; like or share our facebook page.
Stay well and help make good news happen!
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder
AllOutForChange®
MaryAnn, Chief Engagement Officer and Founder
AllOutForChange®
MaryAnn Puglisi
Chief Engagement Officer, AllOutForChange.org