Venture Description: Generation Education is an organization dedicated to promoting education for children in need. We give school supplies and other educational gifts to children living in youth shelters. We also mentor them and help them discover their interests so that they can continue their education and impact the future. We expose them to many different fields, such as arts, athletics, and core subjects with fun and rewarding activities. Our community is located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex, but we also support relief organizations that aid in national and internationl educational efforts.

Venture Origin: The idea came when we realized the eminent need for an organization to help with children's education. There are many families in our area with parents who are either unable or choose not to be involved in their children's lives. We hoped that by educating kids at a young age, they could learn to work hard to create a better future for themselves.

Innovation: We create a personal relationship with kids, who are otherwise without mentors in their lives. Starting young, we try get them on the right path for success. Educating them in a fun and rewarding way continues the growth of their minds for the future. We help kids discover their own interests and host a talent show to raise money for them. The community will then be aware of our impact on kids.

Impact

Impact: In November, we collected 26 pounds of canned goods for the North Texas Food Bank to raise awareness of our cause in our community. We purchased $150 worth of gifts for kids at All Church Home for Children, and have started organizing boxes with school supplies/books for them. We also went gift wrapping there this Christmas and helped distribute the gifts to the hundreds of kids they help. We are having a school supply drive at stores this spring

Engagement with the community: We are in a partnership with the student council of The Mandarin Chinese School of Arlington. Whitney Sun and I are officers of the student council, and we have made plans with the members to participate in some of the activities for the community. All 100+ students participated in the food drive. We are involved with local organizations such as GRACE and All Church Home for Children.

Impact and engagement progress since launch: We launched just this November, but we have already collected supplies and gifts for Christmas, and were very successful in our canned food drive. We have also contacted businesses such as Target, Borders, and Office Depot for donations, and we have formed relationships with Grapevine Relief and Community Exchange and All Church Home for Children. We are also having a petition drive for education.

Impact and engagement strategy: We hope to continue in our collaboration with The Mandarin Chinese School, and hope to recruit the majority of our members from there. The students span from all across DFW, and attend dozens of different schools in which we can search for interested people. We would like to continue working with the children at All Church, and would like to expand our influence by visiting other shelters.

Awards: This is the first competition Generation Education has applied for, but we also are applying for Tu Voz My Venture

Budget

Amount of Youth Venture seed grant: $650

Money raised: None yet, but we hope to receive donations from parents, businesses, and other interested people. We are also planning a bake sale, garage sale, and a talent show showcasing the kids as fundraisers. We have planned a garage/bake sale for President’s Day weekend in which the community and our friends will participate in.

Creative ways of raising resources: We would like to bring as much media attention to our talent show as possible, so that people who would like to help can donate money. This would also bring businesses to sponsor us. We have received an employer ID# so that we can apply for non-profit status and receive donations from companies.

Strategy

Expansion plan for next 6 months: We would like to meet with the kids at All Church so we can start building our relationships. We'd also like to start finding more members who would like to help mentor kids. We are running a petition for education at our schools to attract members.

Plans for sustaining the project: We will continue with these yearly fundraisers and may add some more in the future. We will also conduct donation drives so that people with unused or lightly used supplies and books can donate them to kids at shelters. We have a succession policy for leadership and will recruit from many sources.

Vision for three years from now: I hope that our Venture will have brought much joy to kids and have expanded their minds. I hope they learn many basic skills for success in life, and will be hard workers and leaders for their generation. I hope that they will excel in all activities they participate in, and will stay in school and hopefully go on to college. Hopefully, they can continue our impact on the community with theirs.

Project impact: We have helped many children in our community who are in need of role models and support for their future. We have brought much joy to the children who will be leading us in the future. The education of these children will not only bring success to them, but will impact the entire community with the minds and talents of these potential adults.

Youth Venture movement - what it means and how you can contribute: It feels comforting to be a part of a movement that will influence the world. The things that we are doing can only make the world better, so I feel proud and satisfied with what we are doing. We are making a name for our generation, and I hope that our team's actions will only further the movement's impact with the addition of a new generation of Youth Venturers.

Author:
Jennifer
United States