Youth Renewal Fund’s Post

"It's important that all kids, no matter what profession they want to go into, have the ability to seek out these awards to help them pursue their life dreams.” -Mark Calmes, ALS Association Board of Trustees member and founder of The Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund. Learn more about this opportunity available for students impacted by ALS: https://bit.ly/JaneCalmes #NationalScholarshipMonth

How to embarrass your children for a good cause…

Curious to learn more about how we're empowering change? Our website is your gateway to discovering the difference we're making in the lives of so many people. Explore the impact we're making and how you can be a part of it. Click https://lnkd.in/dGi89XuU . . . #lmufoundation #nonprofitfundraising #nonprofitmarketing #nonprofitorganisation #planningforsuccess #socialresponsibility #donation #donations #causes #help #nonprofitsofinstagram #nonprofits #collegeplanning

Making smart choices isn't just about picking the right cereal for breakfast; it's the backbone of how we navigate school, work, and the perpetually moving target of human relationships. Good news on that front: The Alliance for Decision Education just bagged a cool $12.5M to boost their efforts in making young minds sharper at decision-making. This is a major leap in funding their Decision Education Research Grants and Awards Program, specifically aimed at the K-12 crowd. Got a minute? Take a gander into what the Alliance is rolling out with their Research Grants and Awards Program. It's all about giving the next generation a leg up in the decision-making department. Let's join forces to make sure as many of the little future adults in our charge have the toolkit they need to tackle the big (and small) decisions that shape their tomorrows. Dive in deeper here: #DecisionEducation bit.ly/3INcWFu

I need you to know this. The effect you have on our SD2 Scholars, Fellows, and Interns—it’s so much bigger than you could possibly realize. You’ll recognize their talent. You’ll see something in them they don’t yet see in themselves. More importantly, they’ll be around you and start to change how they see themselves. A Fellow recently sent me a handwritten note that read, "It's hard for me to say this, but I never feel more invincible, more like a CEO, and more like a leader than when I'm by your side." This letter made me feel some type of way. I still get choked up reading it, and I've read it like 15 times! What he does not yet realize is that it’s always been there in him—that invincibility and leadership. He just didn’t quite feel it himself until he was around us. And it will take a lifetime for him to appreciate that we’re the ones who feel invincible when we’re with these talented young people. They’re so early in their journey. They have so much to do. It’s just begun. We see it. They are the next iconic innovators, executives, and community leaders. They’re the ones who will change our world for the better.   I want you to have these experiences with us. Join us. Become a Mentor, review a resume, fund a program and scholarship, or even hire an intern! We’ll help you. You’ll join a community at SD2 who approach their roles with humility, recognizing the greatness already present within these students. They understand that we are the fortunate ones and that we have much to learn. And at SD2 our culture runs deep, the SD2 Board is unlike any other. At a moment's notice, any of them is ready to work the registration at an event, open their networks and pocketbooks, or provide counsel as if we were running a Fortune 50 company.   Join us and find out. It’s hard to describe what it feels like but it’s here. Reach out. Happy 3rd Birthday SD2! #FAMILY #HBD #TALENT

As a first-generation college graduate with three degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder, I've experienced firsthand the transformative power of an education at the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS). This Buffs All In Giving Day, I invite you to join me in creating a future where every student can thrive, innovate and lead. CEAS giving opportunities (bit.ly/3I1EE0D) are centered around empowering the next generation: Fostering Excellence and Innovation: With funds like the CEAS Dean's Fund and various department excellence funds, we aim to elevate our academic and research capabilities to new heights. Breaking Barriers: Through scholarships such as the Lattice Scholarship Fund for first-generation students and the Society of Women Engineers, we're committed to making engineering accessible to all. Cultivating Leadership and Diversity: The BOLD Center Excellence Fund embodies our mission to create a diverse, inclusive community where every student has a sense of belonging. Each contribution, big or small, fuels our journey towards a more inclusive, innovative and impactful future in engineering. Together, we can build a legacy of opportunity and success for Buffs yet to come. Let’s be all in, together. Your gift today is an investment in tomorrow’s leaders. #SkoBuffs #BuffsAllIn #CUEngineering #FutureLeaders #Innovation #DiversityInSTEM #CUBoulderAlumni #ForeverBuffs

Happy Times Linkediners, This past summer I had the privilege of joining Phoenix Charter Academy in Chelsea and I can’t express in full detail the great work this school has been doing since it was opened in 2006. As I see it, this school is about hope, inclusion, empowerment, global citizenship, social cohesion, common good, the eradication of suffering, exclusion, and loss. The school’s outcomes and impacts speak volumes. The school has been creating a soft but “radical” change through making secondary school education accessible. Not only this, but also the transition to either economically empowering jobs right after graduation, or to the pursuit of higher education in universities—for which Massachusetts has a universal renown— such as Brandeis, Northeastern, BU, or Bunker Hill. The school serves as a welcoming warm nest for new newcomers who, or whose parents, believe deeply in the American Dream and values. Being new to the USA, in general, and to Chelsea climate, in particular, makes these students and their families undergo a tsunami of challenges that only financial and social/emotional care can address, especially as the cold season is approaching rapidly. If you want to join a group of change makers, who strongly believe that what matters most are books, not bombs, and light of knowledge, not darkness of ignorance, consider supporting the scholars of Phoenix Charter Academy Chelsea. Change starts from here: https: https://gofund.me/f4d93ec4

Give to get. The only way for us to raise funds for a state-of-the-art 35,000SF varsity performance center was to give more than to ask without context. We needed to listen, to understand why alums don’t come back to campus, send their kids to their Alma mater and frankly invest back into athletics for the past 50+ years! The challenge was lack of Transparency, Vision, and Experiences. Our solution? Show what the funding is used for, treat athletes and alums on and off-campus right, and meet alums where they live, work, and play. Doesn’t matter the level of play, or school, your student athletes are 5% of all the high school athletes that have earned a very select roster spot at your university. They Earned It!

Give to get. The only way for us to raise funds for a state-of-the-art 35,000SF varsity performance center was to give more than to ask without context. We needed to listen, to understand why alums don’t come back to campus, send their kids to their Alma mater and frankly invest back into athletics for the past 50+ years! The challenge was lack of Transparency, Vision, and Experiences. Our solution? Show what the funding is used for, treat athletes and alums on and off-campus right, and meet alums where they live, work, and play. Doesn’t matter the level of play, or school, your student athletes are 5% of all the high school athletes that have earned a very select roster spot at your university. They Earned It!

I am truly humbled by all your kind words and feedback from this article. As time goes on, I have become more comfortable with sharing my personal story because it drives me to continue helping kids in need. It all comes down to education and opportunities. I established the Think Big Endowment for the FSU College of Business so that others would join in the pursuit of helping first-gen college students like me with opportunities for professional development skills, experiential learning, and workforce readiness. If you’re a fellow NOLE or like the idea of supporting higher education, please consider adding to the endowment. You can contact David Van Lone at dvanlone@business.fsu.edu.   If you want to help younger kids prepare for college, trade school or apprenticeships, we can also use your support for Think Big for Kids. We are providing middle and high school students with career exploration, mentorship, and job readiness & placement opportunities. We have served over 7,000 kids to date, but we need more volunteers, mentors and funding to break the cycle of poverty: Amy Alley www.thinkbigforkids.org. Whether you choose to give your resources or your time, both and in any amount are great. Whatever organization or non-profit you choose to support, do something to help others!