Teaching by Doing

Sometimes when we post a need to the site, there’s more to the situation than what shows on the surface. Elaine’s need is one of them.

In addition to taking care of her mother, Elaine has found herself raising her granddaughter. This means, clearly, that there’s been some stress and disruption in Elaine’s granddaughter’s life and that more than other kids, this young girl needs not only warm, strong, nurturing parenting -- she needs a role model actively demonstrating that learning is both important and possible, and that adults can find reward in their work.

Elaine believes it’s never too late to go to school and learn, and this is not a vague hope for her. Here’s what she told us: “... I decided I have to do something with my life, and that it’s never too late to start. I went back to culinary school last year to get a degree to work in restaurants and one day maybe even have my own business.”  Elaine needs help getting some basic supplies like sturdy shoes to allow her to stand all day, a set of knives, and a mixer that will allow her to practice at home. 

There are many factors that can help set a child up for success in adulthood, but none is as important as the people who are parenting and modeling for that child what’s possible in life and how each of us has value and unique strengths.  As she pursues her goals, Elaine models determination and success for her granddaughter and all the kids in her life.

So when we wonder what we can do to improve educational and career outcomes for children who grow up in low-income households, here’s an answer – help the adults in their lives succeed and thrive as they pursue their goals.

There’s science behind this. A 2006 study found that while learning cognitive skills in school is important to future success, noncognitive elements like motivation, perseverance and tenacity are equally important. Where do kids learn perseverance? Overwhelmingly, from the adults in their lives who model it. (Heckman 2006)

Here’s where we can make a huge difference. When we help parents (young and old) to succeed in their educational and work pursuits, we change outcomes for at least two generations. “Parents who succeed in completing additional schooling or secure a higher-paying job are likely to have children with better health, schooling, and labor market outcomes.” (Magnuson 2007)

It’s as simple as that. Elaine’s got it right. Let’s help her achieve her educational and work goals as she parents her granddaughter, and models perseverance, motivation and tenacity.

- megan kashner

  founder & ceo

  Benevolent

  www.benevolent.net 

Who is Graduating?

It’s graduation season and while the news is full of depressing stories of young adults with few job prospects, planning to move back in with parents after graduation, the statistics show an improvement. 

According to the Associated Press, the unemployment rate for college grads under 25 is lower in 2012 (so far) than in either 2010 or 2011 (ABC News). Perhaps the clouds are clearing for graduates – at least for those who complete their degree by age 25.

Of the over  19 million college students in the U.S., though, about 40% are attending part time. Of the almost 7 million attending community college, it is anticipated that fewer than half will complete an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year university within six years of enrollment. (US News & World Report; Institute for Education Sciences)

This brings us to the question – who is graduating? Estimates show that in the U.S. this year, over 3 million will graduate high school or earn a GED, over 700,000 will complete an associate’s degree, and over 1.7 million will complete a bachelor’s degree. That’s a lot to celebrate, especially when you know the odds that many of them have had to overcome just to get to school every day.

On the Benevolent site (www.benevolent.net), we feature many people who are pursuing degrees – associate’s, bachelors, certifications – and each one faces incredible challenges along the way towards those goals. Almost none of them reflect the stereotype of the 21-year-old fresh-faced graduate, ready to take on the world. They look like Jean, a 42 year old nursing student who recently interned for the Transit Authority cleaning trains.

They also look like Samantha who is married, works full time as a home visiting aide and goes to community college in the evenings. Despite her young appearance, Samantha is a 26-year-old mother of a three-year-old.

Benevolent’s students are mothers and fathers. They’re studying to be nurses and radiology technicians. They’re studying criminal justice and business. They’re going to school part time while working full- or part-time. They’ve survived cancer, domestic violence, homelessness, and more. They’re not the students the headlines and stories focus on when they’re pondering the fate of this year’s class of graduates.

For us here at Benevolent, these are the learners and strivers with whom we’re most concerned. When a low-income parent succeeds in improving his or her education, getting a better job, and finding increased stability, then the children in that household will have vastly improved chances of achieving in their own rights and landing in a more stable circumstance. When we help adult learners succeed, we help more than one generation of students  -- and those triumphant graduations, for us, will have twice the weight.

- megan kashner, founder & ceo

  Benevolent

  www.benevolent.net 

The Luxury of Choice - A Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I have found myself reflecting this week on how thankful I am for the luxury of choice. I can choose to take a new path, choose so many things afforded to me by - among other things - my education.


There has been a great deal of focus in the past few years on the quality of our educational systems, the qualifications of our country's teachers, and the supports and structures necessary to create the optimal learning environment.

Less focus has been placed on what happens after our learners are out of high school, about the attainment of higher education and training, about adult returning learners, those who started college but never finished because life got in the way. We see many of these "some college" adults in the Benevolent community. They left their educational paths behind because of money, parenting, family illness, job changes, and more. Today, these “some college” adults are seeking employment, education, housing, and more.

When I think about choice, I start thinking about the members of the Benevolent community who are ready to commit to their choices, their aspirations, the pursuit of their goals. I think about the barriers that stand in their way as well as the opportunities that lie before them.

For those reading this post who have achieved their college degrees, have landed those professional positions, have attained the luxury of choice, I wonder if each of us can recall a moment (or several) along our paths at which we would have had to drop out or settle for less than reaching for our goals if it had not been for someone helping us past a hurdle.

In this week after Thanksgiving, I find myself thankful for the education I’ve had the fortune to receive and wish the same and more for our Benevolent community members.

- Megan Kashner, Founder & CEO

Courage and Determination We Can All Learn From

Tori has traveled a long way. On June 29, 2009, she left her abusive husband of thirteen years, took her children, and fled to a friend in Chicago. It took true courage for her to walk away without a safety net and without a clear path for herself and her seven young children. She found the courage because she knew she had to get herself and her children to safety.

I had the honor of meeting and getting to know Tori a few weeks ago, and found myself incredibly moved by her story, her poise, and her determination.

To hear Tori’s story in her own words, and to hear what the staff at The Cara Program (a nonprofit here in Chicago), have to say about her and the need she seeks support for, go to our website at www.benevolent.net and click on the link at the top that says “Tori.”

“My kids are some of the most amazing kids…”

In the 28 months since her leap to safety, Tori has journeyed through shelters, transitional housing, job readiness programs, and now to stability. She’s gotten herself and her children to a place of security. She’s working full time, she has an apartment, and the kids are in school and thriving – playing sports, excelling in academics, and bringing home As and Bs with every report card.

Tori has plans for her children – she expects each one to go to college and encourages them all to excel in everything they pursue. Sometimes, however, she has to say “no.” Whether it’s a field trip she can’t afford, the right equipment for football, or a volleyball tournament team trip, Tori has had to tell her children over and over again that they can’t afford things. There’s no money for extras.

She’s okay with that, but the one thing she is focusing on for the next steps forward is a computer for her family. Tori is determined that her kids will be educated, strong and independent. Right now, Tori’s kids have to go to the library after school or after their sports practices so that they can get online and complete the parts of their homework for which they need a computer. This means that the kids are away from her and outside the house more, that Tori can’t monitor them while they’re online, and that she can’t be there to motivate and help them while they’re doing homework on the computer.

For Tori, the inability to parent her kids in these instances is untenable. She takes pride in her children’s health, happiness, and success. Now, while she’s financially stable for the basics like rent, utilities, food and clothing, Tori is seeking our help in meeting her primary goal – being the best mom she can be to her kids.

We estimate that a computer with the necessary programs, a mouse, virus protection, etc, will be $705. Tori has researched internet access and found that she can get it for under $10 per month, and she can cover that on a regular basis.

Torti’s is an interesting need in that she is focusing on her children’s next steps, goals and plans. She is so clearly striving to achieve and succeed in the face of obstacles and barriers - I feel it will be an honor to help Tori to meet her need.

Here’s what we can do - if you want to help support Tori’s need, please go to the link on our website at www.benevolent.net that says “Donate Now.” There, you can click on a link to PayPal where you can submit a contribution. The PayPal page is truly not pretty, but it works.

As soon as we’ve received the total amount needed for Tori to buy a computer for her family, we’ll send the money along to The Cara Program -- the nonprofit that provides Tori with job training and personal support -- and they will get the funds to Tori for the computer. We’ll update her page on our website so that you know not to send any more contributions for her.

By supporting Tori’s need, you’ll be helping her get the computer for her family, and you’ll also be helping us here at Benevolent as we build our model. With every need that’s filled we’ll use about 3.5% to cover credit card and processing costs and 6.75% to cover our own costs here at Benevolent. We’ve already factored that into the amount we need to raise to meet this need.

Whether or not you decide to help Tori, we’re glad that you know her now, as we do. She’s a strong woman with a story of courage and determination, and I have all the belief in the world that she and her kids will go far and impress us all.

- Megan Kashner, Founder & CEO

A Bed of One’s Own

Last week, Anne told us that what she really needs right now is a mattress. She explained that she and her 10- year- old son are currently sleeping on an air mattress, and that this air mattress was sure to pop soon, as all the ones before it have done.

Today, let's start raising the $430 for Anne's bed.

Her request was so basic, so modest – a mattress to put on the floor to sleep on with her son – that I felt compelled to encourage her to think bigger and to ask for a bed, complete with box spring, mattress, and simple frame.

“I don’t want my son to have to sleep on the floor.”

To read Anne’s story in her own words, and to read what the staff at The Cara Program, a nonprofit here in Chicago, have to say about her and the need she seeks support for today,watch a video of Anne describing her situation right at the bottom of this blog. Then you can go to our website at www.benevolent.net and click on the link at the top that says “Anne's Need."

Anne has a plan and a vision for her life. She has lived through violence, unemployment, and homelessness. Now she’s working, living with a friend, and saving up all her money for her own place for herself and her son. She hopes to achieve this goal in the new year and to have enough room so that she and her son can each have a bed, among other things.

Anne’s story is very common, yet when you meet her or watch her video, she doesn’t easily fit into any stereotypes we have of those who are homeless. She is in that category of “precariously housed,” or “couch-homeless.” Estimates from the National Coalition for the Homeless tell us that approximately 1.65% of the entire U.S. population fits into this category. That’s upwards of 5 million people couch surfing, without a place of their own.

What a bed will mean to Anne will be the end to spending $20 each on a series of air mattresses that pop in the middle of the night about a month into their use. It will mean a place that is hers – where she can sit and read, work with her son on homework, listen to him tell her about his day at school, and watch him sleep. It means his sleep will be uninterrupted and secure. The bed will be hers – not someone’s stained hand-me-down, not something she feels obliged to someone for, just hers. In a bare subsistence life like Anne’s, that means a great deal.

Anne’s is the first need we’ll be posting to our site and opening up for support. Our real website will launch sometime next month with many more people’s stories and needs, but we chose Anne as our first and we hope you’ll help us make her an example of the power of personal stories to spur action and support.

Here’s what we can do - if you want to help support Anne's need, please go to the link on our website at www.benevolent.net that says “Donate Now.” There, you can click on a link to PayPal where you can submit a contribution. The PayPal page is truly not pretty, but it works.

As soon as we’ve received the total amount needed for Anne to buy a bed for herself and her son, we’ll send the money along to The Cara Program -- the nonprofit that supports Anne with regard to job training and support -- and they will get the funds to Anne for the bed. We’ll update her page on our website so that you know not to send any more contributions for her.

By supporting Anne’s need, you’ll be helping her get the bed for herself and her son, but you’ll also be helping us here at Benevolent as we learn what works best. As with every need, we’ll use about 6.75% to cover our own costs (including credit card processing – ouch!) here at Benevolent. We’ve already factored that into the amount we need to raise to meet this need.

Whether you’re someone who will decide to help Anne or not, we’re glad that you know her now, as we do.

2006 was the last time Anne had a bed of her own. Her simple statement, “I don’t want my son to have to sleep on the floor,” is really all I needed to hear.

- Megan Kashner, Founder & CEO