sorry i haven't posted in a while. There's just so much going on right now, and me and one of my bffs have been having meetings trying to get something off the ground for this school.

And When we were in church today this really wonderful lady came up to us and offered her help with our pasta dinner! WOOT.

Anyway- here's what I've been thinking the past couple weeks:

I leave for college in less than 22 days, and having just graduated from high school and twelve years of public school, i think back to what my experiences with education have been. I've always loved learning, but not necessarily school. I've also loved the opportunities that being in school gave me, but never really appreciated school itself. Then, when i found out about Red Bird Mission School almost closing down, i realized that i spent twelve years taking my school for granted. And I didn't go to the number one school in my state, nor was my school even in the top 100. However, my school (my school's staff) gave me more opportunities and experiences than i could ever hope for. I never had to worry about my school closing down or having to combine classes, that would never have been an issue for us at all. I never once had to consider getting my GED as opposed to getting my high school diploma because i couldn't bring myself to attend the local high school for a year. I want to say that maybe 5 kids max that I started high school with have dropped out. Around RBMS, only 10% of my class would have made it to graduation. That's a scary thought.

Who knows who these kids are?

Who knows what they're going to give to the world?

Who know how brilliant they are?

But I know that I won't allow the chances to slip by them.

My dream is to be able to allow these students ALL the opportunities I had in school, and to support them no matter what. My dream is to make a difference in their lives, just as they (unknowingly) have made a difference in mine.

Thanks.

Kohl's Cares

Please Vote for Red Bird Mission School using this link:

It will give RBMS $500,000 if they win.

Welcome

Imagine with me please, dear readers, that you live in the poorest area of America, where the unemployment rate is 50% and the nearest "store" is 30-40 minutes away. Welcome to a world where people use ping-pong tables as floors, a world where you can make do on far to little. The high schools nearest to these areas have a 90% drop out rate. Would you accept this world? Would you allow YOUR children, YOUR friends, or YOUR loved ones attend a school were they have little chance of ever succeeding?

I wouldn't.

There's a real place like this out there- Welcome to Beverly, Kentucky, Clay County. It's a fourteen hour drive if you live in the Northern Parts of NJ, and it could be a different world for all anyone can see.

But it's REAL.

And there is a school in the corner of Bell, Clay and Leslie County that is CHANGING the lives of every single student, staff member and member of the community. This is the Red Bird Mission School. The RBMS graduates about 25 seniors a year and anywhere between 75-80% go on to higher education, and 60% of those students graduate college. In an area where the local high school has a drop-out rate of 90% and their elementary schools are in the bottom 3, that is TRULY a miracle.

I was just down working at a work camp that Red Bird Mission also runs, and while we were there on Monday, RBMS was NOT going to open for the 2010-2011 school year. They were going to suspend classes for the foreseeable future. The class of 2011 wasn't going to be able to graduate on time, most of them were actually planning on getting their GED as compared to having to spend a year in public school.

Luckily, on Thursday, it was annouced that school would reopen, but many changes would be made, and instead of running on a 1.5 million dollar budget, they would be running on a 8oo,ooo dollar budget. That means combining classes and cutting back on EVERYTHING.

This blog is about making a difference in the lives of these people, it's about standing up to the intolerance of letting children go without a proper education. Stay with me, and your hearts will be moved.

This is the Real World friends.