“It’s easier to build STRONG CHILDREN then to repair broken adults.” ~ Frederick Douglass
This month, Stuff Etc is working to help build strong children. Please help us!
There are umbrellas hanging at the registers of all of our locations ready to collect your loose bills and change. The first weekend of the month, THIS WEEKEND to be exact, we are offering a 20% discount on all full-priced purchases when you make a $1 donation.
It’s a win/win!
Our Iowa City, Coralville & Cedar Rapids locations are supporting:
CHILDREN OF PROMISE
{courtesy of The Daily Iowan, Jan 2011} Iowa City native Angie Jordan created Children of Promise — a mentor program for kids who have a parent on parole, on probation, or in prison — in 2008, when she was only 22. She had a dream of having an effect on kids who may not have many positive role models.
While studying anthropology and psychology at the University of Iowa, she said, she had many experiences in social work that gave her a passion for kids with difficult family lives.
This led to her interest in helping children who grow up with parents in the corrections system, who are more likely to have problems with the law themselves. Children who have a parent in prison are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their peers, according to Women’s Prison & Home Association Inc.
All young people have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society, but many do not get the support they need to thrive. Nearly half of the U.S. population of youth between 10 and 18 years of age live in situations that put them at risk of not living up to their potential. Without intervention by caring adults, they must navigate complex life situations and challenges on their own, leaving them vulnerable to poor decisions that can undermine their futures.
We at Children of Promise believe that we can help kids and youth by increasing the protective factors they have in their lives. By providing youth with caring adults to build relationships with, exposing them to positive community activities, and educating them about healthy life decisions, we believe that we can help to reduce the impact of negative factors like family history of incarceration, single parent homes, and various forms of transition.
“What’s cool about mentoring is you get to create a relationship based on reciprocity,” Jordan said. “So whatever you put into it, the kid just gives back. I’ve learned so much where sometimes I feel like I’m the protégé.” The program currently has 35 matches, but it needs more mentors for unmatched children (there are hundreds of at-risk kids in Linn, Johnson and Jones counties needing matches).
Click here to get more involved with Children of Promise.
Our Davenport & Waterloo locations are supporting:
JR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA (Waterloo) & JR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE HEARTLAND (Davenport)
{courtesy of the Quad Cities Dispatch-Argus, May 2011} Teanna Steward nervously smiled as Junior Achievement of the Heartland honored her as its one millionth student served this school year.
Teanna, a seventh grader at Rock Island’s Edison Junior High, said Junior Achievement has given her a different
perspective on life and better prepared her for the road ahead.
Junior Achievement of the Heartland has been serving the Quad-Cities and surrounding communities since 1956. It covers 24 counties in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southern Wisconsin, impacting more than 56,000 K-12 grade students this school year.
Nationally, it’s the 19th largest area in number of students served and fifth largest in market penetration.
Bobbie Grace, Teanna’s mother, said Junior Achievement helped her daughter mature and become more responsible. ”It truly had a (positive) effect on her,” Ms. Grace said. “It has shown her what responsibility is about, money, and understanding finances. It really gave her a positive attitude and helped
her in the classroom with her grades. Because of Junior Achievement, Teanna “loves to mentor and help other children and is respectful of adults,” Ms. Grace said.
Kristen Holmberg, Teanna’s seventh-grade consumer economics teacher, says ”Everyone needs to learn how to balance money. Students have learned parents have bills to pay, and they learn that when mom says not on this payday, they know why.”
Click here to get more involved with Jr Achievement of Eastern Iowa
Click here to get more involved with Jr Achievement of the Heartland
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