Hello, my name is Jesse Cole, and I'm a freshman at Binghamton
The greatest barrier to education for single parents is the
lack of high-quality, affordable childcare. This leaves many single parents
permanently stuck in low-paying jobs, and robs society of many of the
contributions their talent could provide, given the chance. This problem
resonated with our class, as we are all experiencing the benefits of a
top-notch higher education. Mom's House helps to solve this problem by
providing state-licensed childcare to single parents while they further or
finish their education. Joan Peterson is a great example of the amazing work
that Mom's House does. When she became pregnant at the age of 15, Mom's House
helped her not only graduate from Broome Community College, but also obtain a
bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Public Administration. Peterson remarked,
"because of Mom's House, I was able to get a good education. Because of my
education, I have always been able to get a job, to support my children, to own
my own home, and just as importantly, to help others." For this reason,
our class is awarding Mom's House $2,000 to go towards repairing damage to
their facilities caused by the flood of 2011.
CALL UP LAURIE BOWEN
Unwanted pregnancies
sometimes occur because of lack of access to or knowledge about contraception. People,
often in their teens or early twenties, either don't know their options in
terms of contraception, or simply can't find it or afford it. This leads to
responsibilities they are not ready for, and can limit their opportunities if
no one steps in to help. Family Planning of South Central New York
CALL UP Mary Robinson,
Director of Development
This is very well written Jesse! I have no idea how long these paragraphs should be and how much you can add to them, but they definitely do get the essence of the organization. I have some ideas for other stuff that you may want to add. I know I along with at least a few others for sure were also drawn to Mom's House's insistence on the parents maintaining good grades and volunteering, and this empowering vs. enabling dichotomy was really attractive to the class. Maybe this could be articulated as well, because this is really what sets Mom's House apart from many of the other child care nonprofits in the area.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I like the personal story you gave for Mom's House. However, there is a bit of a comparative lack of successes being mentioned for FPSCNY. I think you should mention how clean inviting and successful FPSCNY is, or mention how receptive these teens are when they go there because they feel comfortable there. Also I think their anonymous text number is really cool and if we're sticking to the theme of what made them stand out this shows their ability to connect well with teens, which is important for a nonprofit like them. Anything you want to highlight out of those things would be fine, I just think at an award ceremony successes and what makes them stand out are great things to hear, so anywhere they can fit in your speech would be lovely.
The best advice is just say what you feel. You vehemently supported these organizations, so I'm sure you can easily and passionately convey why. There are so many great things about them there is no real right answer as to what to say in such a short time, so anything will do. Just keep the idea of positive tone/successes in mind. We're celebrating them for their good work.
Thanks for the ideas! You make good points, and I'll try to work them into what I say.
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