Youth Educational Enrichment Program

Microsoft: You’ve Made A Difference To Our At-Risk Youths

This June was the 18th Father’s Day I have not been able to celebrate. I am not sure why it touched me more so this year than any other. It could be because this year was designated as the year to close several open chapters of my life and I have begun to reflect on my trials and tribulations, as well as my successes.

Prior to this letter, I have been unable to use the term “father” in relation to you. I always referred to you as the “sperm donor.” To me, to receive the designation of “father,” one must be an active positive participant in their child’s life. It must be someone that cares, and provides the mentoring and comfort a child needs as they mature. That was not the case for you. It shamed me to inform my friends that you and I never met. Throughout the years, I have wondered where you were, whether you thought of me, and whether you regretted your decision to remain absent. To some degree, I also wondered whether my mother had any regrets because my presence reminded her of you and the pain she endured.

WHY????? That is the question of the day. Why were you absent? Where were you when I learned how to ride my bike? Where were you when I graduated from high school? Where were you when I moved from one dysfunctional relationship to the next? Where are you now that I’ve received a scholarship from Teach One Academy to attend college? Where are you as I pursue my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology? Why was I destined not to know you? Could it have been because I needed to empathize with those of our society that do not have a relationship with their father as well? Could it be because I am supposed to be the vessel to provide a testimony to someone else? The hardest logic for me to understand is how could someone father a child but not be in their life. How could you not give a damn? Were you not concerned about the negative impact it would have on my life? How do you sleep at night knowing that you created a life but are not a part of it? I just don’t understand. Have you regretted not watching me mature into a successful young lady? Have you regretted not knowing some of my fears, some of my joy? I wonder sometimes if you think of me at all.

My name is Jennifer Toussaint. I am the founder of Teach One Academy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Atlanta, Georgia. We build minds of at-risk youths, ages 5 through 18, through Testimony, Purpose, and Vision. Our commitment to inspiring these at-risk young people to develop to their fullest potential despite whatever obstacles may lie in their paths is the guiding light of our primary goals to M.otivate, E.ducate, and E.mpower. We offer the tools and resources – mentoring, scholarships, educational activities, and financial support – to do just that through our comprehensive Be A Visionary Mentoring and Youth Educational Enrichment Programs.

Are you aware, according to Annie E. Casey, Kids Count (2008):

• Georgia ranks 40th in the nation for the overall well-being of children.
• 1 in 5 children in this state lives in poverty, and the rate of low-birth weight babies, and the percentage of children having babies, are still among the highest in America.
• Despite improving on 6 of the 10 key indicators of child health and well-being, Georgia ranks below the national average on all 10—and in the bottom 10 states on four of the indicators:
• *45th in the percentage of children living in single-parent families
• *43rd in the percentage of low-birth weight babies and the teen birth rate
• *42nd in the infant mortality rate
• *41st in the percentage of high-school dropouts
• High-school dropout rate has an $18 billion annual economic impact on Georgia.

With statistics such as those, Teach One Academy was founded as a CALL to ACTION to minimize the rates of juvenile incarceration, gang violence, black-on-black crime, and substance abuse among the youths and adults of our community, and to increase the graduation rate among our youths, specifically among African Americans and high school students. As such, in collaboration with the village - our partners from our communities - we provide several programs to embrace students that have dropped out of school and thereby minimizing their opportunity to succeed as visionaries. We are challenging the youths that have dropped out of school to Shake Off their doubts, concerns, fears, lack of belief in the impossible and cynicism as they join us to positively impact their lives and those of their families. We as a community have a responsibility to reach out, embrace, and support our youths in every educational capacity. We challenge others to join our Call To Action as we develop our society’s future leaders.

The Impact of Microsoft

Microsoft and its software applications has afforded Teach One Academy the means to develop and implement the call to action and mobilize the community to support each at-risk youth at a time. It has helped us to affect lifelong changes within our communities such as the cathartic emotion one of our young ladies’ experienced when she wrote the excerpt to the letter above.

Throughout the years, our program successes have been reflected on CNN, and such audio media as The Michael Baisden Show. We provide a Road Map of defining positive attributes of Manhood and Womanhood. Our “Be A Visionary” and “Shake It Off” mentoring programs challenges and engages our youths while assisting them in finding their voice, in believing in possibilities, and guiding them through their personal journey of self-discovery as they acquire Knowledge of Self.

Some of our initiatives include:

1. 1 Voice – 1 Vote YouTube Competition
2. “Do You Know Thyself” Celebrity Mentoring Forums
3. Teach One Academy Freshman College Scholarship
4. And most recently, “How Well Do You Wear Your T-Shirt” Youth Design Competition

Through the generous donation of Microsoft and Techsoup, we’ve been able to effectively communicate our mission, challenges, and successes with our sponsors and partners. Additionally, we’ve also optimized the internet to retain and recruit support from domestic and global communities. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and MySpace, have provided the means to reach out to those of the community that would ordinarily be beyond our reach such as Oprah Winfrey, Ashton Kutcher, and Demi Moore.

Through our branding strategy, our fundraising and marketing plans has greatly been impacted. In maximizing Access and Excel, as a grassroot organization, we’ve been able to create several databases including those of donors, funding possibilities, and pledges.

At Teach One Academy, we believe all the possibilities of the world are within each of us. As such, we are committed to the following motto: Each One…Reach One…Teach One. We thank community leaders such as Microsoft and Techsoup in supporting our mission to M.otivate, E.ducate, and E.mpower the at-risk youths of the Atlanta community.