I Have a Dream Foundation
Throughout their 27 year history, I Have a Dream Foundation LA has provided the only long-term, whole life program in the Los Angeles area, by adopting an entire grade at the elementary level, staying with that class for at least 10 years and providing ongoing mentoring, tutoring, academic support, mental health services and cultural enrichment. Serving students in poverty-stricken, inner-city communities at Title 1 schools, they work with at-risk youth in their schools, to get them from elementary school through high school and into college or vocational school. At the end of the program, each child is guaranteed an $8000 scholarship toward their higher education. Many will be the first in their families to complete high school and nearly all of them will be the first to go to college. Most have experienced gang violence, have a close family member in a gang, and/or have been asked to be in a gang themselves and all by the age of 14. IHADLA breaks the cycle of economic disadvantage, which leads to eventual high school drop outs, who are 3½ times more likely to be arrested and more than 8 times more likely to end up in prison. These children have a desperate need for computers since they do not have them at home; their families are struggling just to afford food and shelter. IHADLA will use our grant of $24,750.00 to purchase 20 laptop computers which will be used by 120 students each year for virtually every aspect of their education, including homework, projects, research, SAT studying, college preparation and applications, financial aid planning and work readiness. These new laptop computers will ensure the most effective academic support possible so the students have the tools needed to succeed and compete with peers. Academic success is absolutely imperative to pull not only the students, but also their parents and siblings to a life of new opportunities. These computers are so much more than just a tool, so much more than a piece of technology; they can actually be the difference between success and failure, hope and hopelessness.