info@seasontosoar.com
Dear Friends,
One particular story comes to mind when I think about Season to Soar and the people who we serve. Here it is:
As the founder of Season to Soar, I play many roles. I have to assist with business planning, marketing, fundraising, programming and many other things. One of my tasks was to speak with the principal of a school in Chicago where our Global Leadership Youth Program was scheduled to be implemented. The purpose of the meeting was to ask the Principal about any challenges that the students face. We wanted to know the challenges, so we could have an understanding of the community that we work in and be able to service them better.
I waited for the principal to give me a response like “math scores need to be improved,” or “students need after-school homework help.” Instead, the Principal’s response was “many of our students suffer from poverty and homelessness.”
It was disturbing to know that the principal was referring to children between the ages of 5 – 13 years old. Instead of their main concerns being what app to download, and doing well in school, their main challenges are poverty, insufficient housing and trauma from losing friends and loved ones to gun violence. These are challenges that no child should ever have to face.
Season to Soar exists to make the life of every child that we work with better and to provide them with opportunities and hope.
We currently work with over 100 youth in 3 different countries, including the U.S. Ghana (West Africa) and China. We work with more than 50 students in Chicago’s most underserved neighborhoods by providing them with leadership training. Our global leadership program encourages students to view themselves as global citizens. The program gives students the opportunity to have conversations with youth in other countries to learn about international issues and to discuss how we can come together as a global community to solve some of our shared problems. The program then requires students to take their conversations further and turn them into actions. Students become leaders by tackling global challenges hands-on, by completing community service learning projects.
When you engage with Season to Soar, you empower youth who have limited hope and you have an impact that reaches across the globe.
Whether you choose to support us by making a donation, volunteering, or simply sharing information about our organization and what we do, your engagement with us makes a huge difference and it is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Kymbria Young, Founder & Executive Director