In addition to learning from our nonprofit partners, our investors, our board members, and other leaders in the field, VPP also strives to learn from the ultimate beneficiaries of our high-engagement philanthropy: Children and youth. In this section, we highlight some of their incredible stories. By sharing them, we hope to better inform our work and encourage others to listen to the wisdom of the newest generation.
Being Remembered as a Great Giver; Eddie Goldman's Impact at Friendship and Beyond
During an interview with NBC Washington, Friendship Collegiate Academy football star Eddie Goldman nobly told reporters, “I haven’t really done anything yet.” But if being a five-star defensive tackle with 50 scholarship offers from the nation’s top colleges and universities suggests that Eddie hasn’t really done anything yet, then the rest of us may be in big trouble.
Towering over most classmates at nearly 6’4” tall and 310 pounds of potential, it’s ironic that the first word most people have used to describe Eddie since his days at Friendship’s Blow Pierce Middle School is “humble.” But humble he is, with a realistic perspective that keeps recruiters on his heels, an outstanding academic career at his fingertips, and a city on the edge of its seat, eager to learn which team he will play for next year. In fact, Friendship Athletic Director and Head Coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim said that humility is Eddie’s greatest asset.
Real Results for Youth in the youthCONNECT Network
Watch Shana Payne of College Summit-NCR and Lori Kaplan of the Latin American Youth Center discuss the impact of VPP's youthCONNECT initiative on youth in their programs:
Poetry from Incarcerated Youth at Maya Angelou Academy
This collection of poems was written by DC youth at the Maya Angelou Academy at the New Beginnings Youth Development Center. VPP investment partner See Forever Foundation operates the academy, which serves the incarcerated youth in New Beginnings.
The poems are a powerful glimpse into the hopes and dreams of these youth. You can read the full publication or listen to readings of selected poems.
Dominique Smith, Friendship Public Charter School
Since their mother passed away in 2000, Dominique Smith and her older brother, Donte Jefferson, lived together in their southeast Washington, D.C., apartment. Jefferson was more than a brother to Smith, 18. He was the father she never knew.
When Jefferson passed away in May, Smith was all alone. Yet with a broken heart and uncertain future she was clear on one thing: She wanted to go to college.
Ebony Jones, Urban Alliance/KIPP DC
At 18, Ebony Jones is already thinking of the skills and experience she needs to start her entrepreneurial venture of choice: A daycare center.
“I decided early on in life that I wanted to own a daycare,” said Jones. “Probably when I started having a lot of god kids. I liked them a lot, so I figured that was something I wanted to do.”
Adri Smith, YouReach
Some students travel during the summer, some get summer jobs, others just hang out by the pool. Adri Smith spent her summer leading a literacy workshop for 8-10 year olds in Washington, DC., through a nonprofit organization, YouReach, that she founded.
All before her 18th birthday.
I-Sha Davis, Friendship Public Charter School
I-Sha Davis knows how to make the most of her opportunities. After ten years of hard work and honors at Friendship Collegiate Academy —where she graduated as salutatorian of her class—she will now be heading off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.
Since I-Sha started at Friendship in the second grade, she has attended three different summer programs, at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland; interviewed for and received a Posse Scholarship; achieved a nearly perfect score on her SAT; and earned thirty-seven college credits through Friendship’s Early College program. Now that she’s leaving, she has a clear plan for her college years and afterwards.
Antoine Tate, College Summit
Antoine Tate has big dreams. He wants to be successful like his Richard Wright and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But standing in the way of his dreams were his life circumstances — growing up in a tough neighborhood where far too many African American men have few good options.
"Do you ever wonder about where you may end up in the future?...I have thought about the worst and best things," he wrote during a College Summit summer workshop several years ago. "I have worried about living half my life in jail...I have worried about living in poverty, but worst of all, I have thought about accidentally giving my life to God at a young age. College is the key as well as the hope."
Read more in VPP's College Summit Case Study»
Jason Allen, Latin American Youth Center
Jason Allen will head to college in California this coming fall, an experience that may feel familiar as he has been sitting in on college classes for the last few years.
Jason, a participant in the Latin American Youth Center's (LAYC) Upward Bound Program, was the recipient of a four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarship from the Posse Foundation, an organization that identifies high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Jason will attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and his experience in Upward Bound will certainly serve him well in his first year.
