Philadelphia Futures Spiel
Kara LaFleur
Is Everyone ready to get their Game/Geek On?
Just sending out this consolidated version of everything that is currently on the Blog about Philadelphia Futures so that everyone can become familiar & feel comfortable talking about the basics - but don't worry, there will be plenty of Philadelphia Futures Staff members as well as about 10 mentors from the program, so if someone asks you something you can't answer, just direct them to someone who can! (name tags should help with this) We have plenty of games, but of course, everyone is encouraged to bring more - and be sure to openly challenge your friends on whatever social media platform you prefer, including my favorite social media of all: IRL ;)
Philadelphia Futures is a local nonprofit that has been helping Philadelphia youth accomplish their dreams of higher education for more than 20 years. What Futures does is match one student with one mentor, beginning in their freshman year. The student/mentor relationship continues until that student graduates high school. Futures provides academic support in the form of tutoring, SAT prep, college visits, advanced course work, and more. Apply now. They need at least 60 new mentors for their incoming class.
The mentor just has to show up.
You would be amazed at how much impact the consistent presence of an interested, involved adult can have on a teenager’s development. These are kids who go to some of the worst schools and live in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Having an adult who offers consistent support and interest in their lives is a luxury very few of them have. The time commitment for mentors is one phone call per week, and one face-to-face meeting per month. That’s it - Just think about it; that’s one less podcast per week, one less brunch per month.
And for the guys out there, Futures is desperately in need of male mentors. 60% of the drop outs in Philly are young men/boys. And in a city where many of these boys don’t have positive male role models, you bring an extra benefit to their lives.
If you can’t sign up as a mentor, then please consider volunteering to be a resource for the program. Spending time with people who understand and use technology would be a tremendous learning experience for them. Consider making yourself available for interviews, job shadowing or offering internships. Apply now. They need at least 60 new mentors for their incoming class.
If you can’t mentor but are interested in getting involved in other ways, e-mail us at info [at] geekswhogive [dot] org and we’ll figure out how.
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~ Kara
Work To Ride (a work in progress)
www.karalafleur.com
www.geekswhogive.org