We are really excited to be launching an Indiegogo campaign for eLemenT. The kids and staff worked on a great new video promo for this project. It is awesome.
It is so hard when teens want to be a part, but cannot afford tuition. While our heart would be to charge nothing, the reality of having a great house where kids feel at home, paying for heat and air conditioning, insurance and tutor salaries---we just have to charge tuition. We still have managed to keep it well below the cost of all other types of school.
Please consider a contribution to our scholarship fund. It could change the world!
eLemenT...in your element, you thrive! Making a truly customized education a reality for Tulsa Teens.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Heartbreak
I didn't know him--yet I did. Its the kind of thing you don't hear on the news. But when you hear the news, something in your spirit just cries. A friend of a friend of a friend just lost a son to suicide. A highschooler. The time of life that is so full of promise. What caused him to lose hope?
To that I don't have the answer, but I did get some clues. The friend of a friend of a friend says he was bullied. Not at one school, but two. I have no doubt his parents loved him. When the public school proved to be a place where he was taunted, the family took charge. They enrolled the young man in the "best" college prep private school in town. This school costs more than double what our program asks. Yet was this the best choice for this teenager? Obviously, the answer is no.
The messenger in our group, with her words cloaked in tears, whispered that the teasing and belittling had continued. A public school teacher on hearing the news, audibly gasped when she heard the school to which he had transferred. 'It is even worse there!" she exclaimed. Every head hung low to hide the hurt.
They say he wasn't a nerd and he wasn't gay--as if nerds and homosexuals were the only type of child to be bullied. I don't know what caused the disconnect for this young man. But I know him. The hurt, the trama of facing the sea of people knowing nothing kind awaits you. Among hundreds of potential friends, yet somehow not belonging.
My heart cried for this young man. I know that I know that he would have found relief at eLemenT. Our young mentor staffers, our program directors, are amazing people. Although still in their teens themselves, they are wise. They understand what it means to have the world think you are broken. They have a heart to reach teens. At this point in our launch they are working for free. If they didn't care, they would have moved on. We all look forward to each day, working with the students we have and hoping each time we will meet a potential student that we get to tell them that the worst is over. From here on out, they will be in a place of respect, a place where it is good to be different.
If only that family knew about us. Please tell your friends, co-workers and family members about eLemenT. It could make all the difference in the world.
To that I don't have the answer, but I did get some clues. The friend of a friend of a friend says he was bullied. Not at one school, but two. I have no doubt his parents loved him. When the public school proved to be a place where he was taunted, the family took charge. They enrolled the young man in the "best" college prep private school in town. This school costs more than double what our program asks. Yet was this the best choice for this teenager? Obviously, the answer is no.
The messenger in our group, with her words cloaked in tears, whispered that the teasing and belittling had continued. A public school teacher on hearing the news, audibly gasped when she heard the school to which he had transferred. 'It is even worse there!" she exclaimed. Every head hung low to hide the hurt.
They say he wasn't a nerd and he wasn't gay--as if nerds and homosexuals were the only type of child to be bullied. I don't know what caused the disconnect for this young man. But I know him. The hurt, the trama of facing the sea of people knowing nothing kind awaits you. Among hundreds of potential friends, yet somehow not belonging.
My heart cried for this young man. I know that I know that he would have found relief at eLemenT. Our young mentor staffers, our program directors, are amazing people. Although still in their teens themselves, they are wise. They understand what it means to have the world think you are broken. They have a heart to reach teens. At this point in our launch they are working for free. If they didn't care, they would have moved on. We all look forward to each day, working with the students we have and hoping each time we will meet a potential student that we get to tell them that the worst is over. From here on out, they will be in a place of respect, a place where it is good to be different.
If only that family knew about us. Please tell your friends, co-workers and family members about eLemenT. It could make all the difference in the world.
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