Grand Blanc Builders of Hope
Donation protected
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jason Youngs, and I'm a teacher at Grand Blanc High School. I build relationships with young people. I show them I care and that I love them. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes its easy. Sometimes it requires a leap of faith. This is one of those times.
Grand Blanc Builders of Hope Inc. is the product of several different circumstances or events that have occurred in my life, and this nonprofit is (or will be) the unifying product of those circumstances colliding together. Allow me to elaborate.
First, in April of 2016, Grand Blanc High School lost a teacher, Miss La’Rhonda Gowdy, due to an acute illness that took her life. Miss Gowdy was a leader at Grand Blanc High School. Not only was she our only African-American teacher, but she was an advocate for helping others, especially through a class offered at GBHS called Peer Mediation. Most students that take this course, take it because they want to help others. They have a heart of service to their school community, as well as the community at large. After Miss Gowdy’s passing, I was presented with an opportunity to take over teaching the Peer Mediation course. After much thought and prayer, I could see a vision of the amazing things that could be done to change GBHS for the better. I could see an opportunity to create a culture of service to our school and our community, as well as raising awareness of important issues and developing ways to help in these areas. The 2016-2017 school year was my first experience as the Peer Mediation teacher.
Second, at some point during the 2015-2016 school year, a colleague of mine, Mr. Wes Wiltse, were presented with an opportunity to teach a new course that our administration had seen presented at a Career and Technical Education conference. The course is called Geometry In Construction, and it partners the CTE course Construction Trades with the mathematics course of Geometry. Wes and I quickly agreed to become team-teachers in this endeavor and go for it. We were trained in June 2016 and we implemented the course in the 2016-2017 school year with great success. One of the great components of the Geometry In Construction class is the capstone project that we have to bring the content together. Ideally, this capstone project is something on the scale of a house. Our pilot class in the 2016-2017 school year had 17 students, so we were able to build a couple smaller projects at the end, but not a house. We built a class project of eight Adirondak Chairs and a Gazebo for a local business. Our enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year is 104 students!
Lastly, in January 2017, I was asked to be part of a Grand Blanc Community Schools initiative called “The Positivity Project”. This is a nationally recognized program that was piloted in one of our elementary schools this year. The Positivity Project was a huge success at Indian Hill Elementary. The principal there, Jeremy Mitchell, was instrumental in bringing the message to GBHS. I have chosen to participate as a leader in this initiative.
These three opportunities have put a great responsibility on my life. I feel as though I have been put into a position with these circumstances that allows me (or my influence) to impact my community to make a difference. I have been given one set of students that have a heart for their community and for others. I have been given another set of students that have a need to build. I also have an opportunity to share this attitude to a staff of teachers through “The Positivity Project”. To me, the call on my life is obvious, I needed to do something about this.
So, with that, I leave you with the vision I have for my career as a teacher the next few years. Showing students how to love their fellow man, how to bring hope to others, caring for their community through serving. Let's see what we can do!
I am seeking funding for the startup cost of starting the nonprofit. Overall, I need $1,150. ($973 for the initial setup and $159 for the Registered Agent/Attorney). Any money above and beyond the requested amount will directly impact the homeless and veteran projects described above.
I'd love for you to be a charter member in this endeavor!
Please share!
Grand Blanc Builders of Hope Inc. is the product of several different circumstances or events that have occurred in my life, and this nonprofit is (or will be) the unifying product of those circumstances colliding together. Allow me to elaborate.
First, in April of 2016, Grand Blanc High School lost a teacher, Miss La’Rhonda Gowdy, due to an acute illness that took her life. Miss Gowdy was a leader at Grand Blanc High School. Not only was she our only African-American teacher, but she was an advocate for helping others, especially through a class offered at GBHS called Peer Mediation. Most students that take this course, take it because they want to help others. They have a heart of service to their school community, as well as the community at large. After Miss Gowdy’s passing, I was presented with an opportunity to take over teaching the Peer Mediation course. After much thought and prayer, I could see a vision of the amazing things that could be done to change GBHS for the better. I could see an opportunity to create a culture of service to our school and our community, as well as raising awareness of important issues and developing ways to help in these areas. The 2016-2017 school year was my first experience as the Peer Mediation teacher.
Second, at some point during the 2015-2016 school year, a colleague of mine, Mr. Wes Wiltse, were presented with an opportunity to teach a new course that our administration had seen presented at a Career and Technical Education conference. The course is called Geometry In Construction, and it partners the CTE course Construction Trades with the mathematics course of Geometry. Wes and I quickly agreed to become team-teachers in this endeavor and go for it. We were trained in June 2016 and we implemented the course in the 2016-2017 school year with great success. One of the great components of the Geometry In Construction class is the capstone project that we have to bring the content together. Ideally, this capstone project is something on the scale of a house. Our pilot class in the 2016-2017 school year had 17 students, so we were able to build a couple smaller projects at the end, but not a house. We built a class project of eight Adirondak Chairs and a Gazebo for a local business. Our enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year is 104 students!
Lastly, in January 2017, I was asked to be part of a Grand Blanc Community Schools initiative called “The Positivity Project”. This is a nationally recognized program that was piloted in one of our elementary schools this year. The Positivity Project was a huge success at Indian Hill Elementary. The principal there, Jeremy Mitchell, was instrumental in bringing the message to GBHS. I have chosen to participate as a leader in this initiative.
These three opportunities have put a great responsibility on my life. I feel as though I have been put into a position with these circumstances that allows me (or my influence) to impact my community to make a difference. I have been given one set of students that have a heart for their community and for others. I have been given another set of students that have a need to build. I also have an opportunity to share this attitude to a staff of teachers through “The Positivity Project”. To me, the call on my life is obvious, I needed to do something about this.
So, with that, I leave you with the vision I have for my career as a teacher the next few years. Showing students how to love their fellow man, how to bring hope to others, caring for their community through serving. Let's see what we can do!
I am seeking funding for the startup cost of starting the nonprofit. Overall, I need $1,150. ($973 for the initial setup and $159 for the Registered Agent/Attorney). Any money above and beyond the requested amount will directly impact the homeless and veteran projects described above.
I'd love for you to be a charter member in this endeavor!
Please share!
Organizer
Jason Youngs
Organizer
Grand Blanc, MI
