Would you give $10 to help save 6 lives? I hope so, because 6 of the critically at risk youth on the waiting list for Maranathan Academy need your help. Maranathan Family Learning Center & Academy, Inc. is a nonprofit school founded in 1991 for the express purpose of providing a safe haven and second chance to critically-at-risk youth and adults. All students, regardless of race, age, appearance or lifestyle are welcome.

For 24 years Maranathan has helped critically at risk youth and adults in Birmingham, AL and its surrounding municipalities, change their lives through education -- twenty-four years of seeing youth and adults who had been written off as lost causes, turn their lives around and become productive, contributing members of society.

My students, who I call my “babies” come to Maranathan from a variety of sources such as police or probation officer referrals or social service agencies, and enroll for many reasons – some have been expelled, some have been in juvenile lock up and need a new start, some because they’ve been bullied to the point of attempting suicide, some because they’ve been attacked physically and verbally for being different. Whatever the source or reason, I’m proud that Maranathan makes it possible for critically at risk youth and adults to become success stories instead of statistics. Currently Maranathan has a waiting list of 70 individuals in need of the unique services we provide.

This short video will provide some texture to the work and mission of Maranathan. 



I’d planned on having 30 students enrolled this year. 11 of the 30 students would be young people from our waiting list. Unfortunately funding cuts at the SGO (scholarship granting organization) with which we are affiliated, resulted in 11 of the scholarships I raised having to be used for currently enrolled students. Our 11 students who were looking forward to attending were left to remain waiting. This week, during routine “check up” calls to my waiting list kids, I discovered that several are spiraling downward. I know that if they don’t enroll quickly, we will lose them to the call of streets, drugs, etc. After wracking my brain about what could be done, it occurred to me, if at least 3,000 people gave just $10, I could enroll six of the kids from our waiting list, who are spiraling most rapidly.

I’m sure money is tight, but I’m asking everyone interested in seeing youth others are either afraid of or have written off as lost causes, break the cycles of incarceration, government dependence, or apathy that have plagued their families for years, to give $10. $10 to save at least 6 lives. These precious “babies” need to enroll asap. Your $10 donation will help make that possible. Here’s some pertinent information on Maranathan:

Since inception, more than 600 individuals have benefited from the unique services we offer.

Most have either re-entered traditional school with the tools they need for success or earned their diploma here – preparing them for higher education or meaningful, productive careers.

• 85 percent of our students have completed high school and earned diplomas.

• 53 percent of our students have entered colleges and universities.

• 21 percent of our students have entered the military.

• 26 percent of our students have become certified in a trade and gainfully employed.

Please watch the attached short video, and if possible also read the B Metro Magazine cover story article, by renowned author T. K. Thorne on Maranathan, which is accessible via the following link:
"A Light in the Darkness" Maranthan Academy... 

Please share our Go Fund Me campaign with all your contacts and ask them to do the same. Thanks so much!

Donna Dukes
Founder & Executive Director
Maranathan Academy