MAKiN iT 3.0 Campaign
Reaching America's most at-risk young adults has been my
mission in life since I was 19. Before
there was a national outcry on the issue of high school drop-outs, I was
actively working in the toughest areas of the U.S., helping America's most
disenfranchised young people gain access to educational and work experience
opportunities. After years of direct service work, I realized that the majority
of policy and program approaches were simply not working.
Helping youth graduate from high school and enter the world of
work has historically challenged the nation's workforce development and
educational systems. Despite years of changes in youth culture, policy and programmatic approaches have basically stayed the same. Without the willingness to implement new and
innovative approaches, these systems will continue to produce mediocre educational outcomes and doom a generation of young people to low wage jobs "“ the type
that youth can find all on their very own.
I came to realize that the real world of most at-risk youth
exceeded the imagination of most decision makers. Despite good intentions, we
still have too many 8-Track policies in a MP3 World.
In early 2000 I created an unprecedented model for
youth achievement. I interviewed former youth employment and training program
graduates in order to determine what factors led to their success. I put together a 144 page manual for youth on
success strategies for work and school. This ground-breaking project, MAKiN'
iT, was distributed to hundreds of youth programs and schools across the United
States. The MAKiN' iT brand is now well known among youth service providers,
moreover, the MAKiN' iT Curriculum and the MAKiN iT Day program are in use by
youth organizations seeking to reach and work with America's disenfranchised
youth population.
The popularity of the MAKiN'iT program with young adults and
the successful outcomes that have been experienced, has prompted me to continue
this mission and launch MAKiN it 3.0.
MAKiN' iT 3.0 will take the 12 years of research and knowledge behind
the MAKiN iT Brand, my experience as an Ironman triathlete, and the collective wisdom
of gainfully employed young adults and provide young people seeking options beyond
the streets a new insight into achieving economic and educational success.
We plan to distribute 100,000 copies of MAKiN iT 3.0 to young people in selected cities. Our goal is to transform how young people see education and workforce success by using the power of peer influence, youth involvement and popular culture to do so.
The cost of such an undertaking is enormous. I need your
support to make the MAKiN iT 3.0 Campaign a reality. Whether you are a corporate or individual donor, every $1 you contribute, will help get this needed effort to the young people who need it most.
Reach all Youth,
Edward DeJesus
