Student Experts Shine

This past Saturday, UrbanFUTURE held its inaugural UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Trivia Night presented by Wells Fargo Advisors and Walgreens. About 350 were attendance at the Wells Fargo Advisors University Learning Center in downtown St. Louis.

The event was different than any other trivia night in that teams could bid on the services of the Classroom of Experts. The Classroom of Experts was composed of UrbanFUTURE students from Mann Elementary who helped to write the questions for the event and were the center of attention throughout the night. Despite all of the attention and being on stage in front of a large crowd of complete strangers, the students were unfazed and excited.

I had the privilege of driving a four of the students to and from the event. I was struck on the way to the event at how confident and excited all of the students were for the evening. They had practiced their questions and were looking forward to helping the trivia teams out. While none of them said it, I gathered they held their title of expert in high esteem, after all when was the last time anyone has referred to inner city youth as experts when it came to school.

By the end of the night, the students were beaming and fulling lived up to their star status. They held their mini-white boards high rooting on the teams, interacted with tables between rounds and made the night a tremendous success. As I was driving them home, they were full of energy and excitement talking about the evening and their favorite teams. They were already talking about being experts for next year's events.

I walked away that evening knowing the event was a great success, but not based on any how many people attended or how much we raised. Rather, it was knowing that for one night, UrbanFUTURE students were the experts and they knew it. That impression will be long-lasting for all of them for years to come.

UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Trivia Night

On January 8th, come join UrbanFUTURE for the inaugural UrbanFUTURE Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Trivia Night presented by Walgreens and Wells Fargo Advisors. UrbanFUTURE students from Mann Elementary have not only helped to write the questions, but they will be featured as our Classroom of Experts. Before each round of trivia, teams will have the opportunity to bid on the services of the Subject Matter Expert for that round from the Classroom of Experts. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 teams and we'll have other games and prizes through out the evening.

Reserve your place today for $20/person or $200 for a table of 10 by e-mailing events@urbanfuturestl.org or calling (314)776-3434. So gather your best trivia team and find out if you really are smarter than a 5th grader.

What UrbanFUTURE is Thankful For This Year

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, this is a great time to reflect on the past year and share with others what we are thankful for and how much we appreciate them. In spirit of the holiday, here is what we at UrbanFUTURE are thankful for.

• Outstanding volunteer tutors and mentors who spend an hour each week working with urban youth. They play a vital role in Restoration and the success of UrbanFUTURE.
  
• Dedicated teachers who work with UrbanFUTURE staff on a daily basis to help each student succeed academically and grow as a person. Teachers provide us with some of the greatest insight to each student we work with.
• Enthusiastic donors who ensure that Restoration will continue to have an impact for urban youth in St. Louis and share our vision of eliminating the academic achievement gap in urban schools.
• Strong partners who collaborate with us to maximize resources and impact in the lives of students on a daily basis. Our partners include Youth In Need, YMCA, St. Louis Public Schools & Human Development Corporation.
• Corporate sponsors who invest their time, money and leadership in UrbanFUTURE. Our sponsors include Walgreens, Wells Fargo Advisors, Maritz, Kaldi's Coffee and Ameren.
• Engaged parent leaders who are taking charge of their child's education and working to ensure they succeed academically and in life. Our parents are a vital cog in Restoration and are great advocates for UrbanFUTURE.
• Hard-working and dedicated students who show up every day to learn and grow. It's amazing how inspiring our students can be for all of us.
  

We know Restoration only succeeds because of everyone involved and can't thank you all enough for your continued commitment and dedication to helping urban youth see and believe in their possibilities!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Get Involved in Volunteer Recruiting Process

Did you know that UrbanFUTURE will be providing services to 3 times as many students this year? We are excited to be helping more students see and believe in their possibilities, however, we are in need of even more volunteers than ever. This year, we have gotten off to a strong start with nearly 150 active volunteer tutors and mentors already meeting with students at Fanning Middle School and Mann Elementary, and we will be starting at 4 additional schools over the next several weeks.

Our volunteers this year have come from a variety of sources. You may have seen our flyers at Walgreens, or our posters at your favorite coffee shop. We may have met you at one of the many community activities we participate in such as the Festival of Nations, or an outdoor concert. What you may not know, is that while these activities help us meet many of our volunteers, over 60% of our volunteers come from organizations and institutions. It seems that once a member of a company, club, church or school starts working with our students, they share their experience and before you know it we have several volunteers participating from that same location. Maritz, Wells Fargo Advisors, and Ameren are all wonderful examples of companies that support us with volunteerism and funding, while St. Louis University shows how mobilizing the student body can provide much needed tutors for our students. 

In saying this, think about groups in which you belong. Whether it be your place of employment, church, fraternity or sorority, or professional organization, we would love for them to hear our story. Our current volunteers are our best advocates, but we are willing to come to your organization to provide a presentation. The presentation could be as brief or as detailed as your time allows, and we are even willing to provide on-site volunteer training. UrbanFUTURE is excited to have the opportunity to serve more families, schools, and communities, and looks forward to even more volunteer participation.