Our teachers come from a diverse population, including over twenty countries and a dozen languages. We will use this grant to expand our positive impact in the community through reaching greater numbers of those in need, increasing our online teaching capacity and reach, expanding our teaching beyond. Our project is to provide a positive impact for the underserved youth of our South Salt Lake neighborhood by expanding our mentoring for the purpose of direct service in the following areas:
1) After school and Saturday ACT and SAT Prep Courses – Currently this is on an as-needed basis, but we will be expanding this to serve our underserved population regardless of ability to pay, to remove economic barriers and create a much needed pipeline to university education.
2) Congressional Award Mentoring Program – This year in Utah we have helped three recipients receive this reward – one recipient is a Kurdistan refugee, and we intend to develop this into an established mentoring program.
3) Open Enrollment Turkish Classes – Targets underprivileged students from a multi-ethnic background focusing on Turkish language classes, character building and Muslim tradition, to help them integrate and become better US and global citizens.
4) Art Classes – Art and craft classes for local underserved youth and others to develop creativity and problem solving skills, seeking to expand from bimonthly to monthly classes to help more youth.
5) Organizing and carrying out small scale, immediate impact volunteering opportunities – Teaching needs of volunteerism and putting kind words into action through meeting immediate needs for small, limited scope projects. We will be specifically targeting underserved teenagers and young adults to help them see the positive impact of their own actions for those around them.
This South Salt Lake area we are in is filled with underserved and underprivileged young people, with little hope for future success unless we help. There are more than 20 different ethnic groups in this neighborhood, and many immigrant and refugee families struggling to lay hold of their portion of the American dream.
ACT and SAT Prep Courses will help them prepare for university and future education sidestepping current economic and social barriers.
The Congressional Award Mentoring helps expand future opportunity for these young people – not just for those who receive the award, but for all those around them who see that such success is an achievable possibility.
Weekend School Currently serving 3 dozen students from 20 different ethnic groups. We teach social studies, Turkish Language and Literature, and Turkish arts and crafts.
Targets underprivileged students from a multi-ethnic background focusing on Turkish and Arabic language classes, character building and Muslim tradition, working specifically with backgrounds of Turkish, Kurdish, Meskhetian, Turkmen, Kazak, Pakistan, and Uzbek families to help them integrate and become better US and global citizens.
