Assist Those Who Need Help Achieving Educational Goals
The consequences from pandemic-related learning losses are coming into focus.
According to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress report, two decades of progress have been wiped out. In 2022, math scores for fourth and eighth graders fell by five and eight points, respectively, compared to 2019 levels. Average reading scores fell by three points. Researchers estimate that it could take decades for students to catch up.
However, there are ways to help students recover more quickly, and Give To Get has designed multiple employee volunteer events to help companies support educational initiatives. Among our most popular programs are our all-day school refurbishment program, our half-day leadership and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) conference, and our back-to-school backpack assembly options.
Preview these opportunities below:
School Refurbishment: Digitas, a global marketing agency, has a large Chicago office that has completed regular school refurbishments since 2015. Each year, Give To Get recommends several schools for the organization to volunteer with based on need, location, and other parameters. In many instances, the projects include landscaping, painting, and furniture-building; however, the Digitas team has also helped with rebranding schools or designing custom murals. Digitas has now built a sustained culture of giving that everyone — from the office’s managing director to interns — can participate in. Additionally, we have developed leadership opportunities allowing employees to lead their colleagues alongside Give To Get staff.
Half-Day Leadership & STEM Conference: Emerson has long hosted its “Rising Leaders” conference to help employees learn the skills needed to move into management positions.
In 2018, the team decided that it wanted to combine this program with a volunteer initiative. Give To Get designed and executed a social impact program that met the moment, engaging conference attendees as well as youth from local after school clubs.
During this event, students were matched with adults and worked in groups to assemble robots while also developing marketing presentations to discuss their robot's unique capabilities. Since then, the program has been hosted in numerous markets globally and helped 515 rising leaders at Emerson. It has also been rolled out to other organizations.
Back-to-School Backpack Assembly: For teams with limited time, packing backpacks filled with school supplies, which can cost hundreds of dollars for overwhelmed families, can be the perfect employee volunteer program. Give To Get works with local nonprofits and school districts to determine the appropriate items for each backpack. We also purchase name-brand items for employee volunteers to use to fill the backpacks and encourage volunteers to write cards of support so that children are encouraged to pursue their education.
If you and your colleagues would like to help students attain their educational goals, contact the Give To Get team to get started. We are happy to customize a program for you.