03/24/2015
Click here to support Nia Imani Academy Needs Your Support by Elder Rose
Good morning all! We are at a critical juncture in the life of our Academy. We would like to keep our doors open to provide high quality Christian education in Southern Maryland. However, approximately 80% of our population consists of students who are homeless. Those with state vouchers provide some funding to the school, but it is insufficient to cover costs of tuition, before/after learning opportunities, fees, uniforms, etc. The majority of the students would qualify for Free and Reduced Meals. Some no longer have vouchers. Some vouchers have not started.
The one thing I am certain of is that these students need to be here! The Academy may not be for all children, but it is especially suited for these children. We provide high rigor, small class sizes, year round instruction, and character education through the Word of God. Our biggest class is our PreK3-5 group. Unfortunately, Charles County does not have enough Head Start, PreK, or early learning centers to meet the needs of this growing part of the population. Our homeless students are not allowed to be in Safe Nights from 7am to 7pm. Accordingly, school provides that safe haven they need during the day. They come to school sick because there is nowhere else for them to go.
We may not be in your area today, but we plan to be where ever we are needed. We look to expand to Chicago, West Palm Beach, Richmond VA, and Atlanta. Who knows, we may be coming to a neighborhood near you. However, our start-up school must meet its goals and objectives (to include viability) to make the other schools happen.
This is where we need your help!! We have started campaigns asking for you to consider adopting 6 of our students. I, Elder Rose, have asked for my Facebook family, friends, acquaintances to donate as little as $6 each. These are still options. However, we are in grave need of support at this point given the limited success of those campaigns. Will you help!
Some have suggested that I close the doors of the school and go back to Corporate America or return to an administrative job at a public school. However, this is ministry work! This is work that I was not expecting to do in this way, but is apparently what God would have me do. Having such a large population of homeless students makes it very clear to me that I am, indeed, my brothers' and sisters' keeper. From a philosophical point, we could argue and debate why these children are homeless. But, at the end of the day...they would still be homeless. We have helped with food, clothing, shelter, and of course tuition, books, fees, etc. However, we are very small and do not have sufficient funds to meet all of their needs. Like all children, their needs are not just academic - they are physical, social, emotional, and spiritual. We want to be able to help beyond what we can do right now. And in fact, without your support...providing continued academic support is in question.
Will you help? We started a $9 for 12 challenge taking a page from my soror Cecka Rose Green's very successful campaign to support our alma mater, Florida A&M University. It requires you to donate $9 (or more) and then challenge 12 others to do so. We have 12 children who desperately need your help. It may not sound like much, but it can be if you guys actually pitch in...and then challenge your family and friends to do the same! If you can help, use PayPal (via [email protected], which is the quickest way to get the money to the school), gofundme.com/4ggok4 (two days delay), make a deposit at SunTrust Bank (Nia Imani Christian Center, 101 Catalpa Drive, Unit 104, La Plata, MD 20646), or call the school to use your credit/debit card. If you don't have the funds, please spread the word via your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
If you know of an Angel Investor passionate about the future of education - well, please send him/her our way!
For those of you who have already donated, thank you so very much for your support!! Help us spread the word to keep these children in a safe, caring, warm educational environment! We can do this - we are the village!!
Click here to support Nia Imani Academy Needs Your Support by Elder Rose
We need your help to raise money for our new school that opened this September 2013 in Southern Maryland. We are an independent PreK-3 through 7th grade Christian based school. The Academy's mission is to produce college and career ready students with exceptional skills to be successful 21st ce...
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