Wendy Summers
Staff Writer
The Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation (MJCHF) will be having many future conversations thanks to the generous donation received last month.
In January, Gori Julian & Associates donated $100,000 to the MJCHF’s Conversation Toward a Brighter Future initiative. Randy Gori, partner at Gori Julian & Associates, was happy to help support such a positive initiative involving today’s youth.
The MJCHF will use this donation to help area middle school and high school students stay engaged in their communities and schools. Participating students are encouraged, through open dialogue, to help make decisions and changes in both their school conditions and their community relationships.
Last february, the MJCHF held a two-day summit, in which students were given a chance to do just that. Each school represented was given $5,000 and the opportunity to identify and create projects to solve their individual school and community issues.
In a recent conversation with Jordan Anderson, Alton High School PBIS Director, she told The Bridge, “This year our students involved in the Mannie Jackson program have worked throughout the high school to further their involvement in the community. During the 2016-2017 school year, we have worked to create student led lessons on Respect, Responsibility, Safety, and Kindness for all students to participate in.”
Her students have shown great personal growth through the community and school projects that MJCHF’s initiative has made available. They adopted a family in need during the Christmas season and are currently planning a Special Olympic Sports Day for this Spring.
Anderson went on to say, “Our Mannie Jackson students meet monthly to participate in a RRSK Lunch & Learn and we have recognized 300 students so far this school year for showing Respect, Responsibility, Safety, or Kindness throughout the building.”
Donations, like the one made by Gori Julian & Associates, are what make it possible for the MJCHF to continue to impact our youth and society. The MJCHF is pleased to have partnerships with so many Madison County business leaders and with the Regional Superintendent’s office.
This support makes it possible to offer this opportunity to the following participating schools: Alton Senior High and Middle Schools, Civic Memorial High and Trimpe Middle Schools, East Alton-Wood River High and East Alton Middle Schools, Roxana High and Junior High Schools, Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville Liberty and Lincoln Middle Schools, Triad High and Middle Schools, Granite City High School, Coolidge Junior High School, Collinsville High and Middles Schools, Madison Senior and Junior High Schools, and Venice Senior and Junior High Schools.
For more information, visit www.mjchf.org or contact Ed Hightower, Executive Director of MJCHF, at (618) 655-2881 or drehightower@mjchf.org.
