Each One Reach One provides not only great services for our youth, but we also believe that through the arts we can make a difference.
I can't say enough about the amazing work Each One Reach One does! The organization exposes young adults to creative and expressive art, and for many of the participants, this is their first experience tapping into their creative side. As a former volunteer, I enjoyed watching participants grow and develop and realize their potential in the realm of the arts and education. Each One Reach One is a one of kind organization which allows youth to expand and deepen their knowledge and gives them the ability to overcome barriers.
This organization recognizes and cultivates the talent and potential of young people who have been incarcerated. It gives these youth a chance to find their voice and provides tools they may use to forge a new path. The plays that youth write are performed in very powerful staged readings. But what Each One Reach One does goes far beyond those readings. The programs provide health education, tutoring, and support through community college. It's one small organization doing its part to end mass incarceration by believing in the inherent greatness of these young people, even as they are being told by so many others that they are not worthy. This is why I choose to support EORO.
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I have worked with many community programs designed to serve youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system. Never have I met staff who were more dedicated than those at Each One Reach One. When I attended a reading of the plays that the young detainees wrote, I was moved to tears. Each One Reach One's executive director explains that the youth really engage and take pride in the play-writing experience, and that it inspires them to study for their GED and look forward in a healthy and positive way. Each One Reach One is an impressive organization, driven by compassion and intelligence.
I love EORO--their mission, their staff, and their dedicated volunteers and board of directors. The impact they have on the lives of those who are invisible to too many of us is astonishing, helping young people most at risk re-imagine their lives and set (and accomplish) goals that will transform these youth, their families and their communities. With an arts and education focus, they are changing the world, one on one.
Working and growing with Each One Reach One over the last four years has been life-changing for me. First, I was able to experience being a mentor and I will never forget the passionate, intelligent young people I met inside. I pray they are all free and safe. As complicated and challenging as they're lives are, I positive this program left each one of them with feeling encouraged, you could see it in their warm smiles and glowing faces after they're plays were performed to great applause. Then, EORO and I collaborated on my play about solitary confinement, The Box, which Premiered in San Francisco last July. Each One Reach One was the fiscal sponsor and went above and beyond to ensure things ran smoothly while we worked around the clock to raise the funds and bring this incredible production to life. I can't think of an organization with more integrity, vision....and ability to follow-through!