In just a few short months What Now America has shed new light on the lives of West Oakland youth. The rich academic and social programs are augmented by nutritional meals and one-on-one mentoring many of the program participants rarely encounter. As an all-volunteer run organization I know my participation makes a difference not only for What Now America but for the youth who need it most.
I just want to let everyone out there know what great success we have had so far. We started off in the area with minimal exposure and now, after just 3 months, the number of our participants has grown exponentially. Kids and their families love the program as I do myself. They are enthusiastic about activities that are planned out every week and some really strong bonds are being created through this. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this and invite everyone to check us out, on-line, on-site, over the phone, by email, and however else you can...
I really liked the organization, for it really hits home to the people of Oakland by providing them after school activities. A study comparing the scores of children on reading and math shows that students from upper class families scored better than students gradually as more summers pass by, indicating that they spend more of their free time reading, which is where WNA comes into play.
What Now America has been a life changing experience for me. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the students makes all the hard work well worth it. Working with a very talented board and student volunteers makes the program what it is. I would strongly encourage anyone who is looking to give back to the community to join this organization either as a board member or volunteer to work with the youth Saturdays from 12-5.