It's a New Year

It’s a new year with all the desires to make this the one in which you make changes in life that will positively affect you. A few days removed from the start of 2013, have you stuck with the resolutions you’ve made? Did you make any? Many people list ‘lose weight,’ ‘join a gym’ or ‘quit a bad habit.’ What about learning? Education is not your typical resolution. Being a lifelong learner can be an invaluable asset as you go about your personal and professional life. The more you know and know how to do, the better chance you can be successful in any endeavor - even losing weight.

Industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie once said, "If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes."

The challenge we face today is too many youth don’t have the opportunity to even begin this process. Receiving a quality education is not always at the top of the list for the youth we work with until they are told about the Simon Youth Academy. Many factors get in the way like family obligations, unexpected life circumstances or even bullying.

SYF wants to help lead this charge and ignite hope around the country. Sparking that fire within starts with you and extends through this Foundation. Without continued support of our academies and scholarships, these at-risk youth might not have the courage to even try.

We tell students if they start here they can go anywhere. Carrying a high school diploma opens doors and windows of opportunity. Aside from that, they are learning the importance of continuing education beyond the classroom. Whether they decide to enter the work force, technical college, junior college or university, they now have that option.

SYF has a number of milestones it is celebrating in 2013 - 15-year anniversary, 10,000 graduates and providing more than $10 million in scholarships. SYF is one solution to the high school dropout problem, but we can’t do it alone. We need your help to raise awareness about who we are and why we do it. We resolve to expand the number of at-risk youth we impact. Join us – we have 362 days left!