Giving back
Leah Richardson is evidence that generosity can have a profound and far-reaching impact.
Richardson, an alumna of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, was part of the effort that resulted in the founding of the Promise Partnership.
The Promise Partnership helps children from one of Saint John’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods reach their potential through education.
But Richardson’s work wouldn’t have been possible if someone hadn’t helped her first.
While working on her Bachelor of Science, Richardson was the beneficiary of numerous scholarships, totaling over $11,000 over the course of her degree.
“Without the scholarships, I would have had to focus on working full time to cover the bills and pay off a student loan,” Richardson said. “But that support allowed me to fully commit to both my academic studies and community-based projects. It really pushed me to develop leadership skills, and to make a difference.”
Making a difference in the community
In 2009, Richardson helped launch the Promise Partnership, which has a number of education initiatives to help underprivileged children who are struggling in school.
One program pairs students from UNB Saint John with children from Hazen-White/St. Francis School. Once a week, the UNB Saint John student mentor meets with a child from Hazen-White/St. Francis for one-on-one tutoring.
“For me, it’s been most exciting to see how quickly other UNBSJ students grabbed hold of this. We watched the program grow from 25 student mentors in the winter of 2010 to 150 mentors by the fall,” Richardson said. “We’ve met our goal of matching every child at Hazen-White/St. Francis with a mentor from UNB.”
Hazen-White/St. Francis School is located in Crescent Valley, one of Saint John’s ‘priority’ neighbourhoods. Low levels of educational attainment in this community have been a barrier between children and a healthy and prosperous future.
“I saw a problem in our community that UNB student volunteers could solve,” Richardson said. “The starting goal was to help children boost their reading scores. Without reading skills, they struggle in all aspects of life. But I also saw it as an opportunity for university students to benefit from real-world experiential learning.”
Some other initiatives that Richardson has worked on include the Backyard Book Club, which promotes reading skills in children from kindergarten to grade four; Campus Discovery Nights, which has students from grades six to eight come to the UNB Saint John campus to learn about science; and Sports and Science Camp, a weeklong summer camp held at UNB Saint John.
Unlocking full potential
The Promise Partnership has also implemented a weekly high school tutoring program on the UNB Saint John campus. Before the program began last year, very few students from Hazen-White/St. Francis would go on to complete high school after grade eight. This year, 70 percent of students completed their first year of high school, and plan to continue.
“These are smart kids, who have enormous potential. We just need to invest some time with them to unlock that potential,” Richardson said. “It’s the same thing with scholarships. They unlock the full potential of what we students can do.”
