Community Building Beyond Buildings

Literacy in America has always been a major topic of discussion and a crucial point of concern for our communities as well as the nation as a whole. With the recent turbulent changes in global economy, the importance of higher education is paramount now more than ever. In order for young adults of today and future generations to be able to compete in increasingly globalized job markets, they must learn to define their career paths as early as possible. There are a great number of programs and initiatives dedicated to this cause, and majority of them are always looking for more volunteers to help support the cause. Cripe is committed to supporting these programs that help to build and sustain our communities. I recently had the opportunity to participate on behalf of Cripe in the Read Across America program on March 2nd 2014 at the Riverside 44 Elementary school, as well as the ongoing ACE Mentorship Program. On the surface, these gestures may appear to some as merely a show of community involvement, but the reality is it goes beyond that. As we interacted with the students, the impact became more apparent in their reception towards adults who weren’t their teachers, taking time out to help them learn something new. Whether they were kindergartners being read the Cat in the hat book, or high school students working through a whole building design project, they all shared one thing in common; they cared about learning at least in that brief moment. As individuals and corporate organizations, it is understandable in this day and age that our commitments might be somewhat restricting with regards to what we can invest our time in. However, the truth of the matter is that the most valuable thing we can invest in is our future.

 

-Written by Andrew Adegbamigbe-

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