“There’s nothing like seeing a child read for the first time”

“There’s nothing like seeing a child read for the first time,” said Ashley Sharpe-Porter, C’2013, a psychology (premed) major. “Children need us to help them become more literate because they don’t have the same advantages as children living in affluent areas.”

Ashley Sharpe Porter

According to Jumpstart, an early education organization that helps children develop language and literacy skills for school success, more than 6 million American children under the age of 6 live in poverty. Also, children from low-income neighborhoods start kindergarten 60 percent behind their wealthier peers. A final startling point from the organization is that children who start school behind are more likely to stay behind for the rest of their lives. Spelman women want to change these stats.

Sharpe-Porter is one of 50 Spelman students who volunteer with the  Jumpstart organization in Atlanta , completing countless service hours for the organization that is working toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeed.

“Spelman College women are on a mission to change the world, and I sincerely believe that children play a vital role in the future,” said Jasmine D. Haynes, C’2013, sociology major. “The impact of Jumpstart is outstanding and provides lower-income youth with a secondary family outside of their primary family.”

Jasmine D Haynes

Haynes, who has served as a corps member for Samuel L. Jones Early Learning Center and Samuel M. Nabrit Early Learning Center, found out about Jumpstart from her sister mentioning the program. With more than 3,600 college and community volunteers in 31 cities nationwide, Jumpstart, founded in 1993, has served more than 100,000 children in low-income areas to supplement preschool learning. The Atlanta site partners 215 corps members with 500 Atlanta preschool children in the metro area.

For the Spelman students who serve the organization, it has become an endearing experience. Committing up to 15 hours per week, along with class studies, jobs and other activities, Jumpstart not only benefited, but the students gain something as well.

“This plays into my Spelman experience because an important part of being in the Spelman community is service,” said Dadriaunna Williams, C’2014, a political science major and Jumpstart team leader. “I have served that purpose and gained more than I could ever imagine. Working with the children, parents, and teachers has been the ultimate most cherished experience this year.”

How Jumpstart Finds Students

Williams found out about the organization from a flyer placed on campus. That is just one of the ways Jumpstart recruits students. Ben Mueller, associate site manager for the Atlanta University Center, sets up a table on Market Friday, but says the red-shirt uniforms and word-of-mouth is how he recruits most of the students who come to Jumpstart.

“The majority of our AUC core members come from Spelman, and that has been traditionally the case with Jumpstart,” said Mueller, who is a former Jumpstart college volunteer. “When I moved here, I didn’t know much about Spelman’s campus, but the students have shown me exactly what it means to be part of that community and what it means to give back to that community and how to really carry yourself in a professional manner.”

Do We Have Jumpstart Today?

“I feel I had a great impact on the students and have seen the changes and development of the children, and they grow really close to me and my corps members,” said Sharpe-Porter, a team leader who wants to become a child psychologist and is spending her summer interning at Wediko Summer. “They ask their teachers every day, ‘Do we have Jumpstart today?’ Therefore, I know that even though they may not want to engage in every activity that we present to them, they still love the Jumpstart curriculum and love our company.”

Jones is pictured with the scarf.

Marilouise Jones, C’2012, said working with Jumpstart solidified her desire to become a speech and language pathologist. She noticed the need for changes in education by watching and observing how both teachers and students interact with other students who only seem to have a speech impediment.

“The exposure these children get from Jumpstart is invaluable because many of these children do not have a lot of interactions with adults who have had some of the experience we have all had,” said Jones, who will begin Purdue University in the fall. “Just being present and having consistent interactions with these children makes a huge difference.”

We Make an Impact

Tatiana Gomez

“I have seen firsthand how time in the classroom can really impact children, and my goal was to create a safe fun-educated space that the children can grow both academically and individually,” said Tatiana Gomez, C’2014, who just completed her second year with Jumpstart, first as a core member and recently as a team leader at Dean Rusk YMCA Academy. “Jumpstart has allowed me to work with children where help is needed the most – the classroom. Service at Dean Rusk was far more than a volunteer experience. I became engaged and motivated to continue my work in the public sphere.”

While Gomez’ future plans do not include a career in education, she wants to become a journalist who sheds light on the education disparity.

Unshante C Strader

Another Dean Rusk volunteer, Unshante Strader, C’2015, thinks their impact on the children will last a lifetime. “My impact is tremendous because of the joy we share learning new things,” said Strader, an international studies major. “I love my service because the kids look up to me and love the idea of college which will hopefully stick with them throughout their educational career.”
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