Meeting The Need

Throughout Region 2000, numerous efforts exist to foster mentorship opportunities between business and community role models and students. These opportunities promote appropriate behavior and citizenship, enhance academic curriculum, encourage academic excellence, and provide state-of-the-art technological education.

Each provides benefit, but it is not enough! A child may be interested in a program, but unable to participate because he/she doesn't attend a particular school, isn't in a certain class, or doesn't belong to a club or organization. Sometimes the child and parents are unaware that such opportunities even exist.

blue KIWI™ offers supplemental academic and career experiences which kids and their parents select at their discretion. Children don't have to attend a specific school, be in a particular classroom, or pay membership dues.

The blue KIWI™ programs help children learn, stimulate interest in school, encourage higher education, allow kids to explore the world of work and careers, and promote achievement. Our programs are open to all kids. Some programs, like Take Our Daughters & Sons To Work ®, are free.

To quote Carl J. Schramm, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation:

Youth have an inherent interest in learning about some feature of the world of work, which in turn motivates them to see the relevance and applicability of their core academic subjects. The key is to provide opportunities or programs for students to explore career fields that hold interest for them.

According to the National Academy Foundation, if we can find these opportunities, then we increase children's interest in college, aspirations for jobs that require more education, and increase their interest in work and professional achievement.

Their research is confirmed by The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which reports that students engaged in entrepreneurial education:

• Increase their aspirations for jobs that require more education by 44 percent (while the comparison group's aspirations increased only 10 percent).
• Express a 17 percent increase in their interest in work and professional achievement.

The choice is yours!
Is your child prepared for the future?

See our Overview of Programs for information on our programs and how to get involved!