ECHO

ie actors, there’s no doubt that these people have a major role in influencing our culture and shaping our youth. Often driven by these messages, today’s youths may stray upon the wrong path, often devastating their potential before they have truly been given a chance to capitalize upon it. This is especially prominent in poorer locations around the United States, likely due to many of the parents being unable to spend as much time with their children as those in richer areas, such as having to work multiple jobs, each parent having to work a job, or simply that one or both of the parents may be missing entirely, either through divorce, death, or being incarcerated. Youths hearing the negative messages produced by those many may consider role-models without ample parental guidance will likely follow those messages down a dark and dreary path if they don’t find anything else which piques their interest. For many of these youths, these escapes come in the form of extra or co-curricular programs, usually through their local school. This is especially true in the case of high-school aged youths, who are often only beginning to discover themselves as an individual. If the aforementioned programs were to collapse, these youths would likely not know where to turn for other activities that appeal to them on a more personal level or give them a feeling of self-value. Unfortunately, this is already happening in some neighborhoods. For instance, in Pennsylvania the state-wide education budget was reduced by $900 million dollars between 2013 and 2015. The result of this action was that schools across the state had to make substation sacrifices to their extra-curricular activities, some of which resulted in the complete abolishment of certain programs, such as some school’s art and music programs. Philadelphia in particular was hit the hardest by the budget cuts, being deficient $304 million dollars over those two years. It may not be simply coincidence that it is such a dangerous city. Perhaps if there were an organization dedicated to ensuring these school’s extra-curricular activities remain open and accessible to all the students in the schools, more students would choose to do something healthy with their time and their talents, rather than fall into a life of crime or poverty. Well, now with your support there can be. We are Extra-Curricular Hope Organization, or E.C.H.O., and we are an organization dedicated to ensuring students in underfunded or underdeveloped schools all have an opportunity to participate in their school’s extra-curricular activities, and ensuring these programs have whatever it is they require to continue running, or even expand themselves to greater horizons. Through donations, creative fundraising events, and your support, we can help to ensure students in impoverished areas have opportunities to discover something both wholesome and enjoyable, so they may develop themselves and flourish in positive ways, through the leadership and teamwork skills imparted through continued enrollment in extra-curricular activities such as but not limited to, sports, technological activities, or fine arts programs. It takes but one school in one community to inspire change across the nation, and your $500 may just be the difference it takes to save that school. So, will you help us in supporting the public educational programs helping to aid impoverished communities in taking a turn for the better?