Giving Campaign
JUNE 19–JULY 5
Why boys? Why here?
The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys was organized in 2006 as a response to the serious educational and social challenges facing African-American boys in underserved communities East of the Anacostia River. At the time of the school’s inception, a large majority of students living in this community–particularly boys–were not proficient in reading, writing or math. The school—named in honor of the first African American Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC—is rooted in the belief of the transformative power of education and exposing students to new possibilities through new experiences.
PURPOSE
Building on the momentum of movements around Black independence, this campaign seeks to provide opportunities for increased awareness and financial investment into a solid educational foundation for traditionally underserved boys of the Bishop Walker School for Boys.
OBJECTIVES
To increase awareness of BWS in local and national African-American and Pan-African communities and raise the cost of one full year academic sponsorship of a BWS scholar ($20,000).
Why now?
We are leveraging the period between Juneteenth and Independence Day as a time to reflect on the necessity of increased investment in the early educational years of Black boys. By tapping into the influence of our community, we seek to shift the narrative on Black male potential and power through academic progress. An independent educational structure allows the Bishop Walker School to create an academic program that meets the needs of each student while establishing a system that intends to make positive progress toward equity in education for students of color.
Real access to freedom was established by institution builders over the course of the Jim Crow era, and those who founded the HBCUs and African-American churches that powered the civil rights movement expanded true freedom for their communities and for all Americans. As we look to the future, we will need new institutions to face the ongoing challenges to the educational, spiritual, political and economic freedoms that this community continues to face. We need the participation and philanthropic investment of African-Americans to ensure the Bishop Walker School’s place in becoming one of those institutions.
Contact Us
Kesi Marcano
Development Consultant
kmarcano@bishopwalkerschool.org
202-221-8122
