The goal of Academy Prep: Building Across Borders is to offer the 8th grade students at Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg the opportunity to participate in a service learning project in The Bahamas through an organization called Bahamas Habitat. The mission of Bahamas Habitat is to provide “disaster relief and emergency home repair” for impoverished families in The Bahamas. Their goal is to “improve the living conditions and lifestyles of families in need”. The total cost of this student project is $20,000. However, the impact this project will have on the students and the Bahamians, alike, is of much greater value.
The Academy Prep: Building Across Borders initiative is a collaborative effort led by Eckerd College students Sarah Partin and John Celestin, leaders of the EC Clinton Global Initiative University Club, and Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg. The Clinton Global Initiative University is a program developed by former President Bill Clinton encouraging college students across the world to make a commitment to help find the solution to five pressing global issues: poverty, public health, human rights, education, and climate change. The Academy Prep: Building Across Borders project focuses on both the areas of poverty alleviation and education. Sarah Partin and John Celestin hope to represent this project and Eckerd College at the annual international conference lead by Bill Clinton for philanthropists, non-government organization leaders, and the student project leaders in Washington D.C. in March 2012.
The Academy Prep: Building Across Borders initiative is a collaborative effort led by Eckerd College students Sarah Partin and John Celestin, leaders of the EC Clinton Global Initiative University Club, and Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg. The Clinton Global Initiative University is a program developed by former President Bill Clinton encouraging college students across the world to make a commitment to help find the solution to five pressing global issues: poverty, public health, human rights, education, and climate change. The Academy Prep: Building Across Borders project focuses on both the areas of poverty alleviation and education. Sarah Partin and John Celestin hope to represent this project and Eckerd College at the annual international conference lead by Bill Clinton for philanthropists, non-government organization leaders, and the student project leaders in Washington D.C. in March 2012.
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Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg is a non-profit, private middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida that provides students (in grades 5 to 8) from low-income households with a cost-free, rigorous college preparatory education as well as ongoing graduate support that follows students through high school and college. These students attend school for 11 hours a day, 6 days a week and 11 months out of the year. As a result, 88% of Academy Prep graduates earn their high school diplomas on time, compared to Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, where less than 40% of comparable students will graduate from high school. Academy Prep’s mission is “to inspire and empower students qualifying for need-based scholarships to be future community leaders through a rigorous middle school program coupled with ongoing graduate support.”
This project provides students with the opportunity to encounter other cultures while learning the value and importance of helping those in need. At the heart of this project is the belief that students will return home with a firm understanding and renewed appreciation of themselves, their community, and the world. Students will be inspired through this service learning experience and to retain a lifelong sense of purpose through serving others. In short, the message of this program is that charity is not dictated by wealth, status, or age, but by the passion for helping those in need.
This project provides students with the opportunity to encounter other cultures while learning the value and importance of helping those in need. At the heart of this project is the belief that students will return home with a firm understanding and renewed appreciation of themselves, their community, and the world. Students will be inspired through this service learning experience and to retain a lifelong sense of purpose through serving others. In short, the message of this program is that charity is not dictated by wealth, status, or age, but by the passion for helping those in need.