All About EYM

Educating Young Minds' 12th Annual Scholarship Awards Gala will be held Saturday, June 26, 2010 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriot with the VIP reception at 5:30 p.m. and the gala at 6:30 p.m. We will be honoring our college bound high school graduates, each of whom will receive a $6,000 to $10,000 college scholarship and a fully loaded laptop computer. The evening’s special guest, Congresswoman Diane Watson, will receive EYM’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Entertainment will include the Oprah Winfrey national karaoke winner, Mr. Abraham McDonald. Join us with community leaders, supporters, families, and friends in an evening of live entertainment, scholarship, and fun.

We will celebrate the achievements of our college bound high school seniors and the 56 EYM scholars currently enrolled in 4-year collegiate institutions. EYM students have attended Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Cal Tech, Morehouse, Spelman, Tuskegee University, Cal State Los Angeles, University of Kentucky, Fresno State, San Jose State, Xavier, Syracuse, University of Pittsburgh, Clark Atlanta University, University of Illinois, Stanford, Cal Tech, UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, Morehouse, Dillard, Cal State Northridge, Hampton University, Xavier, San Diego State, Syracuse, Howard, UC Santa Barbara, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Spelman, Tuskegee, Loyola Marymount, UC Riverside, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Dominguez Hills, University of Kentucky, Kentucky University, University of Puget Sound, University of Illinois, Northwestern, Cal State Long Beach, UC Irvine, Columbia, UC Davis, Cornell, Clark Atlanta, University of Pittsburgh, Cal Poly Pomona, and many others.

We are proud to announce that EYM’s 2010 celebration, along with its awards entertainment and scholarship presentation, will also announce Educating Young Minds’ newest program - Access/No Excuse. In collaboration with The Magic Johnson Foundation, UCLA, USC, West LA College, and US Bank, Access No/Excuse is an educational career development search engine site, both real and virtual, that will connect a students cognitive and instinctual, talents and ability to the needs of a thriving balanced business world.

To be eligible for our college scholarship program, our seniors will be required to fulfill 80 hours of community service as assistant tutors. It is always fascinating to see which students excel in the demanding role of tutor and role model. Our scholarship program guarantees each of these students $6,000 to $10,000 for their college education. We are working hard at raising the money for these upcoming college students and the many we already have attending college. Our annual college scholarship gala in June will be a time of great celebration.

Our home-study program continues to provide an opportunity to our students who encountered difficulties in traditional school settings. We provide these students an academically intensive environment where study skills and social skills can be improved. Our current class, many of whom are returning from last year, are growing and thriving. It is our goal to return these students to their schools within one to two years of their enrollment in home-study. It is our experience that keeping a student for too long in home-study eventually becomes counter-productive. We must challenge the student to put their improved skills and ability to the test, and to learn to thrive in any school environment they are placed in. Of course we work closely with parents and guardians to find the best school available for the student, and we require that the student enter our after-school program. Some of our most promising high school students come from our home-study program and we anticipate that they will fulfill their tremendous potential.

Our after school program is providing our students with supplemental academic support and a safe, nurturing environment. We are always impressed by our students and their dedication to their own improvement. We can have over a hundred children in our learning center, yet it will be quiet and calm. It is no surprise that the demand for our services far surpasses our ability to accommodate. We often must turn away families in need. It is our desire to continue growing and expanding so that we may serve some of these students, creating a legacy of education and giving.