Summit Educational Association

Mentoring needy children, Summit’s specialty, has been receiving a lot of attention lately.

Laura Bush, for example, has been traveling the country promoting a program called “Helping America’s Youth,” which included a visit to Milwaukee this spring. Recently her husband introduced her to a crowd in Pittsburgh, saying, “we know that if we can, in our small way, encourage people to put their arm around somebody and say, ‘I love you, what can I do to help you?’…if we can encourage people to step forward and volunteer their time and talent and compassion, this country can be a better place.”

A lot of the mentoring interest began back in the spring of 1997, at a conference in Washington involving Presidents Clinton, Ford, Bush the elder, and Nancy Reagan. The conference was called the Summit for America’s Future.

These national leaders recognized that children have a real need for caring relationships with adults, and especially kids growing up in challenging circumstances. These relationships are not just a good thing…they are often critical to children’s long-term success.

They summed up the conference this way: All young people should have “caring adults in their lives, such as parents, teachers, tutors, coaches” as well as “safe places with structured activities in which to learn and grow.”

That’s what Summit is all about…helping caring adults help disadvantaged children learn and grow in a safe, structured environment. There are a lot of these needy children in Milwaukee, which means that we need a lot of caring adults to help us in our mission.

What’s our mission? Well it sounds kind of grand: no child left unhelped. Obviously it’s an ideal…but ideals drive actions. And the kids…our kids…need help! They need our generous, caring attention.

I’ve been involved with Summit since its inception, but at a distance. I’m honored to now be a closer part of this wonderful initiative as a member of the Board of Directors. In this role I hope I can provide leadership to rally many more people to help enhance the lives of less advantaged children in our community.

Wouldn’t it be great if someday we could say that in Milwaukee…and indeed across the country…no child is left unhelped. Much depends on the generosity – financial and personal – of us adults. I welcome and encourage your support for Summit and our kids.

Thank you,

Tom Mammoser
President, Family Ventures Foundation

P.S. A special thanks to Walgreens and Northwestern Mutual Foundation for their recent grants. We couldn’t do it without you!