We know this school year is anything but typical. The rapid and far-reaching changes to education has particularly affected our children, especially those in low-income households or under-served areas who may not have access to all of the tools they now need.

That’s why this month we felt strongly about giving to an organization supporting families and kids in their education. This September join us lending a hand to All Hands Raised, a nonprofit advocating intelligently for excellent and equitable education for all students since 1994 right here in Portland, Oregon. With a strong focus on racial equity, All hands Raised brings together partners and stakeholders to identify all of the barriers to kids’ success in order to remove them.

Community integration has always been an important part of who we are at Equilibrium, so we are excited to support an organization with a similar vision of community. Their mission statement is:

Transforming children into educated, independent grown-ups is the job of the entire community. Who, exactly, is the community? All of us. You are. We are.

All Hands Raised is committed to the continual process of improving education for all students, pursuing fundamental systems change to make generational improvements. This is a nonprofit that understands that education for our kids benefits our community as a whole.

Complex, local problems need complex, local solutions.

All Hands Raised relies on comprehensive data to drive their education solutions, highlighting their commitment to systems that work and work for the broadest possible range of students. They work on the ground with School Community Site Teams, to collect data in seven key work areas, including equity in school discipline as well as K-12 attendance and academic milestones throughout the school years. The data is disaggregated by race and individual school districts for each indicator, allowing them to see what is improving and what is not—and for whom.

Successes and failures are then shared with the entire school, across other school districts through Cross-District Learning Communities and throughout the wider community. Key findings and themes are identified with the help of Work Area Leadership Groups, and are shared with community leaders who can influence budget and policy to create lasting change through their Board of Directors and Partnership Council.

All of us must keep our hands up, stay at the table, and work in new ways to find these solutions.

Go The Distance

Groups like this are even more important today when students, parents, teachers, and school districts all find themselves in undeniably stressful circumstances as we try to navigate choices in which there are no clear best answers.

In collaboration with Latino Network and AT&T, All Hands Raised recently donated chromebooks to students at Parkrose high school, ensuring that those students can keep up with their school work while distance learning. This is just one way in which AHR is supporting students in the community. On July 8 All Hands Raised announced their Go The Distance fundraiser with the goal of assisting schools, students and families with distance learning this fall. They’ve currently met $9,150 of their $1,5000 goal, and we want to help them bridge that gap! The funds will help All Hands Raised continue to convene community-based organizations and community leaders to elevate the needs and recommendations of students and families in order to advocate for funding, resource allocation, and systems change. They are also working with superintendents and school district staff to understand the realities of distance learning, and help them collect data to better understand the tangible impacts for students of color, and more.

This month we’ll be matching patient donations to help students and families Go The Distance with All Hands Raised. You can donate in-office at your next appointment or donate directly by clicking the button below.