Thanks to Company for Causes, one of the UK’s most successful inner city school programs is taking root in Washington DC.  Dr. Tania Nguyen, The Brilliant Club-DC’s founder, is working closely with Companies for Causes as well as teachers, community organizers, and PhD mentors to put middle and high school students from the Capitol Hill area on a proven track to top-tier universities.

Learn more about Companies for Causes from our board chair, Tom Raffa.

Join us on Saturday, August 22 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM for Eastern's Annual School Beautification Day.

The Ramblers need help painting, doing landscape projects and organizing classrooms to prepare for the 1st Day of School.

Sign-up here.

If you can't volunteer, please consider dropping off items for Eastern's Supply Drive. Items needed include: 

• Khaki Pants
• White or Light Blue Polo Shirts
• Spiral Notebooks
• Tissue Boxes
• Reams of Copy & Lined Paper
• Pens/Pencils
• Subject Dividers
• Backpacks
• Calculators
• Three Ring Binders

Contact [email protected] for more information.

One of Companies for Causes’ goals is to help expand students’ opportunities to attend college by funding campus tours for Eastern’s students. Envision @ Eastern, a DCPS Twilight academy designed to improve academic outcomes for students who have fallen off-track from graduation, organized The Envision Spring 2015 College Tour – Reflections. This trip offered a select group of high school students the opportunity to see colleges firsthand so that they can take the next step in their academic career.

Purpose of the Trip

Seven students from Eastern’s “Legendary Class of 2016” took time off their Spring Breaks to visit the Durham, North Carolina area—a hotbed for academia, research, technology, and more—where they experienced college life and learned about these schools:

• Saint Augustine University
• Duke University
• North Carolina Central
• North Carolina A&T University
• Shaw University
• William Peace University

The Envision College Tour Experience

The Envision Spring 2015 College Tour was a great success, and the students came away with a roadmap for their future. They had the opportunity to see the classrooms, dorms, outdoor areas, gyms, and other features of each university. They also were able to meet real students and ask them questions, and in one instance met a future NBA star.

District of Columbia officials have released a proposal that would change school boundaries and feeder patterns.  The proposal comes after months of workby the Deputy Mayor of Education and an Advisory Committee of parents, community members, and other experts (click here to see the Washington Post’s coverage).

Envision @Eastern is the evening academy program at Eastern Senior High School, launched with the financial support of Companies for Causes. Currently in its flagship year, students enrolled in the program take classes from 1:00PM to 6:30 PM to accommodate students who work early hours or attend outside counseling services in the morning. Out of the four “twilight” programs in DCPS, Envision @Eastern has the highest attendance rate of students at 72 percent. A majority of Envision students are passing a majority of their classes.  And, all of the Envision students that were eligible for grade promotion during the first term have been promoted to the appropriate grade level.