Why Education?

Every child deserves to thrive in school and life.

The facts.

There are more than 72 million children under 18 in the United States, and of those, 32 million or 44% live in low-income families.1

Education for families is paramount to removing inequity and inequality within communities. One of the primary problems for these families is the lack of financial literacy and health education.

Poverty reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills, diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information, and reduces attentiveness, curiosity, and motivation.

There is a direct connection between poverty and quality of education.

Financial literacy, access to tools, and health education are the starting solutions.

FINANCIAL LITERACY

81% of adults who had a high school degree or less could not answer simple questions on interest, inflation, and financial risk.2

Financial literacy from early childhood through college, along with strong community support, lays the foundation for life success and financial stability.

FINANCIAL TOOLS

Only 30% of Americans have a long-term financial plan that includes savings and investment goals.3

Powerful tools such as budgeting, credit monitoring, investing, leverage, and much more.

HEALTH EDUCATION

Obesity affects 19% or 14 million children and adolescents. Even more, 20 million children lack sufficient access to essential health care.4

To combat this, we invest in teaching students about the value of keeping their mind, body, and emotions healthy.

Equity in Education

Our Equity in Education campaign supports children from families with low income. We provide financial literacy and health education materials, Q&A sessions with students and volunteers, in addition to backpacks and school supplies. We want to inspire a life-long passion for learning, and ensure life-changing education for thousands, and this starts with being prepared for the classroom. #EquityInEducation

We believe learning should continue beyond school grounds. With $20, a child will have a backpack full of quality supplies for learning both inside and outside of their classroom. In many cases, this will be a child’s first backpack.

The Sikhi Alpha Foundation believes that basic human needs include education.

Further Statistics

Financial literacy in the United States among those that are less than high school educated is 50% lower when compared against nations such as Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany.4

Costs of financial ignorance arise not only in the saving and investment arena, but also influence how consumers manage their liabilities. For examples, research has shown that sub-optimal refinancing among U.S. homeowners resulted in 0.5-1.0% per year higher mortgage interest rates, or in aggregate, $50-100 billion annually.4

Before the COVID-19 crisis began, more than 37 million people, including more than 11 million children, lived in a food-insecure household. Food insecurity refers to the lack of available financial resources for food at the household level.5

REFERENCES

  1. http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1145.html
  2. https://www.debt.com/statistics/
  3. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
  4. The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence
  5. https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity/

How are schools chosen and which ones will receive my donation?

We work closely with various organizations and our own research team to determine which schools are chosen in order to improve the success of our impact. We realize we may not be able to help every school but we can start by helping one more.

Will we keep in touch with the students we impact?

Outside of our newsletters, we share regular stories of students who have been touched by our Equity in Education (#equityineducation) campaign on our social media pages, such as our Instagram @sikhialpha. We feel a child can be inspired, knowing support is on the way.

Will all students at a school receive a backpack?

We may not be able to help every student at a particular school immediately, but over time we feel with your support and our strategy, we can help all.

How much does it cost to supply a backpack with school supplies?

We spend on average about $20 to supply a backpack with school supplies to children from low income families. We aim to provide quality items so that they may last longer for the children we support and carefully inspect many suppliers to find the best prices for the items we choose. Additionally, we are optimistic that our work and purchasing ability can reduce the cost further. The $20 spend is made up by the following:

  • $5.00 for a backpack
  • $4.00 for four notebooks
  • $2.00 for one pencil case
  • $2.00 for twelve pencils
  • $2.00 for ten pens
  • $2.00 for one binder
  • $1.50 for ten dividers
  • $0.50 for one twelve inch ruler
  • $0.50 for one pencil sharpener
  • $0.50 for one eraser

Our backpack selection revolves around having a spacious compartment, a zippered pocket, be machine washable, and also be of a sturdy and high quality so it does not wear out quickly.

What if I just want to donate a backpack?

If you would like to donate backpacks, then please get in touch with us here: Donate Backpacks.

Why should I not directly donate to other non-profit organizations?

We are more than happy for you to select other non-profit organizations, for helping children have a life-changing event is our key priority. We feel that our network and scale significantly increases our ability to be more effective and efficient. Our due diligence has specific guidelines that we strictly adhere to, and we work with those who we truly believe will impact local communities the most.

What is the next step for this campaign?

This campaign will continue until every child who cannot afford a backpack owns one.

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