PowerMyLearning Gets Gift to Help Students, Families & Teachers
Education changed overnight last spring when school building closures caused by COVID-19 led to a quick shift to remote learning. Families were called on to play new roles in supporting their children’s learning and teachers were asked to adapt quickly. The pandemic further exacerbated the inequalities faced by the Black community in education, health and many other facets of life.
PowerMyLearning aimed to meet these challenges and adapt our programming quickly during this unprecedented time. We received catalytic support at the close of a difficult year in 2020 from two strong corporate partners: Capstone Investment Advisors and McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm.
The gifts totaled more than $250,000 in support for PowerMyLearning as students face incredible risks of learning loss as they approach more than a year of interrupted in-person schooling.
Both Capstone Investment Advisors and McKinsey & Company shared with us that they wanted to give back to organizations filling critical needs of students and teachers amidst the crises of education and racial injustice.
Capstone Investment Advisors chose PowerMyLearning as the beneficiary of their annual Cups for a Cause event, which took place on November 12, 2020. Capstone’s staff and partners participated in a virtual Trivia Tournament to raise funds for PowerMyLearning.
“Having as a backdrop the pandemic crisis that was happening, I am impressed with PowerMyLearning’s technology solution that had been around for several years with proven effectiveness,” said Paul Britton, Capstone CEO. “This ‘plug and play’ intervention can provide immediate support to students during the pandemic.”
Initially nominated into the selection process by PowerMyLearning’s New York City board member Kevin B. Jordan, PowerMyLearning was one of the 30+ recipients of a gift as a part of McKinsey & Company’s $5M global giving commitment in 2020 to support Black communities across a wide range of issues. McKinsey & Company distributed grants to organizations selected by McKinsey Black Network colleagues via a series of regional town halls and charitable giving summits. PowerMyLearning received a grant as we have a shared goal with McKinsey to create educational opportunities and combat racism.
This generous funding will allow PowerMyLearning to advance educational equity nationwide and accelerate student social emotional learning and academic achievement by helping teachers activate the power of collaboration between teachers, students, and families. Activating this “triangle of learning relationships” is even more critical now as districts aim to accelerate learning recovery for students.
