An old African proverb says the following: “It takes a village to raise a child.” It’s obvious from this proverb alone that the African way of living and of doing things revolves around the importance of the community. Without creating a community of encouraging people who provide a healthy environment, we cannot expect our children to achieve their goals and grow up to be impressive individuals.
That is how The Village Method was born ━ out of generosity and care. As African-Americans, we need to acknowledge that nurturing our communities is one of the best decisions we’ll ever make for ourselves and our children.
Our quest is simple. We want to deliver our youth maximum-impact programs that will enable them to turn their dreams into reality. In this article, we’re going to explore the reasons why The Village Method works and why we highly encourage you to join our efforts. Read on!
1. Because We Love What We Do
The Village Method is an initiative that aims to involve all African-American parents and children. It is a labor of love that Pastor George M. Gaskins Jr. of Bethel Baptist Church in Union City, California has created with tireless dedication and generosity.
Pastor Gaskins is renowned for the decades of his life that he spent in service to his community. Initially, his main goals were to host youth meetings, provide scholarships, and offer children the priceless gift of academic support. His ongoing efforts finally materialized when The Village Method was formally established.
As founders of The Village Method, Mark and Mahea Gaskins decided to provide several communities with programming, intensive youth, family services, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be African-American in the United States.
We strongly believe that when God blesses you with the rare gift of creating solid communities, you have to answer the call and surrender to the Lord’s plan. This is what Pastor Mark Gaskins has done and continues to do along with his incredible team at The Village Method.
2. Because We Prioritize Academic Excellence
What better way to help our youth get into college and achieve their goals than by providing them with early-on support? We, at The Village Method, have made it our main mission to provide a safe space where children can celebrate our African ancestral culture. By becoming familiarized with the culture, our youth will be more likely to achieve excellence in their academic endeavors.
Inspiring children to learn is not an easy task. We take this responsibility seriously by providing academic programs, such as ScholarPrep Nation, ASHÉ, and Expression. Keep in mind that regular after-school activities are not what we’re about. We’re about expanding every child’s consciousness, helping them build valuable skills, and watching them flourish to college and beyond.
Unfortunately, not all children get to experience the wonders that after-school programs can provide. We need to change this as soon as possible. It’s been shown that after-school activities helped drop juvenile crime by 70%. Not only this, but after-school programs in California have helped to support kids’ social and emotional wellbeing. This can’t do anything but put smiles on our faces and motivate us to continue helping children and their parents.
3. Because We Value Family Engagement
Families deserve to be seen, understood, nurtured, and valued as equal partners when it comes to their children’s educational journeys. If there’s one thing that we treasure immensely, it’s got to be family engagement. We like to say that parental engagement is the hallmark of The Village Method. Why?
Because parents are our most valued collaborators. They know their children’s needs best and that is why we encourage them to participate in our after-school programs. We deeply disapprove of the current social climate in schools, where parents are perceived through a deficit-based lens. Inequities will continue to exist as long as we stand by and allow schools to ignore our youth’s needs.
We highly recommend that you read the book Families and Educators Together: Building Great Relationships that Support Young Children and see for yourself just how important the home-school relationship is. Bridging the gap between these two will prove helpful in our quest to dismantle systemic racism.
4. Because We’re Dedicated to our Youth’s Well-Being
It should come as no surprise that The Village Method aims to provide children with well-being that is emotional, mental, and spiritual. Together we can ensure that our youth will become tomorrow’s pioneers.
Another quote we deeply treasure is “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men” and it was spoken by the great Frederick Douglass. This is what we aim to do. Building stronger children are vital today and The Village Method prioritizes this above all. Our quest is to have a world where African-American men and women are whole and powerful. We can only achieve this with your help.
All in All…
We, at The Village Method, believe in the power of strong communities and effective community outreach programs. Without them, our children would be directionless. Building a stronger, more generous, and less racist world begins during one’s youth. These are the formative years when valuable information can be easily inculcated within a child’s mind.
However, we can’t do this by ourselves. The children need your help. People like you are our only hope and we kindly invite you to get involved now and explore the ways in which you can help our cause make an even greater impact! Donate, partner, or volunteer. The choice is yours!