The Delta Issue #69
Team Watershed’s Giving Tuesday Picks
The holidays are one of the few moments in the year when we get our heads out of our inboxes and remember there’s a world beyond our calendars. For some of us, that looks like turkey around a table; for others, it looks like rest, sleep, or time with the people who remind us who we are.
However this season meets you, it also calls us to gratitude, for those who care for us, and for the people who show up for children day in and day out.
That’s why, this Giving Tuesday, we’re dedicating this Delta to organizations doing extraordinary work for kids.
Nonprofits are, in many ways, the first responders in education; they step in where school funding ends and student needs continue. Supporting them is an investment in students, families, and the long-term health of our education system.
So for Giving Tuesday, we asked our team: Which nonprofit would you lift up today and why?
Here’s what they said:
If you’ve ever spent time in New Orleans, you know music is a part of the city’s language, its history, and its heartbeat. The Roots of Music makes sure kids can be part of that, especially those who face the steepest barriers to enrichment.
They offer music instruction, mentorship, academic support, transportation, and hot meals so that nothing stands between a child and the chance to belong to something bigger.
A Better Chance (ABC) expands access to top schools for high-achieving students from underserved communities. For many, ABC changes the entire trajectory of a life.
As one teammate shared: “They are the reason my zip code, my family’s immigration status, or my family’s income were not my social determinants of health or limitations to my future. They unlocked opportunities at every level of education, and I am forever grateful.”
Special Olympics is a global movement creating pathways for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) to experience the joy of sport.
Through programming in sports, health, education and community building, Special Olympics is tackling the inactivity, stigma, isolation, and injustice that people with intellectual disabilities face.
Read Ahead pairs volunteer reading mentors with students across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Many of those meetings happen during lunch, right in the school building, and become a weekly ritual kids can rely on.
One teammate shared her experience: “I volunteered when I was in college and love the way the adults in our community showed out for kids in big and small ways beyond the direct falling in love with reading support.”
The Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) helps students succeed in high school, find their footing in postsecondary programs, and secure strong jobs after graduation. Their team holds an unrelenting focus on results while honoring the uniqueness and humanity of every student they serve.
Serving on their board has been one of the great privileges, and I’m grateful every day for the way they show up for kids and for the Baton Rouge community.
Food bank of Central Louisiana
Nearly 30 million households with children struggle with food insecurity in the U.S. As we’ve written about before, we can do a lot to improve the classroom experience, but none of it matters if a child is sitting in class hungry. Without consistent access to food, students can’t focus and they can’t learn.
That’s why this year, Watershed donated to 30 food banks, in every state where our team lives and works, including the Food Bank Of Central Louisiana and the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana .
Let’s get muddy
Both Kunjan Narechania and I want to say thank you to everyone who reads the Delta each week. We feel incredibly lucky to work alongside so many of you who show up for kids every single day.
If you have other ideas for giving today: where are you giving, and what made you choose them? Drop your ideas below.
