GOOD MEASURE INC NONPROFIT

Our Purpose 

  Did you know poverty is the #1 enemy of education? Low income students not only receive the worst education, but they can fall victim to lifestyle and health issues that hinder their ability to learn.

  While we often assume that learning is up to each individual, or that children who put in the most effort tend to learn more, reality says otherwise. A child's home has a particularly strong impact on school readiness. Studies show poverty, and its many disadvantages, can handicap learners before they even begin school.  Very often, the parents of these children lack support. Typical problems are parental inconsistency (with regards to daily routines and parenting), frequent changes in caregivers, lack of supervision and poor role modelling.  They might also experience family violence, abuse and neglect.  These problems can lead them to fall behind classmates or even quit school in frustration.

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  Many children from low income families cannot even afford the necessary supplies for basic classroom functions. They also may not be able to pay for field trips and extracurricular activities of any kind. They are less likely to be able to afford proper nutrition and often time don't have enough food at home. They might have to go to school without having had enough sleep and without having had breakfast, which can reduce the brain's capacity to learn.

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  Research shows a child's brain develops best when they have low exposure to stress. Children from low income families often do not receive the stimulation and do not learn the social skills required to prepare them for school. Thus, creating a series of events that trigger stress hormones. These hormones have a dampening effect on brain development, which can result in an inability to pay attention, regulate emotions, or develop proper memory function. With support from outside the home to help deal better with stress, children's brains can usually overcome these issues.

  Unfortunately, with little financial education and low earnings, many impoverished children have grown up with what is sometimes called "learned helplessness." They believe that the odds are stacked against them and there is nothing they can do to get out of the cycle of poverty. Many poor children are not taught about the variety of career opportunities within and outside of their communities. Consequently, they leave school with a general focus on just “making money” instead of trying to excel at a career. Which can sometimes cause them to be labeled as lazy. When it's really not a matter of lack of motivation, but a lack of information. 

  Much of the focus on improving education occurs at the National level, and this results in standards that are geared toward the learning population in general. This means that poor neighborhoods must live up to the same criteria as all other neighborhoods. Compounding this problem is the fact that few schools have the resources to help individuals who are failing at school. They are often treated as a statistic, which ultimately impacts the school's graduation rate.

  Together, we can help poverty through teaching social justice, by offering equal academic opportunities, discreetly providing school supplies, shoes, clothes, food and other basic necessities. As well as continue to help develop programs and practices that will help empower our students to thrive throughout their school years and beyond!

Giving

Whether you're a teacher, parent, sponsor, or a visitor to Good Measure Inc Nonprofit, you are an essential part of our community.

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Good Measure Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization #84-3059287.

Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowable by the law.

Success is not measured by the amount of dollars you have, but the amount of lives you impact!