Enhancing education and empowering youth in the U.S. to make a positive difference in their communities while helping people of developing countries increase their self-reliance through education.
|  | | Children in a village in Nepal in front of their new school. |
BwB's Theory of Change:
Why BwB Does What it Does
Youth around the world are changing the world! In the past year, BwB students in the U.S.
contributed nearly 95,000 hours of intensive service and touched the lives of more than 150,000 elders,
homeless, disabled, and young children.
These same students help to build schools in remote villages in
developing countries.
Through BwB, villagers invested nearly 500,000 volunteer work-days in building
243 schools on four continents, since 1992. Today there are more than 100,000 children and parents that
have attended BwB schools worldwide.
BwB programs are proven; villagers are becoming literate and 97%
of the students we work with in the U.S. are now in college!
Our experience tells us that no matter what kind of challenge youth face in their communities, families and
schools — if they are empowered, they will succeed.
BwB programs are designed to build the confidence and develop
the capabilities in youth to foster individual growth and transform lives, here in the urban environment of the
U.S. as well as in the most remote and impoverished communities around the world.
Unique to BwB is the powerful
connection between after-school programming in the U.S. and international development; together urban youth and
rural villagers are overcoming the cycle of illiteracy, poverty and low expectations. Youth in BwB programs are
redefining themselves and defying limitations to pursue grander visions of their lives.
Because we are transforming lives in some of the most challenging urban school districts in the U.S.
and in the poorest economic countries in the world, we have a critical responsibility to maximize the reach
and impact of our programs. BwB’s proven methodologies and financial discipline ensure continued success
as we grow.
By the year 2012, 820 BwB schools built around the world will have served 336,000 children and
400 U.S. programs will have empowered more than 35,000 youth in the U.S. American students will have touched
the lives of 1,000,000 people.
It is imperative that we engage exponentially more youth in this life changing work! One day we hope
to live in a world with empowered youth, strong communities and access to education for all the individuals
living in the darkness of illiteracy.
Illiteracy can and will be eliminated as we continue to fight extreme poverty!
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