Together - 4 - Teachers Fundraiser & Podcast

Hey everyone, welcome to Together for Teachers, presented by

Educating Youth Everywhere. I am Salina Trahan, the founder and president of this nonprofit, and

I'm thrilled to kick off this journey of telling you guys about the great

work we are doing, initiatives, and of course, highlighting our fundraiser

campaign. Here at Educating Youth Everywhere, we believe that educators are truly the under-resourced heroes of our society. They shape the future and

nurture the minds and hearts of the next generation. Being that I am an educator, and I grew up with educators, as my mother has been an educator for over 30 years, and my grandmother served not only as an educator but also as a principal, I have always been drawn to the field of education. As I've grown and developed, I've also witnessed some of the gaps in support that educators

need, and recognizing some of these gaps in support and resources leads to burnout. I've seen it cause educators to leave the classroom and the field altogether at a premature stage. I've also seen educators who are literally just trying to crawl to the finish line of every school year, not looking like they have joy, but just trying to survive and make it,

and give the best that they can from an empty cup.

When thinking about developing a nonprofit, it was on my heart that, yes, students matter, yes, parents matter, yes, communities matter, but at what point do we stop and

pour back and say, educators matter? A lot of the time, when we're thinking

about student growth, data, assessment, and test scores, it's always about the

curriculum, it's always about classroom management, it's always about factoring

in different strategies and best practices for teacher modeling or teacher coaching.

At what point do we stop and differentiate for educators?

At what point do we stop and assess the well-being of educators?

Not just in the classroom, but what's going on at home or in their personal

lives that may take away their God-given gifts to be the best instructor and

leader of their classrooms?

Recognizing that was something I didn't see often happening, or it wasn't something implemented at all, I felt it was of vital importance that when developing a nonprofit for educators, our primary focus or mission is to ensure that educators are taken care of.

"When educators are good, the classroom is good, the students are good, and the environment is good, and together, the school and the community thrive from that." - Salina Trahan

I'm sure anyone reading this may have input or feedback or may want to debate that thought process, which I'm open to hearing. Feel free to leave a comment and share this video with other educators or people that you think would be willing to invest in our nonprofit, as we have several incredible initiatives that we want to launch, but we need the funding to make it happen.

Oftentimes, it can be a laughing joke that teachers should get more...Teachers have to do so much, but no one ever steps in to start making change happen for the benefit of educators. Just sit and think about that.

What I can say is, as a nonprofit organization, our mission is very, very clear. Our goal is to

implement wellness resources, affordable housing resources, mindfulness and

self-care, books, as well as an emergency resource fund. We want to decrease

burnout and turnover rates among educators through our innovative program

initiatives. We recognize that there are immense challenges that educators face,

both in and out of the classroom. Being that I'm an educator of eight years, I can attest that there have been trials and tribulations where I may have thrived in the classroom, but then my personal life needs some nurturing and support or vice versa. I wish, along the journey, I had someone or an organization to just really uplift or affirm or just love on me. To provide some insights, when I walk into my classroom every day, I'm always thinking of how can things be better for my students. I'm always pouring out the love, the support, the checking in. I have had to learn to set boundaries and implement problem-solving skills while pouring my all into my babies, the environment that I teach in, that sometimes I leave without any energy for myself to:

cook

workout

be social

As a nonprofit, we need the 💰support💰 to ensure we're able to help educators every step of the way year after year. We're not limiting our support to just the classroom, as we know an educator's impact is beyond just each student or project.

We envision a world where every educator has access to high-quality wellness programs, financial literacy resources, and emergency funding, as well as mental health support. We will empower these dedicated individuals, ensure they can thrive in their roles, and continue to inspire the students who look up to them.

With our podcast, we'll be featuring educators and individuals who

Share the same passion of our mission.

Together, we'll explore the challenges they face, the success they've achieved, and the innovative solutions that can help transform the educational landscape.

Our podcast can be accessed from our website, Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.

We'll also dive a bit deeper into our fundraising campaign Together for Teachers, which aims to raise funds for wellness events and emergency support for educators in need. To everyone reading this right now, I want you guys to just take a minute and imagine a world where educators can teach from a joyful, stress-free heart. They don't have to worry about having the materials needed for any big, grand ideas, projects, or lessons that will get the students excited. Imagine teachers who have access to emergency funding who may have car trouble, need medical support, whether that's a massage or a chiropractor, or may even need access to mental health resources outside of the classroom. Imagine the impact educators would make by being whole, being supported, and having endless joy. That's the world we're working to create with our nonprofit Educating Youth Everywhere. We need your support to make that happen. If you believe in nurturing educators, hit this link to donate today.

❤️💛💖Thank you for listening.

Tune in this FRIDAY to learn more about an incredible educator, Ms. Elizabeth Hinman. I can't wait for you guys to hear her story and her journey. She's a fairly new teacher, and there's a lot of insights you can learn from her!