About Us
Our Board Members
President: Forest Brown
Vice President: David Brown III
Treasurer: Jason Waterman
Executive Director: Kaleann Waterman
Board Members: Megan Vorwald, Karla Willman, Bethany Remakel, and Erin Bonert
FROM THE BEGINING
In 2013 Victory Ford was approached to be a part of St. Mark’s Youth Enrichment Summer Program. Inspired by the program, Victory Ford created the Reading 4 A Reason Program, based on the well-known Pizza Hut Book-it program. Prizes for reading included pizza from local pizza parlors, ice cream and goodies, and delivered to the students at school. End-of-the-year rewards were given in addition to the monthly rewards and included $100 pizza parties, t-shirts, and other gift certificates.
[Due to the overwhelming success of the current youth programs put in place a little over 10 years ago and the community's desire to expand and grow those programs, the Brown's Hometown Victory Foundation became an essential step toward that growth.] October of 2016 the Foundation was created. By March of 2017, we officially became a 501c3.
THE NEED
Children are not meeting social, emotional, and educational standards set by the United States Department of Education and similar organizations. Failure to meet these standards set for our children is an ongoing issue, and we see problems like this in Dubuque, Delaware, and Clayton county,to name a few.
What is causing our children not to meet the status quo? The act of free play and reading has drastically declined over the years. Statics will date back to the 1950s and use children's disposition as a goal point for the future.
Children are not reading like they should, which is a direct link to children who are unable to meet grade-level reading proficiency standards. At the same time, an increase in behavioral problems and social and emotional development issues have been linked to the lack of "free play."
If this problem is not resolved, our youth's future will suffer due to a lack of education and mental illness. Children who cannot read at grade level by 3rd grade are 13x more likely to drop out of high school than their proficient peers. Furthermore, a lack of play increases mental illness and behavioral problems.
OUR PURPOSE
Our small but mighty foundation is in its 8th year, and we are currently serving over 2,300 local elementary children in 10 elementary schools, with aspirations to expand. Our current youth programs focus on proficiency in literacy and mathematics, as well as social and emotional growth and child safety.
OUR MISSION
We strive to collaborate with our surrounding communities to provide opportunities through youth programs to empower children and families to reach their highest potential, with the hopes of
improving social and economic barriers
