"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." -Theodore Roosevelt

 

The decision to create the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation was an easy one for us. We wanted to do something that allowed us to take necessary action to cultivate our youth in healthy, supportive, and inspiring ways.

 

In our eyes, it's unacceptable to see a need, have the ability to fill it, and then turn a blind eye. Our children in our communities need us badly. They desire better education, eye-opening cultural experiences, and mentors, who can influence them and expose them to endless possibilities.

 

Our foundation is based upon the notion of 'reaching back to pull someone forward' and our motto is "fostering excellence in children." Plain and simple, our goal is to provide initiatives that address our children's needs and that help them reach their goals.

 

Statistics show that:

  • Of all the African American fourth graders, 58% are functionally illiterate
  • 85% of African American children are reading below grade point level
  • In some states, 80% of our African American boys drop out of high school before graduating
  • 7% of all African American babies are born to a young girl under the age of 18
  • Every day, 1,000 African American children are arrested

 

Our programs and services are designed to provide our children with opportunities and tools to pursue a better understanding of themselves and their communities through education, mentoring, self-awareness and positive role models. Our core goal is to pair our children with mentors who are committed to their success by giving them what they need most, "time".

 

In addition, it was critical to develop scholarships that are targeted toward students who may not have the resources to go to college or to complete their degrees after they've begun.

 

We believe that if we provide programs to our youth that expose them to education, college preparation, higher education, entrepreneurship, and important life skills, we can help them more effectively meet the day to day challenges affecting their self esteem, development and their futures.

 

We thank you for your interest and dedication to this important and necessary mission. Our hope is that together we can work to ensure our youth are the top priority and help them to become the men and women that they are destined to be .

 

 

Thank You,

Steve and Marjorie Harvey,

Founders, SMHF