Friendships are finally getting their due. Once relegated to a distant third position after life partners and children, a spate of new books are spotlighting the importance of friends. And research shows that people with close friends are healthier – both emotionally...
Purpose Prize
The Latest from CoGenerate
An Intergenerational Approach to Getting Families Housed in Santa Barbara
Lyiam Galo is the co-director of Generations United for Service, a program of the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way and one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing...
Utilizing Faith-Owned Land to Strengthen Intergenerational Community in Seattle
E.N. West is the co-founder and lead organizer of the Faith Land Initiative of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing older and...
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William Raspberry (1935 – 2012)
Purpose Prize Fellow 2006
Empowering parents to be their children’s most effective teachers
Bill Raspberry climbed far from his roots in the small town of Okolona, Mississippi to become a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post. He is also a professor at Duke University. Critical to his success, he says, were his parents, who emphasized the value of education, persistence, and high standards. He grew up on the campus of the all-black Okolona College. Raspberry has now returned to his Okolona roots to give kids there the same boost he had received. To address a high school drop-out rate of 58 percent, Raspberry, 71, created Baby Steps based on two beliefs: that parents are their children’s most effective teachers and that low-income parents, many of whom feel ill-equipped to teach their children, can be taught to better prepare their kids for success – through talking, reading, and by finding teachable moments every day. Baby Steps now focuses on empowering parents of children from birth to age five. Led by a local P.T.A president and a former teacher, the program serves 25 families. Parents meet weekly to learn teaching techniques and to work on educational projects such as baby mobiles and flash cards. Baby Steps, which initially operated from borrowed space in churches and day-care centers, recently acquired its own building.