Non-Profit Kicks off First Annual Community Event with a Celebrity Youth Competition

PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 16, 2008 – The Atlanta Journal Constitution released an article on June 14th, 2007 entitled: "The latest Diplomas Count" reported by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. This report ranks Georgia third to last, with a high school graduation rate of 56.1 percent. In its study of Georgia's dropout crisis, the Alliance for Excellent Education estimated that the 54,795 members of Georgia's high school class of 2006 who failed to graduate would lose $14.2 billion in income over their lifetimes because of their failure to earn a high school degree. The reasons for dropping out of school are numerous, but most of these children lack proper motivation and encouragement needed to help them develop healthy esteem, which increases their likelihood for success. These many reasons, coupled with a passion to provide mentoring opportunities to youth led to the operation of Teach One Academy, a non-profit 501(c )(3) community based organization, founded on the principal of M.otivate. E.ducate. E.mpower (MEE). According to Founder and Executive Director, Jennifer Toussaint, "The cry of the young was the impetus for Teach One Academy. The process utilized to service our youth, Wraparound Process, embodies the African proverb "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child".

Teach One Academy will host its first annual family "Fun Day" event on Saturday, April 26 from 12pm - 4pm. Kicking off the day of festivities will be the 1 Voice - 1 Vote YouTube Competition. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, estimates suggest that voter turnout among young people has surged to its highest level in a decade. Jennifer shares, "We want to build upon that momentum! We are calling all youths ages 13 - 29 to participate in our "1 Vote - 1 Voice" YouTube Competition around the country!" Five winners will be selected and announced on May 6th during the Steve Harvey morning show.

The goal is to give young people the opportunity to be a part of the political process by making their voices heard, while, at the same time, enlightening their peers, and encouraging them to become involved.

Participating in the event is:
Steve Harvey, Host of Nationally Syndicated Show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show
Don Lemon, CNN Headline News Anchor
Commissioner Lee May, 5th District DeKalb County Commissioner
Tyreal Lewis, CEO of The R Group, Inc & Real Street Kids Foundation
Greg Gerhard, SunTrust Bank, Endowment & Foundations
Victoria Fleary - Senior Interactive Brand Manager 98.7 Kiss FM (NY)
Yvonne Chrimes, Director GSU Alpharetta and Brookhaven Centers
Contest Schedule:
Start Date: Monday, March 3, 2008 @ 12:00 AM EST
End Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 @ 11:59 PM EST
Voting Start Date: Monday, April 28, 2008 @ 12:00 AM EST
Voting End Date: Friday, May 2, 2008 @ 11:59PM EST
Winners (5) Selected: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Video Length: Maximum of 60 seconds (1 Minute)

Teach One Academy will also recognize 10 local high school students who applied for scholarships to help with college tuition. Five local high school students will be selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship.

The day will also be filled with friendly competition, festivities and fun with :
* live performances by the hottest R&B and Rap artists in the ATL
* music/dance competition
* prizes
* open mic competition
* talent competition
* face painting
* voter registration drive
* food and fun!!


Teach One Academy is calling for donations to aid in making this event a success. All donations and contributions are tax-deductible.

Sponsors will receive recognition for contributions on all press related and marketing materials and will have an opportunity to showcase their business during the event. Local media will be onsite providing media coverage.

Please contact Jennifer Toussaint to receive the wish-list or for more information. Or please make the check out to "Teach One Academy". This initiative is coming together rapidly; therefore, contributions are requested to be sent by April 25, 2008, to the following address: PO Box 1066, Alpharetta, GA 30009 or via the website at http://www.teachoneacademy.com.

The event is free and open to the public, so come out and enjoy a family friendly day where opportunities abound for our future leaders!

About Teach One Academy
1 Voice-1 Vote YouTube Competition is sponsored by Teach One Academy, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) community-based organization, whose mission is to M.otivate, E.ducate, E.mpower (MEE) those of our community, specifically children and adults. We believe that all the possibilities of the world are within each of us. As such, we are committed to the following motto: Each One. Reach One. Teach One.