High school student starts nonprofit to connect kids with American ideals

Nov. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—A Virginia high school student starts a nonprofit foundation to connect elementary school students with American founding ideals.

“Many kids today are disconnected from what makes America great.  I intend to do something about that,” says Elena Jones, high school student from Charlottesville, Virginia, the home of founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville advises, "When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness."  Wish for Washington provides fifth graders an opportunity to explore the nation’s capital and to study the original Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, and US Constitution.

The foundation distributes grants to elementary schools throughout the nation.  Schools follow a structured itinerary.  Donations provide bus transportation, lunch, and entrance fees to learning venues in Washington, D.C.  One hundred percent of donations go straight to schools.  Miss Jones funded the startup and infrastructure from her personal savings and continues to fund the operational costs.

Two hundred years ago, Tocqueville traveled from France to America and made this observation:  “The health of a society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” One wonders if Tocqueville envisioned a 15 year old girl when he wrote that.  “If I can do it, anyone can.  With a good idea, it’s possible for a young person to change a local community.   With a great idea it’s possible to change the world,” says Miss Jones.

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Wish for Washington, founded in 2009, is a nonprofit foundation based in Charlottesville, Virginia. The organization connects kids with American founding ideals through interactive experiences at historical sites in Washington D.C. You can join Wish for Washington on facebook: facebook.com/wishforwashington/