DO-IT "One Kid at a Time" Begins in Oregon

This past summer, thanks to the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation, Buffy, a high school senior from Oregon, joined twenty of her peers for the intensive DO-IT Scholars college preparation program at the University of Washington. Following Summer Study, she continues participation on-line from home. She will return in 2000 for a second Summer Study as a Phase II Scholar. In 2001 she will have graduated from high school and will participate as a DO-IT Ambassador, mentoring incoming Scholars and promoting DO-IT efforts in her home state, and working as an Intern in Summer Study 2001.

DO-IT continues to seek partners to support the DO-IT Scholars program and other outreach activities on a national level. With full state funding secured for Washington residents only, director Sheryl Burgstahler has set her sights on the remaining 49 states. Burgstahler started a campaign she nicknamed "One Kid at a Time," a proposal to support at least one high school student with a disability from each state to attend the three-year Scholar's program. The Samuel S. Johnson Foundation is the first to step forward. The Foundation was initially approached by a parent of a DO-IT Scholar, who could attest to the worthiness of the program. Burgstahler is optimistic about additional partnerships. "For a relatively small investment, other individual, corporate or foundation donors can assure that their state is not left out of the DO-IT experience."

If you have ideas for funding DO-IT in your state, contact the DO-IT office.