We’ve all suffered through high school classes and groaned, “I will never, ever need to know any of this!” Possibly, we won’t. Fractions rarely come up in casual conversation. What we do talk about, though, is how to become whole from the fragments of ourselves. How to find answers, and hopefully teach others.
Project 4293, Inc., the largest student-run organization in the country, is a nonprofit dedicated to teaching the most important lesson: tolerance. Project 4293 strives to help those whose lives have been shattered by intolerance by finding the answers that can help the victims feel whole. Through education, protection and advocacy, says co-President Alex Cywes, Project 4293 attacks bigotry and injustice. It sponsors and helps to pay for the fees of sexual assault victims and victims of hate crimes to ensure a fair trial.
High school is a strange time; we’re not considered adults yet we’re no longer children. We’re defined as students. And maybe, as students, we have our own perspective about teaching the next generation about acceptance. Every day we highlight pages in our textbooks – they sailed on the Mayflower to escape oppression and find freedom…he articulated the need for equality from a Birmingham jail…she was burned at the stake because she was different – and then we lift our heads from these books and look around, forced to consider how far we’ve really come. As students, we understand the value of historical stories to teach, and Project 4293 tells the stories of hate crimes or sexual assaults to a potentially unaware community. By educating the community, history may not repeat itself.
And, when students educate students, lessons take on new meaning. “We seek to instill diverse values between 8- and 16-year-olds,” Alex says, “because that’s when the most crucial time for tolerance development is.” He explains this as Project 4293 prepares to visit an elementary school for the first time. “It’s a test run,” explains Director of Programs Lily Healy. “We’re showing a video we’ve made of influential people, including the leader of an NGO leader in Brazil who helps underprivileged women find opportunities.” Future topics include LGBTQ inclusiveness, and racial and religious tolerance.
Right now, Project 4293 has 20 partners. Grants and donations from the public are the most mainstream sources of revenue. The nonprofit has 54 products online, but, says Elle, “all of the revenue goes straight to the cause. We don’t take any of it. Ever.” Further revenue comes from Project 4293’s Round Up Initiative. Local establishments ask their customers to round up the cost of their bill, and the surplus is donated to Project 4293. Plans for 2018 include bringing in more people not just from the immediate community, but also from across the country, to be a part of the mission. Director of Social Media and Marketing Jacqueline Emas says she posts mainly on Instagram because of its potential to advertise and gain attention from other supportive accounts. Also, Director of Club Growth and Development Elle Walters hopes to expand the program to other schools, especially to underprivileged areas. It’s today’s students who will change tomorrow’s world, and Project 4293 is determined to guide the next generation towards a culture of inclusion and protection. It’s the students who can take action to build a better world with the lessons learned in school: justice for all.
Author: Elena Segel
Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: Our mission is to eradicate hate within our generation by educating, advocating and protecting. To educate, we host programs throughout the country as part of our diversity initiative to empower young girls and incorporate them into our organization to help them achieve their dreams. We also run programs to foster racial and religious tolerance as well as LGBTQ+ inclusiveness. To advocate and protect, we work with District Attorneys across the country to pay for the necessary fees survivors of hate crimes and/or sexual assault may require to return to a state of self-sufficiency.
As part of our mission to raise money for survivors, we recently opened an online store; 100% of the profits generated on this platform will go directly to the survivors we support. While we have products of our own, we have established a system of direct sale in which we partner with businesses across the world to both feature their products on our store and raise funds for our mission.
Link to social media or website: http://project4293.org
