Doing it right just because!

It is a powerful experience when you encounter someone or something that is doing it right. The W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center falls into that category. I visited with the executive director, William Grace, this morning because they are adding my book of poetry, YOU BECKON, to their bookstore, but what I learned in the few minutes we spent chatting about both Mr. Grace and the center was quite humbling.

The W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center has been in the Greater Kansas City community for thirty-three years and its single focus has been tutoring and mentoring children educationally in reading, math, science and computer technology. This is a non-profit learning center! The tutors and mentors here are all volunteers, and their assistance to the children in this community is virtually free.

Long before it was in vogue to talk about leaving no child behind, and long after it became clear that there was both the need and the market to make tutoring and educational assistance a very, very profitable enterprise, the DuBois Learning Center kept its focus and its commitment to its young constituents. Whether you could afford to or not, if learning was your goal, the DuBois Learning Center and its volunteers were committed to help you reach that mark.

The spirit of voluntarism, of community, of cultural development, of local pride, and of that ultra special spirit of being accountable is what I met today in Mr. Grace and his little-sung organization. Thirty-three years is a long time to struggle against all the inherent obstacles a small non-profit organization like this one has had to overcome while continuing in its unwavering commitment. As I left I found myself thinking that YOU BECKON has found itself a most honorable and prestigeous new home.