~ from Vols for Wesley
Vols for Wesley, a group of University of Tennessee, Knoxville students, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of a field trip for the entire youth program of 100+ students at Wesley House Community Center. After volunteering at Wesley House, the group couldn’t unsee what they’d witnessed: kids who light up the moment they walk through the door and a staff that gives them everything they have.
For more than a century, Wesley House Community Center has been a steady presence in Knoxville. Since 1907, this Christian-centered nonprofit has supported neighbors facing financial
hardship, and its K-12 afterschool and summer youth program carries that mission to the next generation by nurturing students’ academic and spiritual growth. Through the program, students
earn trips to local Knoxville attractions as a reward for exceptional academic performance.
The average field trip cost is just $10 per child, but that can still be out of reach for many WesleyHouse families. With more than 100 children enrolled, Wesley House cannot cover these costs
alone. “Before we started going on field trips, we had fewer than one in four students making allA’s on their report card,” Denarius Ross, Chief Program Officer at Wesley House, shared. “After
going on field trips for one semester, we saw this number rise to nearly half of the youth program.”
Every donation to Vols for Wesley helps keep these trips going so that money never stands between a child and the experiences proven to help them thrive.
As UT students, Vols for Wesley see the campaign as a chance to give back to a community that has given them so much.
“We’ve seen Wesley House’s impact firsthand through our volunteer work, and we understand the financial barriers some of these students face on a daily basis,” saidCarson DeLozier, the campaign organizer. “No student should miss out on a reward they earned, especially not because of a $10 price tag.”
The campaign runs through December 2nd. Donations are tax-deductible and go directly toWesley House. To donate or learn more, visit: https://gofund.me/ba4a6255b
