2024 Newsletter
2022 Newsletter
We’ve made a great impact this year, thanks to your help!
Thank you for your continued support of the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation. With your help, we’ve continued to enrich the educational experiences of students in need.
In this newsletter we are sharing testimonials from our grantees, fellows and scholarship recipients expressing the Foundation’s impact on their lives.
As you choose your year-end charitable causes, please consider making a donation to continue Amanda’s mission to level the playing field and enrich the lives of underserved students.
NJ LEEP Amanda Rose Laura Scholars
The foundation endowed four scholarships within the NJ LEEP’s college preparatory and life skills educational program. This year’s Amanda Rose Laura Scholars are: Sekna Bazzi, Corey Madison, Olivia Martin, and Joanna Saint-Pierre. All four are high school seniors.
“ Becoming an Amanda Rose Laura Scholar can be a
conductor in my life goals. The support from the foundation will alleviate financial obstacles on
my track to law school.”
-Sekna Bazzi
“With[this] scholarship I would be able to travel to schools on my college list. These trips are necessary for me to make the best decisions when applying to college, however these trips are pricey and would be difficult to fund. Also, I will use the [scholarship funds] to buy important textbooks which can be very expensive, but are crucial for college success.”
-Corey Madison
“Amanda dedicated her life to service through teaching and advocating for those who are less fortunate. I not only admire that but I aspire to do [that] as well.”
-Olivia Martin
“These are the traits of an Amanda Rose Laura scholar: An individual who takes hardship and builds it into something beautiful, an individual who realizes that there is a change to be made and steps up to the plate. As a scholar I would be able to bring my awareness to the table and help others change their situations into blessings. The Amanda Rose Laura Scholarship has helped me get one step closer to achieving my dreams.”
-Joanne Saint-Pierre
The Amanda Rose Laura Law Fellowship
Sadaab Rahman was awarded the 2021-2022 Amanda Rose Laura Education Law Fellowship at the Feerick Center for Social Justice.
“Financial support from the Foundation has made it possible for me to pay for tuition as a 2L and lift my single-parent household out of poverty amidst the pandemic. Above all, this fellowship has gifted me with a purpose greater than myself in trying to carry on Amanda’s tremendous legacy of fighting for educational equity and access.”
-Sadaab Rahman
Restorative Practices in Action
In the 2021-2022 school year we funded two teachers to train within this program that cultivates leadership in urban schools by training educators to re-envision and restore student voice and empowerment in the classroom.
“RPIA pushes me so much as a teacher. Now I see my students as partners in my classroom, not just people to control. I realized a few months ago that my students will step up as leaders if I make space for them to do it, and that I can change my teaching practices to be more restorative and helpful for them as they grow. Other teachers in this cohort are also really talented and give me so many good ideas for how I can do that. I can’t wait to implement my plan, and I feel lucky that I get to be a part of this (RPIA) cohort!”
– Erin Edinger-Turoff, Middle School Teacher at Memphis Street Academy
Chicago Math & Science Academy
This year’s donation to CMSA funded a grant for the purchase of 100 Chromebook laptops and licenses as part of CMSA’s Technology Resources Initiative.
Teach for America
The Foundation’s Teach for America grant has had tremendous impact on 298 teachers and over 18,000 students thus far.
“Thank you, to the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation, for your generous support of our corps member coaches. Your generosity allowed all 14 of our teacher coaches and their managers to attend a training facilitated by Bright Morning. Bright Morning is tailored to ‘the art of coaching emotions.’
By funding the Bright Morning training, the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation has provided our coaches with an opportunity to build on their abilities to navigate and support the emotional wellbeing of the corps members they serve, and ultimately impact thousands of students across New York City.”
4th Annual Amanda Golf Classic 2023
Photos: 2022 Third Annual Golf Classic
Thanks to all who came out and special thanks to Martha Clark Ackermann for these great photos!
Third Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception Photos
Our 3rd Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception was a huge success! It was a magnificent evening filled with inspiring speeches, great food and drink, and wonderful music. Thank you to all who continue to support our mission to keep Amanda’s dreams alive. We are humbled by your love and generosity. Our sincere thanks to Martha Clark Ackermann for all these great photos!
2021 Amanda Golf Classic Photos
The Second Annual Amanda Golf Classic held at the Essex Fells Country Club in Essex Fells NJ was a great success. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors, donors, and volunteers. The money raised will continue Amanda’s mission to provide equality in educational opportunities to kids growing up in undeserved communities. To see more photos, click here.
Shoutout to Martha Ackermann Photos for all the wonderful pictures.
Brain Sarfo Voting Rights Video
We would like to introduce you to Brian Sarfo, the 2020/2021 Education Law Fellow through Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. Brian has been teaching 8th grade students in the Bronx about civics. He has produced a series of videos on voting rights for in class virtual discussions with students. Brian has also shared his pathway to law school video to inspire students to think about law school and a legal career.
Chicago Math and Science School Thank You Video (October 2020)
The Students at Chicago Math and Science (the school where Amanda worked) have created this wonderful video to thank our Foundation for it’s support.
Amanda’s legacy lives on at CMSA!
May 2020 Update
A Note from The Amanda Rose Laura Foundation
As many of you know, today was the day that we had planned to host the Foundation’s 3rd Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception. While COVID-19 may have prevented us from getting together with all of you, it has not distracted the Foundation from its Mission to provide valuable resources to students in underserved communities. Rather than reflexively shrink its funding during this pandemic period of uncertainty, we are proud to say that the Foundation has continued and expanded its funding of programs that perpetuate its Mission. We recently endowed a second fellowship at Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice, which will allow a Fordham Law student to study and implement ways to improve educational access and opportunity for underserved school children in New York City. We have also funded a Philadelphia-area educational organization called Restorative Practices in Action (RPIA), which largely focuses on the development of holistic teaching techniques tailored to the low-income and underserved student. In this time of crisis RPIA has, in turn, used its funding to train teachers in remote learning and provide financial assistance to students and their families for grocery and medical bills. And, apropos of the recent school closings, the Foundation has recently provided funding to the Brick Education Network, a Newark-based charter school organization that has established a meals program for its students who, without their usual school meals, would likely go hungry at home.
The Foundation’s support of these programs and others that fulfill its Mission will not be deterred. We wish all of you continued health and well-being through this COVID-19 crisis, and thank you for everything you have done for the Foundation. To see what we have accomplished through your support, please visit our website, www.arlaurafoundation.org.