It is Christmas time! December is a wonderful time of year to celebrate friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else in your life.
There are TONS of organizations that are dependent on your generous donations, whether it is your church, your children’s school, local community charities, adopting a family, etc. There are numerous ways to help your neighbor! Given the season, I was moved to write about another non-profit that can use some assistance, Career Compass of Louisiana.
As a Career Compass College & Career Coach, I find myself educating my friends, family, and the community about our wonderful organization and mission. We work with students from all types of backgrounds. I regularly help students whose parents work multiple jobs just to put food on the table and provide for their children. They’re doing the best they can for their families, but they only have high school diplomas. Their parents want more for their children, but they don’t have the time or the knowledge to help them. That’s where I come in.
So, here goes my spiel: Career Compass is a non-profit organization that helps middle and high school students figure out what they want to do after they graduate, and assists them with the admissions paperwork to get into the post-secondary school they have selected to attend. We meet with high school seniors one-on-one to make sure we can develop the plan that best suits their needs. Along with that, we also give seminars to students starting from the 6th grade all the way to 11th grade about the importance of staying in school, making great choices, and the different diploma options available to them (bet you didn’t know there are two different types of diplomas Louisiana high school students can earn!). We also meet with 9th and 10th grade students to discuss those diploma options. And Career Compass is constantly evolving and growing to assist the needs of educators and students throughout the state of Louisiana.
Usually, once I finish my explanation the next thing said is, “Wow, that is so great! What can I do to help?!”
There are a few ways individuals and businesses can help the future of Louisiana:
- AmazonSmile: Who doesn’t love shopping from the comfort of their home, and not dealing with traffic, lines and all the dramatic things I can say here about leaving your house!? AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. AmazonSmile donates .5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.
- Donate directly to Career Compass! We can provide tax receipts if needed! If you would prefer to donate using PayPal: here is where to donate. Through December 31, PayPal will donate an extra 1% to your donation. **Life Tip: Make sure you keep documentation of your donations and check with your tax professional!
- Share this blog! Help us get the word out about Career Compass to your friends, family and any businesses that would love to partner with us. For any partnership inquiries, please contact Crystal Burch, Director of Strategic Partnerships.
- Help us tell the community what we do! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and share our posts!
Have a wonderful Christmas, and let us all remember the reason for the season!
Want to verify we are a legit Louisiana non-profit before you donate? Check out our profile as a Silver Participant on GuideStar. GuideStar is a leader in advancing transparency in the nonprofit sector, enabling users to make better decisions about giving.
--By Ashley LeSaicherre, College & Career Coach in Tangipahoa Parish