Following the UM School of Education’s record-sized Rebel Road Trip in January, SOE and AmeriCorps VISTA workers have co-sponsored, Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) in Lambert, with the donation of books as the organization prepares to take 55 children on a similar field trip to Birmingham on February 27 and 28.
The YOU organization—which provides after school programs for children in high poverty areas—will follow a similar itinerary to the SOE’s trip. The group will visit the 16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and McWane Science Center. For some of the children, the field trip will be their first opportunity to cross state lines. YOU developed the trip after VISTA Leader Lauryn Duvalle invited fellow VISTA worker Arnetta Clark, who works with YOU, on the January trip.
The SOE’s Teachers of Tomorrow and Education Ambassadors raised funds to donate copies of the Newbery Award-winning novel “The Watsons Go to Birmingham” by Christopher Paul Curtis which is set in the midst of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing to the organization.
“I’m glad we were able to help the YOU organization by donating supporting texts which will help children understand the purpose of the trip,” said Duvalle. “I hope we are able to build upon their experiences. Field trips like these are a valuable opportunity for children.”
