The Strive was formerly known as The Bay Area Strive, a 501 c(3) non-profit organization that was started by a young 17 year old high school student in 2007. The Bay Area Strive was created by Lisa Chan to accomplish a very large and socially important task: to improve k-12 public education and inspire youth to make a difference in their communities. The beginning of the story was simple.
When Lisa saw how unfair the gap was between k-12 public and private education was by shifting into a private high school from a lifetime in public schools, it left her itching for change. She knew that the only way to close this gap was to make a step towards it herself, no matter how big or small it may be.
Needless to say, this step has evolved into a life journey for Lisa.
In 2010, after being a Sociology major for two years at the University of California, Berkeley, Lisa was captivated by the social inequalities in our world and quickly became inspired to carry the mission of The Bay Area Strive onto a national and eventually global level with a more digital focus and catering to teachers as well as students, leading to the birth of The Strive.
Today, The Strive continues to fight educational inequality with a larger sociological perspective in mind. Just think, why does more crime occur in places where there is less educational funding? Why is it that certain races have higher high school graduation rates than others? Environmental racism causes certain races to be concentrated in areas of designated income brackets, which in turn determine the quality of public education available in those areas. This is not fair especially since the quality of education extends past graduation rates. Believe it or not, a student’s quality of education at a young age also determines their future health and overall life chances.
It’s time for an organization to exist that focuses solely on providing inspiration and improved public education to at-risk, low-income, youth across the nation. The Strive works to create healthier communities with lower crime rates and more young leaders.
Join The Strive in their growing movement to eliminate external inequalities and create an equal playing field for youth everywhere, regardless of location, race, or income.
