Essay 1
English 1
Dear Mr. Buffett:
Can anyone believe that in the American city of Chicago, on an ordinary morning 5,700 children endure a shocking surprise in 190 classrooms at not finding a teacher (Kozol)? What about the stark truth that there are still schools in Chicago helplessly witnessing 700 unlucky children sharing 2 bathrooms, not to mention the strict rations enforced on using toilet papers and towels? One public school in Chicago still conducts classes for the children in an abandoned roller rink with not even a single encyclopedia, leaving a rare exceptional teacher to buy teaching materials out of his or her own pocket. Equal Opportunity International (EOI) is an organization determined to protect the rights of the un-served and underserved children in the United States and ensure that no single child in the country is discriminated from attaining a quality education. We are writing you this letter describing the need for your generous donation since, as an unmatched philanthropist, your contribution can help make the future brighter for millions of underprivileged children across the planet.
There are schools in New York where teachers are worried about making students write on the black boards because they are so badly damaged; even as holes in the old walls house rodents and plaster falls from the damaged ceiling, perpetually keeping the children vigilant to save their own life (Kozol). Many states in the US still require an atmosphere wherein all children are given equal opportunity to pursue quality education in safe atmosphere regardless of their ethnic background, race, religion, sex or economic status. Similarly, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization reports that inequity persists in the allocation of public funds and other resources for education related subsectors across the world (p. 259). As a result, the wealthy children get access to technological innovations at home towards augmenting their knowledge while some of their unfortunate classmates choose to wash dishes at local restaurants to support their education. Secondly, private schools thrive as affluent parents pay exorbitant tuition fees to prepare their children for standardized tests as the poor children suffer silently. For instance, many studies indicate that the highly competitive SAT scores are closely linked with one’s family income (Zumbrun). Most importantly, inequality in family income subsequently leads to inequitable distribution of spending on children’s education. On the other hand, underprivileged working youngsters are highly pessimistic about their future and hence less likely to invest in continuing education.
It is no wonder that individuals born into deprived families end up as dropouts sooner or later. Time and again studies reveal another sad truth about the plight of the ordinary Americans: hundreds of thousands of individuals emerge from universities with a considerable amount of debt, yet without a degree (Leonhardt). With the long term vision of helping individuals achieve basic education that would help them to get a job, EOI aspires to spend donor funds more effectively and systematically. Improving the infrastructural facilities of schools, building awareness among the economically weaker sections of the societies about the advantages of education, providing scholarships to students belonging to the underprivileged sections of the society, and promoting an educational system based on the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals are the major objectives of the organization towards ensuring equality in education.
Secondly, EOI would strive to bring out the hidden talents of children, which in turn would motivate them to continue their education. More often, inequality in education is attributed to the lack of opportunities for millions of deserving individuals across the world. Education opens the eyes of individuals to deeply understand their own strengths and the environment they live in.
EOI also recognizes the fact that education is the key to promoting awareness about the economy and environment among the common public. The major objective of promoting awareness is to build the capacity of individuals to address issues related to the environment and the society. EOI is also networking with renowned International Organizations and Non Governmental Organizations to promote interdisciplinary research and education in schools and colleges to manage environmental issues.
More importantly, EOI aspires to groom unexplored talents remaining unutilized in slums or street corners in America. EOI networks with voluntary organizations to identify abandoned children and children in slums to find out their latent talents before grooming them further in schools. EOI was founded by like-minded individuals coming from diverse backgrounds and societies that are well known for discrimination and inequality in distribution of opportunities and wealth. Interestingly, this always guides the managing partners to understand individuals deserving educational support from the organization. For instance, we have individuals subjected to discrimination based on skin color, ethnicity and religion in our team. In fact, the passion of individuals, who never previously had the chance to attend formal schooling, to make a significant difference in the society gives us the inspiration and energy to move forward.
Studies show that each year 1.2 million individuals drop out of high school in America alone, which translates to 7,000 students each day (Camera). EOI, with contributions from foresighted philanthropists like you, is resolved to reduce students dropping out of school through providing scholarships.
Promoting equal opportunity through ensuring equality in education requires substantial sums of money. EOI’s cherished dreams of seeing student-friendly classrooms, imparting awareness on the importance of education, and offering scholarships to economically backward students will remain only as unachieved dreams if millions of dollars planned for humane causes by kind-hearted souls like you are not channelized for this just and noble cause. We sincerely request your earnest cooperation for this just cause through a substantial donation. Your generosity which is going to change millions of lives across the earth to find the real meaning of their life would help us march confidently towards our goal of helping millions to conquer deprivation and poverty through education and enlightenment in the coming years.
We thank you in advance for considering the proposal favorably. I would be happy to meet you in person to clarify EOI’s fund utilization and management policies, and present you with more information about upcoming challenging projects. We also look forward to meeting you at your convenience.
Managing partner – Equal Opportunity International
Works Cited
Camera, Lauren. “Fewer Students Dropping out of High School.” U.S News.10 Nov 2015. Web. 24 May 2016. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/10/high-school-dropout-rates-plummet
Leonhardt, David. “The Reality of Student Debt Is Different From the Clichés.” The New York Times.24 June 2014. Web. 24 May 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/ upshot/the-reality-of-student-debt-is-different-from-the-cliches.html?_r=3&abt= 0002&abg=0
Kozol, Jonathan. Savage inequalities: children in America’s schools. 2012. New York: Broadway Books. Print.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “EFA Global monitoring report 2015.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2015. Place de Fontenoy: UNESCO Publishing. Print.
Zumbrun, Josh. “SAT Scores and Income Inequality: How Wealthier Kids Rank Higher.” The Wall Street Journal. 07 Oct 2014. Web. 23 May 2016. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/ 2014/10/07/sat-scores-and-income-inequality-how-wealthier-kids-rank-higher/
