The escalating cost of higher education is causing many to question the value of continuing education beyond high school. Many wonder whether the high cost of tuition, the opportunity cost of choosing college over full-time employment, and the accumulation of thousands of dollars of debt is, in the long run, worth the investment. The risk is especially large for low-income families who have a difficult time making ends meet without the additional burden of college tuition and fees.

There is considerable support for the notion that the rate of return on investment in higher education is high enough to warrant the financial burden associated with pursuing a college degree. Though the earnings differential between college and high school graduates varies over time, college graduates, on average, earn more than high school graduates. According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million.

The Jehru M. Donaldson Scholarship Foundation is a program provided through P.R.O.M.I.S.E., it provides scholarships to college bound youth who graduate from David B. Oliver an intercity Pittsburgh Public High School.

Jehru M. Donaldson Scholarship promotes:

• Volunteering and community service
• Appreciation for service and civic engagement
• Life-skills and critical-thinking skills
• Commitment to academic achievement
• Health and fitness behaviors
• Competitive activities and events (sports, martial arts, chess, golf, etc.)

• Educational and career planning as vital components for their future success; focusing on skills needed in the workplace and focusing on their future path
• Developing positive leadership skills
• Cultural programs and events

We feel that it’s easier to build strong youth than to repair a broken adult.  The Youth for Change program nurtures and provide boys and girls between the ages of five to eighteen, with skills and knowledge to have a smoother transition into adolescents and adulthood.  This program focuses on positive qualities such as integrity, courage, respect, passion, and leadership.

The young men and women (teenagers) in the community are crying out for adult role-models, mature, well-developed men and women who will make time for them as they travel their "Journey into adulthood".  This period of a young child’s life is filled with uncertainty and fear. With the help of an adult male or female who sees him/her for who he/she is, the youth can become more conscious of his/her world...and of the tremendous potential that is awakening inside his/her being.

The goal of this program is to empower and enable our youth to grow up as leaders and pillars in their communities and to make positive choices that strengthen themselves, their family, and their community through volunteering and mentoring.

The Youth for Change Program promotes:

• Encouraging dreams

• Kindling ambitions

• Mentoring Program (being mentored and acting as mentors) 
• The advantages of secondary and higher education
• Discipline, respect and manners
• Volunteering and community service
• Therapeutic group activities tailored to meet the specific needs, interests and personalities of boys/girls
• Enhance social skills
• Life-skills and critical-thinking skills

• Developing positive leadership skills

• Increase frustration tolerance
• improve impulse control
• Increase self-esteem / self-worth
• Develop (and practice) strategies for managing emotions; emotional management (learning and using techniques to better manage anger, depression, and other emotions that create challenges in their daily lives at school, home, and in the community.
• Pair therapy is a powerful and effective form of relational therapy where two children are matched based on their strengths and challenges. The pairs work together to foster friendship and create opportunities for them to teach and learn from each other
• Money management and investing
• Health and physical fitness

The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language  to read, write, listen, and speak. In modern contexts, the word refers to reading and writing at a level adequate for communication, or at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have drafted the following definition: "'Literacy' is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute, and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society." In modern times, illiteracy is seen as a social problem to be solved through reading and education.

Parent-child book clubs offer parents and children a way to share books, experiences, and feelings together. Many parents and children report feeling closer to one another after sharing books together. In addition, book clubs may provide parents and children with a way to explore and discuss difficult topics in a safe way.

In addition to helping parents talk with their child about important issues, parent-child book clubs provide an enjoyable and easy way for children to develop many literacy skills. Simply by reading books in preparation for book club meetings, children will develop fluency, or the ability to read smoothly and with expression. In addition, he/she will learn new vocabulary words and be exposed to new ideas and concepts. Through the discussion that takes place at book club meetings, children will develop a deeper understanding of books, consider others' perspectives on the same book, and practice analyzing the books he/she reads.

Book clubs help children develop important language skills. Book discussions help children practice turn-taking, encourage them to use language to analyze, make predictions, and solve problems, and provide them with opportunities to try out new vocabulary words. Simply by reading and participating in discussions themselves, parents can provide important language and literacy models for their children.

The P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Book Club promotes:

• Lifelong learning of spirituality, love, obedience, ethics, integrity, and character
• Dealing with real life issues, problems, and values
• Growing leaders for the P.R.O.M.I.S.E. mission
• Increasing youth’s sense of belonging
• Providing a place for young people to make friends and learn to grow as leaders
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First Book Club Members

Traditionally, elder care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family home.  Elder care is now being provided by state or charitable institutions and volunteers.  The reasons for this change include decreasing family size, the greater life expectancy of elderly people, the geographical dispersion of families, and the tendency for women to be educated and work outside the home. 

Elderly care emphasizes the social and personal requirements of senior citizens who need some assistance with daily activities and health care, but who desire to age with dignity.  It is an important distinction, in that the design of housing, services, activities, employee and volunteer training should be truly customer-centered.

Our volunteers will assist the elderly with a variety of daily non-medical functions including: light house-keeping, light meal preparation, taking out the trash, shoveling snow and raking leaves, general recreation and various social activities.

Youth volunteers will be carefully matched with elderly individuals according to interests, temperament, and level of support needed by the elder.   The Elder Companionship program promotes:

•  Volunteering and Community Service
• Building Relationships
• Discipline, respect, and manners
• Enhancing social skills
• Life-skills and critical-thinking skills

Program is still being planned.