Why I'm Participating in the Big House 5K: Jennifer Melchi
3/22/2018 3:03:00 PM | Features, Community Engagement
The 2018 Big House 5K: Trail to the Victors presented by Toyota on Sunday, April 8, will benefit six local, non-profit organizations selected based on the support they provide to our Washtenaw County community in key areas like housing, healthcare, the arts, youth programming and social services. In the weeks leading up to the race, MGoBlue.com will share stories from people inspired to participate this year because of one of the beneficiaries.
By Jennifer Melchi
My name is Jennifer Melchi and I'm running in the Big House 5K for Family Learning Institute.
I run to stay fit. Running races is a way of completing a goal. No matter how long or short, it always gets me out running and thinking about that goal. The Big House 5K is one of my favorite races because I can walk to the start line from my house!
When I started volunteering at Family Learning Institute in 2007, it was as a graphic design student and I had won a design contest for a save-the-date for their first Spelling Bee fundraiser. Over the past 10 years, I have sat on their board, and continue to volunteer my graphic design services.
About Family Learning Institute (FLI)
The Family Learning Institute (FLI) is a volunteer-based nonprofit dedicated to closing the Washtenaw County achievement gap. We offer free reading and math tutoring for students in grades 2-6 who are from economically disadvantaged families and are struggling in school. In addition to our professional staff, we have over 150 volunteers who work one-to-one with our students. FLI was established in response to results of the 1998 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) statewide standardized test. This test showed a wide disparity in test scores between the students from economically disadvantaged Washtenaw County families and those not economically disadvantaged. Based on the 2016-2017 statewide standardized test (MStep) scores, the educational achievement gap between these two groups of third graders is widening. Close to 50 percent of the economically disadvantaged third graders are reading below grade level as compared to 14 percent of non-economically disadvantaged third graders. The story is more alarming for math tests. In these times, FLI's free one-to-one reading and math tutoring is more important than ever! For more information, visit familylearninginstitute.org.
