This social media challenge lifts up black students with financial support and mentorship
The path to college success just got a little easier for brilliant black students, thanks to a new challenge gaining traction on social media.
Black college graduates of all ages are banding together under the #ITAVChallenge — a hashtag short for "It Takes a Village Challenge" — to help uplift the next generation of black scholars.
Through the challenge, black college graduates connect with a black high school student who is graduating from their alma mater and going to same college they attended. Then, the participant gives that college freshman $100 worth of essential school supplies to start off their college career on the right foot.
Like the name of the challenge suggests, it does take a village to help any student achieve success. But for black students, finding support is especially crucial, given that the higher education system is often critiqued for failing to support students of color.
Eric and Jasmine Cooper — the husband and wife duo who created the challenge — encourage those who participate to avoid giving cash or gift cards to students. Instead, they want participants and recipients to have a conversation about what each student needs, and then meet up in person to shop for or deliver the supplies.
"We were both first-generation college students, so receiving support from mentors was priceless."
Though donations help students get material needs for success, the Coopers also encourage participants to become mentors and build relationships. They suggest talking about the students' majors and interests, helping them find internship opportunities, and even checking in on their grades.
The challenge is mainly finding its footing on Facebook, where college graduates are posting with the hashtag to find students that fit the challenge description.
Jasmine says she and her husband have long had a passion for giving back. They often challenge each other and friends to small actions that will benefit their community. For example, the couple bought 20 tickets to the movie Hidden Figures earlier this year, giving them away to people who otherwise might not have been able to afford a ticket to the groundbreaking movie.
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The couple randomly thought of the #ITAVChallenge last year as another opportunity to do something positive for their community.
"Eric and I have lots of extended family and friends that helped us in one capacity or another as we pursued our undergraduate degrees," she says. "We were both first-generation college students, so receiving support from mentors was priceless. It was motivating and encouraging to have people that looked like us to turn to whenever we encountered challenges as we pursued our degrees."
"It can be intimidating to go away to school and possibly not know anyone on campus, or know what resources are available to you."
Last year, participation in the challenge was limited to the Coopers' friends and family. This year, people from outside the Coopers' network are picking up the #ITAVChallenge, dedicating themselves to better the college experience for black students.
"Participation in this year’s challenge has really spread like wildfire," she said. "We had no expectations when we originally posted about the challenge this year because there wasn’t a ton of interest last year. But we are so excited that so many people have decided to participate."
Jasmine says the two students they personally selected last year were appreciative of school supply donations, but for her, the most rewarding thing to come out of the challenge has been the mentor relationships.
"I think that making ourselves available to them for support has been what they both appreciated the most," she says. "It can be intimidating to go away to school and possibly not know anyone on campus, or know what resources are available to you."
The Coopers recognize that not everyone will be able to find a high school student from their alma mater attending the same college they attended. Even if someone can't fulfill those specifics of the challenge, they encourage those wanting to participate to help any student that could use support.
"We recommend everyone to try to find a student that they have a commonality with," she says. "This could mean you went to the same high school, the same college, or you have the same undergraduate major. The challenge is open to everyone."
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Topics Social Good Racial Justice
Katie Dupere was a Social Good reporter at Mashable from May 2015 to July 2017, covering activism, identities and social impact. Prior to her work with Mashable, Katie penned pieces about queerness, body positivity, sex and relationships for Gurl. She also previously contributed LGBTQ news coverage to PinkNews.
