I am fueled with purpose and filled with immense gratitude following the incredible success of our recent gala. The outpouring of support was truly inspiring and a testament to the dedication each of you brings to our mission.
What we choose to do today—and how we show up—matters deeply. I invite you to read the excerpt below from my gala remarks, which highlight the critical role we can play in ensuring the young people in our community have the chance to thrive and prosper, and our democracy has the foundation to endure.
In community,
Kim Mazzuca
President & CEO
P.S. Watch our Gala Video for my full remarks and our incredible speakers.
At 10,000 Degrees, we believe that education is the foundation of a just and equitable society. Education has always been and remains the pathway to opportunity and progress, the catalyst for change, and what empowers the next generation to transform our world for the better.
Today, that foundation is threatened.
The attacks on education are having devastating consequences, especially for families and students from low-income backgrounds. The very cornerstone of our republic is fracturing before our eyes.
This is why we fight. Because education is a right. Because every child deserves the opportunity to live, grow, and thrive in a safe and healthy environment—and be prepared for a future of possibility. But today, they don’t and they’re not.
We face a massive educational crisis: reading and math scores have been declining for 30 years—only 37% of U.S. adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher. And if you disaggregate the data by race and income, the disparities are even worse.
Today, students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to enroll in college, And if they do enroll, only 11% will graduate with their bachelor’s degree compared to 79% of their more affluent peers. This is a staggering and unacceptable loss of human potential—a loss that will echo for generations.
Our mission is to achieve educational equity and support students from low-income backgrounds with the information, guidance, resources, and support they need to achieve their educational dreams and go on to positively impact their communities and change the world.
At this moment in time, we stand firm. We can unequivocally state that it is our mission and our duty to not only provide the support and resources to help our students achieve their college degrees and prosperous careers, but to protect their right to learn and their safety as they exercise their right.
There has never been a more important or urgent time to invest in our young people.
We hope you will join us.