In partnership with community leaders, celebrities and entertainment industry supporters, Los Angeles based non-profit organization, Operation Hope, is set to launch 5 Million Kids, a national initiative focusing its efforts on redefining the perceptions and attitudes towards education.
Legendary icon and music extraordinaire Quincy Jones [click to read], alongside global spokesperson for Operation Hope, Andrew Young, both serve as national co-chairs. “It takes 20 years to change a culture,” said Jones in an Operation Hope press release. “We’ve spent the last 20 years making dumb sexy,” he continued.
Recently, the Los Angeles Times[click here] reported that the dropout rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District for the 2007-2008 school year was 26.4%, a decrease from 31.7% the previous year, and overall among one the largest improvements in California. However, the steep drop out rates reported within the Los Angeles school system continues to be an alarming reality for public schools across the nation.
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Over the next five years, some of the goals for the 5 Million Kids initiative include teaching students, parents and teachers about finances through a variety of workshops, increasing leadership and participation in urban communities at the grassroots level up to influential industry supporters, as well as securing at least $50 million in Earned Income Tax Credits for parents and teachers.
Kicking off September 29, the launch event will include Jones and his son Quincy “QD3” Jones [click to read], in addition to R&B singer and actor Tyrese [click to read], Day 26 [click to read] from P. Diddy’s Making the Band, as well as members of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. The event is set to take place at an undisclosed South Central Los Angeles Middle School, and attendees must RSVP to obtain the address.
