Brightlane Learning

We can’t wait to keep the fun going at our 2025 Inspire Brighter afterparty with dancing and live music from My Yellow Rickshaw thanks to our Afterparty Sponsor, Marian, Inc.! Marian Inc. has proudly supported Brightlane’s mission and impact for the past 8 years. We’re grateful for Marian Inc.’s support and their commitment to engaging with our community. Break out your brightest attire and join us as we show up to glow up futures on Thursday, April 24! Individual tickets and patron tables for 8 are available for purchase here: https://lnkd.in/gJmFEz-Z

The tool kits we use as a resource at each tutoring location help us provide consistent access to hands-on educational activities, including science. They include real-life applications that reinforce the grade-level math and literacy skills that our students are working to master. Integrating hands-on science activities into tutoring helps Brightlane students stay engaged, get excited about learning, and motivate them to attend tutoring. Thanks to Corteva Agriscience for grant funding to help us reduce the academic achievement gap between unhoused students and their house peers. Their financial and volunteer support helps Brightlane students become excited by and engaged in science.

?? Happy tutor anniversary to these 6 volunteers! Thank you for sharing your time and passion as we put more students on the path to brighter futures!

Meet Julie McNamar, a Cold Spring School tutor who has been volunteering since 2018! Julie and her 11-year-old daughter began tutoring together at Dayspring Center. Wanting to do even more, Julie began tutoring at Cold Spring School as well and worked with a group of middle schoolers before school. She has remained at Cold Spring ever since, committed to the connections she's made with kids and her fellow tutors. Julie shared, "I have seen a couple of students move from kindergarten up to middle school. Some of those students barely knew the alphabet or letter sounds when I first started. Now they are reading chapter books for fun. Watching that progress is amazing and the kids start to feel like part of my family."

The stress and trauma of instability mean that our approach goes beyond academics, which is why infusing art into our programs is critical. Drawing can help a student communicate when they may still be learning to write or when English isn’t their first language. Working with clay or paint, no matter your grade or skill level, can help a student regulate and calm down so that they are able to absorb new information.?? Thanks to Penrod Arts Fair and Penrod Society for funding that helps us purchase supplies that students can use to explore art and their personal creativity and expression!

We're so proud of this former Brightlane student and graduate who stopped by the Brightlane office while he was in town during his Spring Break! Our staff loved having the opportunity to catch up with him over lunch and hear all about his first year at college. He’s majoring in Creative Writing, and his favorite class this semester is public speaking. He’s also on his school’s football team and enjoying playing at the college level!

Marion County has nearly one-quarter of Indiana's homeless student enrollment, while representing only about 15% of total student enrollment. Thanks to Old National Bank Foundation for their grant supporting our PreK-12 grade students across more than 30 Indianapolis emergency and transitional shelters, community centers, and elementary, middle, and high schools.???? Their support is helping us provide an increased number of academic intervention sessions focused on both homework help and building grade-level skills with the goal of increasing the likelihood that students are promoted to the next grade, graduate, and secure stable job opportunities to help break the cycle of homelessness.

?? It’s not too late to join Brightlane’s virtual book club! RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gQDbCSgA We’re reading “When We Walk By” written by Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 18 from 6:30-7:45 pm, and we’ll be discussing chapters 4-7. Your attendance is welcomed even if you have not yet read the corresponding chapters of the book as we come together, learn, and have candid conversations about poverty, homelessness, and the inequities in America.

Will you help us restock our snack shelves? Shop our wishlist: https://lnkd.in/gkn49Nd Brightlane students receive snacks during tutoring to help keep minds healthy and focused! With a record number of students enrolled, we need help refilling our shelves to ensure we have enough snacks for the rest of the semester. All our current needs, including approved snacks, can be found on our Amazon Wishlist and shipped directly to our office at 2955 N Meridian Street, STE 250, Indianapolis, IN 46208.

??? Show up to glow up futures at Inspire Brighter on Thursday, April 24 at The Crane Bay Event Center! We’re counting down the days until this BRIGHT and fun event, and you won’t want to miss it! Break out your brightest attire and join us by purchasing tickets, tables, or sponsorships today. ??? TICKETS & TABLES – Purchase single tickets or a patron table for 8 to join us for an unforgettable evening of inspiration, entertainment, and community: https://lnkd.in/gJmFEz-Z ?? SPONSORSHIPS – Want to make a bigger impact? Become a sponsor to help Brightlane raise critical funds for our programs! For more information, please contact [email protected]