The Shane Thurston Foundation was founded in Feb. 2019, on the principle of providing resources to children, as early as possible, to positively impact their mental health and educational future.  This mission will honor Shane’s initiative of making everyone feel loved and worthy.  His strong aversion to bullying paired with his desire to boost those around him truly founded the idea.

While a child cannot step back and see why they are bullying others, or bullying the teachers by being the class clown or being disruptive, as adults we can see there is more beneath the behavior.  Many times, it can be as simple as not understanding the material being taught, resulting in lower confidence levels and children that cause distractions to avoid facing the reality.  For a child, that reality puts them at risk of being laughed at or teased; so they may act out first to avoid this while not addressing the root cause, lack of understanding.

It is this thought that led the Foundation’s Board of Directors, along with many other loved ones, to start a non-profit whose first initiative would be to provide funds for children in need to gain access to educational programs.  This can assist in the creation of foundational knowledge to be unlocked for those who may need individualized lessons or a different teaching style.  With a stronger base, everything from there is only stronger.

Shane’s Mother feels blessed to have had the ability to send Shane to a 6 week tutoring program outside of school.  The growth from a 4th to an 8th grade math level in just 6 weeks only proved what everyone knew all along, he was very smart, but had gaps in the foundation that needed improvement.  This improvement had a direct correlation to school performance and the frequency of calls home from the school.  The Foundation formed to provide a continuous stream of supporters to assist in children feeling successful at achieving their goals at an even younger age.  Providing access to programs such as these, can help change the trajectory of their educational career.