Anaz : [ah-naz], noun : the challenge and the one who defies it
Origin: Tamazight -a language spoken by the Amazigh people, the indigenous people of North Africa
Origin: Tamazight -a language spoken by the Amazigh people, the indigenous people of North Africa
The Anaz Program is more than your typical academic scholarship. It is a holistic approach to student success at the college and trade school level. Each young person receives necessary support at the appropriate age and matriculation level. They do *not* have to attend a four-year college or university; we recognize that young people can take many paths to success and even define success for themselves.
The program provides a comprehensive support system and mentorship. We know that academic and apprenticeship success depends on eating well, having time to sleep, mental and emotional safety and health, getting advice and care from those who understand the system, and more. For example, we need to, at the very least, supersede basic needs to a point where an individual has access to food and housing security. Otherwise, we can’t ensure that this individual will be in the right mental state to be able to excel in their academic environment and participate in high school and university extracurriculars that are required to form long term relationships.
The Anaz Program seeks to meet all of our members’ needs, from a winter coat to a full meal plan and everything in between, so that they can take full advantage of their educational experience.
The program provides a comprehensive support system and mentorship. We know that academic and apprenticeship success depends on eating well, having time to sleep, mental and emotional safety and health, getting advice and care from those who understand the system, and more. For example, we need to, at the very least, supersede basic needs to a point where an individual has access to food and housing security. Otherwise, we can’t ensure that this individual will be in the right mental state to be able to excel in their academic environment and participate in high school and university extracurriculars that are required to form long term relationships.
The Anaz Program seeks to meet all of our members’ needs, from a winter coat to a full meal plan and everything in between, so that they can take full advantage of their educational experience.
Our Goals
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- We aim to help students successfully manage the college or trade school application process, choose schools and post graduate programs that are excellent fits for their goals, and provide financial options that are necessary to pursue their dreams.
- We aim to begin this support during their high school years to prepare them as early as possible for what is to come post graduation.
- We seek to support students, making sure they get the most out of their schooling by helping them as they begin to explore their career options and create the networks and social capital that become important assets for the rest of their lives.
- We envision empowering students to move confidently, safely, and securely towards their liberation and success as they define it.
- We expect to provide a safety net for recent graduates to learn how to maneuver the realities of adulthood without suffering lifelong consequences if they make mistakes.
When young people enter the program, our goal is that they’ll always feel part of a family.
The Benefit of TIME
Time is an asset. People don't think about time poverty unless they’ve been “time poor,” and even then, it takes years before the impact of this can be fully seen. I was time poor. During my time in college, I had to spend time earning money which meant I didn't have the opportunity to go to office hours and build essential relationships with professors. I didn't have the opportunity to hang around after class, spend time with graduate student instructors, or attend professor organized meet ups at cafes. Time was truly a luxury that I did not possess and because I did not possess it, ultimately I had to forgo opportunities that would have allowed me to build essential relationships –relationships that are crucial to navigating a post undergraduate reality.
Time poverty has repercussions that last long after college. It affects the future, including things like necessary recommendations for graduate school, professional connections, or the option to create deep meaningful connections that make you part of an alumni family! These are what we call “extra” experiences.
Let's be even more honest, for many more than qualified young people, post high school education is completely inaccessible due to time poverty! Time poverty is a disastrously common reality that a traditional scholarship does nothing to combat. So the goal is to set Anaz community members up with enough support to take full advantage of opportunities, so that young people can build up all of those “extras” that are actually not extra at all.
Time poverty has repercussions that last long after college. It affects the future, including things like necessary recommendations for graduate school, professional connections, or the option to create deep meaningful connections that make you part of an alumni family! These are what we call “extra” experiences.
Let's be even more honest, for many more than qualified young people, post high school education is completely inaccessible due to time poverty! Time poverty is a disastrously common reality that a traditional scholarship does nothing to combat. So the goal is to set Anaz community members up with enough support to take full advantage of opportunities, so that young people can build up all of those “extras” that are actually not extra at all.
The Benefit of Safety Nets
Our goal is to make the transition process from college to career as easy as possible and to become a source of “credibility” for our youth. For example, when a Scholar needs someone to sign on an apartment lease, the Foundation would support that. We will establish programs to subsidize rent, so that ultimately, our youth will be responsible for themselves but have a safety net to fall back on.
We will be setting our participants up to be able to learn what it means to be independent, without exposing them to the kinds of systemic consequences that end up putting people even deeper in a hole while they're learning how to figure out how to be an adult.
It is not enough to simply provide a financial safety net to our young people, we will also be providing them with essential financial literacy skills that will help them in making well thought out decisions that will set them up for success, even in retirement.
We will be setting our participants up to be able to learn what it means to be independent, without exposing them to the kinds of systemic consequences that end up putting people even deeper in a hole while they're learning how to figure out how to be an adult.
It is not enough to simply provide a financial safety net to our young people, we will also be providing them with essential financial literacy skills that will help them in making well thought out decisions that will set them up for success, even in retirement.
How We Measure Success
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We measure success by how many lives are actually going to be changed, how much healthier (mentally, emotionally, spiritually) people are going to be, how much accessibility we've increased for these kids & for individuals across the board, and by how much they are going to be able to turn around and change the lives of those that are around them because they are happier and healthier and hopeful. These things are intangible. They can’t be articulated by a simple set of data points.
We will know success when it happens. When we see students hit milestones, or pivot from one approach to an approach that feels more meaningful to them. When parents can rest assured that their children have support in all aspects of their lives. When young people master the art of adulting, land a job, start a business, pick themselves up after a setback or willingly and vulnerably lean into their community!
Because after all, how do you measure liberation or personal sovereignty? How do you measure changing the trajectory of someone’s life and the generations that are to come after them? How do you measure joy, peace, emotional well being and stability? You can’t measure it - but you can achieve it, and The Doran Family Foundation has set out to do just that!
We will know success when it happens. When we see students hit milestones, or pivot from one approach to an approach that feels more meaningful to them. When parents can rest assured that their children have support in all aspects of their lives. When young people master the art of adulting, land a job, start a business, pick themselves up after a setback or willingly and vulnerably lean into their community!
Because after all, how do you measure liberation or personal sovereignty? How do you measure changing the trajectory of someone’s life and the generations that are to come after them? How do you measure joy, peace, emotional well being and stability? You can’t measure it - but you can achieve it, and The Doran Family Foundation has set out to do just that!
Expectations and Requirements for Anaz
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Anaz participants will not be the prototypical “best and the brightest," as currently defined by academia. We do not expect them to be the people who have best adhered to the rules of societal achievement as schools and society at large have defined them. They will, however, be some of the most promising people to support the Asafa Collective vision of a liberated community for the future. That means they will be:
We want to support the students who understand that what's more important is coming out the other end with a degree, trade, business or craft, with social capital and network, and most importantly a plan or vision for the future.
We seek kids who understand that when the tide rises for one, the tide rises for all of us, that our liberation is bound together, and that the further they can progress in their own goals and their own liberation the more they're going to be able to open doors for every single person around them – whether it's a parent, or a sibling, or even a neighbor who's watching them do it.
- socially conscious
- compassionate
- community-oriented
- driven
- gifted with a combination of “a by any means necessary” mentality (brother Malcolm) rooted in a very bell hooks’ version of “love”
We want to support the students who understand that what's more important is coming out the other end with a degree, trade, business or craft, with social capital and network, and most importantly a plan or vision for the future.
We seek kids who understand that when the tide rises for one, the tide rises for all of us, that our liberation is bound together, and that the further they can progress in their own goals and their own liberation the more they're going to be able to open doors for every single person around them – whether it's a parent, or a sibling, or even a neighbor who's watching them do it.
Collective Support Offers
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What we offer:
Mentorship
Each of our collective members will be assigned a mentor. The relationship between mentor and mentee is an invaluable one and will provide ongoing support, check-ins, etc. for our students. The mentor’s role is not just to guide but to ensure that their mentee is getting the most out of their relationship with the Asafa collective.
Financial
Our goal is to be able to supplement the financial needs of our youth collective members. We know that it takes more than just tuition and school supplies to support our mentees in their journey. We want to make sure they are receiving nutritious meals, safe and consistent transportation, stable housing, etc. The starting point for any individual's success is to ensure that their basic human needs are covered.
Our approach is twofold. We partner with other organizations and support your mentees in researching and applying for other grants and scholarships in order to subsidize our own costs. The other side of this coin is direct financial support for the needs that are not being met.
Our approach is twofold. We partner with other organizations and support your mentees in researching and applying for other grants and scholarships in order to subsidize our own costs. The other side of this coin is direct financial support for the needs that are not being met.
Academic/Trade
We provide tutoring and college prep for our students in order for them to reach their highest potential.
Talent/Extracurricular
Iron sharpens iron. In order to excel at anything, talent-specific coaching and lessons are important. We have a vast network of coaches and trainers in various sports and across the arts to support our students in their specific talents. Where we do not, we will work to find the right fit for our students. If financial resources are an obstacle to this type of support, we will subsidize this as well.
Mental Health
We all need someone to talk to sometimes. We have a growing team of therapists and social workers ready to provide mental health support.