How Anthony went from homelessness to being on track for his Ph.D.
Anthony Jones, 431 Exchange Scholarship Winner
Greetings! Giving Tuesday is here, and we hope you can help us support extraordinary students like Anthony Jones to gain the higher education they are striving to achieve. During adolescence, Anthony and his father were without a home, yet his dad worked extra hours to provide everything Anthony needed—test prep tools, school supplies, and more—to ensure Anthony finished high school.
Today, Anthony is pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Denver, and our scholarship program is helping to fund his academic journey. After he acquires his doctorate, says Anthony, “I hope to return to my community to advocate for students whose academic achievement is affected by their socioeconomic status … and continue to express my love for education.”
By donating to The 431 Exchange on #GivingTuesday, you are helping deserving students, many of them students of color, achieve their dreams. Numerous students are the first in their families to go to college. Your #GivingTuesday donation will help create future doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers, social entrepreneurs, and other change agents who are 100 percent committed, like Anthony, to paying it forward.
The 431 Exchange scholarship program fills a gap for our recipients by providing relatively small amounts, usually up to $1,431, they can use for expenses that other scholarship programs do not cover—from school fees to computer equipment. Since 2019, we’ve given out over $50,000 in scholarships, and these small amounts have had a big impact. Many of our winners have been hit hard by the pandemic, losing jobs that provided much-needed income.
The 431 Exchange was started to continue the educational and civil rights legacy of New Orleans’ Adult Education Center (AEC). In the 1960s and early 1970s, the little school graduated 431 women, predominantly women of color, who went on to integrate some of the largest corporations in America as secretaries.
On #GivingTuesday, your tax-deductible donation of any amount will help transform lives and legacies as the AEC did during its era. To donate, please go to 431exchange.org/donate or text the word “431EXCHANGE” to the number 44-321. 100% of your donation goes to scholarships; none to administration. Thank you!
Warmly,
Jeanne Geoffray and Jeff Geoffray
Founders, The 431 Exchange