NHEG is going through some big changes this year and a lot of things will start to look different in the coming months. To move forward with NHEG’s goals and dreams, we need funding for an annual budget. Pamela Clark can no longer run NHEG without a paid staff. What does this mean for volunteers and families in need of services?
The website will become free and searchable. NHEG will no longer take on new students for live lessons or tutoring. We will no longer answer phone calls for informational services, and families will need to use the search tool on our websites to find the answers they need. Most, if not all, of them will be on the site, and we will add any information that people might need. The website will stay intact and up to date as long as there is a volunteer to manage it and money to fund the hosting costs. Your donations are appreciated to help us keep it available.
We hope the website will remain a valuable resource and blessing for those who need it and will honor the many hundreds of volunteers who have helped build the organization. We want to make sure that the information and work of the last 16 years don’t go to waste. Your donations are appreciated to help us keep it available. We ask that, if possible, you donate at least $25 or more to help offset these costs. We will be required to pay $705 per year for these basic expenses. If we can’t raise these funds the site might go inactive by 2024.
- NHEG will no longer take on new students for live lessons or tutoring.
- All tutoring has come to an end, due to low funds and teacher/tutor shortages.
- NHEG’s pre-recorded courses will all be available for free, but families will need to contact us by enrolling or emailing us for access to specific classes.
- The website will become free and searchable, and it will stay intact and up to date as long as there is a volunteer to manage it and funds to cover the hosting fees.
- Our phone number will stay the same, but there may be longer response times. We ask that you search the site first before calling for information.
- We will no longer answer phone calls for informational services, and families will need to use the search tool on our websites to find the answers they need. Most, if not all, of them will be on the site, and we will add any information that people might need.
- The comic book issue currently being worked on, once published, will be our last (unless funding is acquired). All scripts that weren’t made into a comic book will be shared on our comic book page.
- The radio shows may or may not continue depending on circumstances out of our control.
- The Reading Program will stay active and pre-recorded as long as a volunteer is available to run the program.
- Any offerings from program partners will be shared with those who are signed up for our email list.
- The student leadership groups can still meet and plan for their future.
- There will be no further Recognition Days, but all volunteers will receive annual certificates of appreciation and a letter from NHEG if they do a good job volunteering.
- We need help with HR, as well as a cartoonist, professional fundraisers, publicists, grant writers, social media/marketing, graphic design, data compilation and organization/moving information to new systems, proofreading, and managing the radio show.
- A complete list of open positions can be viewed here.
- https://NewHeightsEducation.org/volunteer-with-NHEG/NHEG-volunteer-opportunities/
- NHEG EDGuide will continue as long as Marina Klimi and Pamela Clark can devote time to it.
- We will no longer have a Research Department or review new products or programs.
We are hoping that volunteers will stay on to organize and share NHEG information with families in need. NHEG’s pre-recorded courses will all be available for free, but families will need to contact us for access to specific classes. We ask that you don’t share these classes; each person using them must request them by contacting he NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com email address or by enrolling to receive a specific course. The reason for this is because we have paid for some curriculum from other companies for these classes, and we don’t want to disrespect those companies in any way by openly offering their information for free.
If you want to advocate for our organization and its dream of a fair and equal education for all who are willing to work for it, then I ask that you contact the following and tell them you want and expect their support for our services.
Here is a script that you can use by phone or email, or to submit via online contact form:
Hello, I’m contacting you as a [student, parent, volunteer, teacher/tutor] and I want to share my concern about the New Heights Educational Group. The organization is falling dormant because it isn’t receiving the support it needs to stay active. It would be a great loss to not only Defiance and the State of Ohio but also to the world to lose this organization and its services. It needs funding and media support, and we want you to make it happen. (Share what the organization has meant to you.)
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357, https://governor.ohio.gov/contact
- Representative Craig Reidel’s office: (614) 644-5091, https://ohiohouse.gov/members/craig-s-riedel/contact
- Representative Bob Latta’s office: (419) 782-1996, https://latta.house.gov/contact/
- Defiance Mayor Mike McCann: (419) 784-2101, https://cityofdefiance.com/contact/
- Defiance Area Foundation: (419) 782-3130, https://defianceareafoundation.org/contact-us/
Local Defiance leaders don’t believe that our services are needed and think they duplicate what the public schools offer, although we do and want to offer an educational and affordable service center serving all families regardless of school choice, a sensory room, a daycare for young parents, and our radio show. We would appreciate you sharing our information with anyone who can fund this dream. We can’t continue to operate on a small to non-existent budget. Thank you for the blessing of allowing us to serve you for the last 16 years and helping us become the most awarded nonprofit on the planet.