By Lisa Zimmerman | Engagement Insider
“Education is an equalizer.” That is the philosophy Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck and his wife, Lauran, are spreading through their foundation, Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy.
In 2008, Tuck, then in his fourth year with the New York Giants who had drafted him in 2005, decided he wanted to expand his community work beyond the events and various causes he took part in. “I was raised in a household where we always gave back, so that was kind of embedded in me as a kid,” he said.
He and Lauran realized how much their lives had turned on their educations. The two had met as students at the University of Notre Dame and quickly understood what an impact exposure to education had on people’s futures. They saw first-hand how different school systems provided a wide variety of opportunity and recognized that much of that was based on the socio-economic climate surrounding individual communities.
The couple decided it was time to create a platform of their own and launched their foundation focusing on literacy, because without literacy, there can be no success in education.
“We wanted to find a way for people to have equal opportunities in the education space,” Lauran said. We knew how important our education was for us. We wanted to give that opportunity to children who might not have access based on their socio-economic situation. That was the initial mission.”
They also knew that the first step to education is establishing literacy so the foundation’s initial programs were set up to address that. However, figuring out how to get started was a bit daunting at the outset.
“I think the most intimidating thing was the not knowing,” Tuck recalled. “You get into a world you don’t know a lot about and didn’t have a lot of experience at the time.”
However, they sought out partners who did have the experience and things quickly fell into place. Their partnerships include Ronnie Lott’s All Stars Helping Kids, an existing 501(c)(3), which takes care of the foundation’s business logistics. They have other partners for a variety of their endeavors as well, including The Admiral Center, The Citi Foundation, The Children’s Aid Society and The 1:1 Fund.
Once established, they started in Tuck’s hometown of rural Kellyton, Alabama – population, 217. Tuck attended the Central Coosa public school system, and in addition to providing books to the children there, they implemented a summer reading program. Research shows that lack of summer reading creates the largest reading achievement gap among lower and upper income students. The result is lower high school graduation rates in the lower income areas.
Once the program was in motion, the Tucks realized they wanted to do even more. Three years ago, Lauran received a Masters degree in non-profit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Her goal was to expand her knowledge so as to create an even larger impact with the work they were doing with Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy.
That led to the creation of the financial literacy element, which works with students to build college savings accounts. They also hold an essay contest during the year with the winners getting to join Tuck at one of his home games.
The foundation now has programs in more than a half dozen schools in New York, New Jersey, Alabama and California with a final goal of between 10 – 15 total schools. The Tucks are purposely keeping things limited so they can always maintain a personal connection and have personal relationships.
“We make a conscious effort not to be too big,” Tuck said. “We like to be able to go into a classroom and have a personal connection to our kids. I like the personal touch of being able to visit all of our schools at least once a year.”
Working together on their foundation has proven doubly enjoyable and rewarding for the Tucks who have two sons ages four and one. Their united focus and passion has created an even stronger partnership, which Lauran summarized in a simple way.
“Because of the love we share, it challenges me to want to help leave a lasting impacting for the greater good.”
For more information about Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy: http://rushforliteracy.org/