Our Mission
Leadership Launch's mission is personal. As a first-generation college graduate who overcame poverty I know that with the right resources, plenty of time, and a lot of love, young people can accomplish great things. The unique and comprehensive curriculum developed by our team has achieved proven results for young people from all backgrounds. With your help we can continue our work of creating the next generation of leaders and assist them in creating the life that they desire.
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- Rachel Kittle, Executive Director and Founder
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CHARACTER:
THE PREREQUISITE TO LEADERSHIP
Character matters when it comes to launching leaders. At Leadership Launch we focus on three main character skills based off of research that help our students become leaders: foresight, fortitude and civic engagement.
FORESIGHT:
Engaging with students to set academic and leadership goals inspires students to look ahead to their future with hope, and gives them something to aspire to throughout high school, college, and beyond. The goals are intended to be a student’s North Star - a navigational system to realign them, guide them when they lose their way, and give them a reason to get up when they have been knocked down.
FORTITUDE:
High school can be an extreme time of life for our students, as they are faced with many challenges and choices that will have long-lasting consequences. Pursuing leadership and academic goals requires hard work, commitment, and sacrifice. To encourage students to continue pursuing their goals, we offer an exciting incentives program to motivate students and reward them for continuing to work hard.
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT:
​An integral component of Leadership Launch is civic engagement. Civic engagement means "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference."
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The main vehicle by which we teach civic engagement is through "Launch Projects" where students develop and implement a unique, self-driven community engagement project. These Launch Projects allow the students to make a difference in their communities; they develop their character, practice their leadership skills, and increase their competitiveness for enrollment in college and success beyond college.
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Students are also given the opportunity to learn about and tour various businesses, nonprofits and government entities as they progress through the program.