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Unlocking Opportunities to Articulate the Greatness Within Us All

 
Emanuel “Boo Milton” is the creator of Spark Box and a member of Cities United Advisory Board. He is an active community organizer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

In this time of many uncertainties, one thing that is certain is the need for continual growth and development of our society. The two key factors of that continual development are our youth and their education. When the pandemic first hit home here in the United States, and schools were closing, it really shifted how children received education. As the new virtual and distant learning continued, I observed many challenges within this new way of educating our youth. 

Moving into the summer, when schools close and summer camps usually embrace the opportunity to engage with kids, many camps closed last year or only provided limited services. This really touched me personally because I enjoy volunteering at camps and helping children navigate through leadership roles and social-emotional learning. With this in mind, I created a solution to make sure kids receive continual development throughout the summer, called Spark Box. 

Spark Box is an activity kit that focuses on social awareness, self-awareness, and critical thinking through social-emotional learning and creativity. These kits were designed and created with the idea that all children, no matter their economic background, are able to participate and thrive. With this in mind, all activity boxes are packed with everything a child needs, without having to rely on their own resources or purchasing new supplies such as crayons, a pencil, and other basic items to complete provided activities. So, even children who do not have access to the internet can engage and enjoy. Our activity boxes not only provide fun educational activities but also ask children to complete a “daily check-in” to express how they feel every day.


Parents/adults are given the opportunity to assess mental and emotional wellness and provide intervention, if necessary, to address possible issues. We also do not assume that all parents are equipped to address trauma, stress, and mental wellness concerns with children, so we equip each box with a parent’s guide to help their child navigate through their thoughts and emotions. This guide also includes contact information for professional services that may be able to assist.


We launched our Spark Box Summer Initiative last year providing Spark Box activity kits to families in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at absolutely no cost to parents. Support from the Mayor’s Office for the City of Baton Rouge and local businesses helped to make it happen, with currently over 2,000 kits distributed to children since June 2020. This initiative quickly caught the attention of eyes across the country through the amazing feedback from kids and parents.


I was honoured to have the opportunity to share Spark Box on an international stage at Theirworld / Global Business Coalition for Education’s ``Unlock Big Change” event for UNGA 2020. As a panellist for their conversation on “Education in Emergencies”, I was asked to explain why education is important and how education unlocks opportunity. My response was, “I believe education unlocks the opportunity to better articulate the greatness within us. We all have a light of greatness and revolutionary ideas within us. When this energy is matched with the knowledge of how to better express ourselves and challenge our current ways of thinking, it introduces new growth and opportunity to be a greater asset to ourselves and the world we are a part of.”


BY BOO MILTON • April 30, 2021
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