Compassion, philanthropy, and a familial presence among scholastic advocates, lit up Alabama Avenue SE at the Third Annual Sylvia Ruth Foundation Gala on Saturday, March 22. The celebratory tradition commemorates and fuels a generational mission to mold young minds and forge paths for underserved communities in youth literacy and education, particularly first graders east of the river.
“Our students, they’re really concerned about just survival, and when they’re faced with so much trauma and so [many] differences in life, their opportunities are shortened. But the opportunity of having a book, [a] colorful book with pages that they can sit and read [is powerful],” said Dr. Chunita Pilgrim, principal of Burrville Elementary School, on Saturday. “A book, just as tangible as that.”
Hosted annually at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, the Sylvia Ruth Foundation event featured a dinner, live auction and family-style night of fun that demonstrated the instrumental village it takes to raise, or in this case, propel a child forward.
The glamorous evening welcomed guests donned in formal attire, coupled with the right sneakers to set the auction off and celebrate all night long.
However, the event was more than a party. Guests were filled with the deep-rooted spirit to uplift Black scholarship in remembrance of the visionary that brought the foundation to its fruition: late education activist Sylvia Ruth, who died at age 81 in 2021.
“[Sylvia Ruth] believed wholeheartedly that every Black child had a great potential, and she really wanted to make sure that they had whatever resources they needed in order to go to college and beyond,” said Stephanie Byrd, daughter of the foundation’s namesake and a member of the board.
Byrd added that seeing the foundation expand over the past three years, alongside her mother’s vision, is both “exciting” and “really heartwarming.”
“I think she had some really great ideas,” Byrd told The Informer. “It’s really become my life’s mission.”
Paving the Way for a Child’s Love to Read
With the support of community members and education leaders, the Sylvia Ruth Foundation has continuously soared to higher heights since its founding in 2021. The organization partners with elementary schools to build in-class libraries and offers financial aid to Howard University students, where Ruth formerly attended and worked.
Sylvia Ruth Foundation has been fueled in the mission to end disenfranchisement and generational poverty for African Americans across the board, with a particular focus on establishing a healthy relationship with reading for first graders.
Many educators, including Principal Jaimme Trahan of Neval Thomas Elementary School in Northeast D.C., stressed that first grade is the vital stage to introduce those literacy values.
“First grade is that first year where you really get exposed to rich text and the ideas that you would be learning to love reading,” said Trahan in an introduction video presented at the gala. “When you become solid in first grade as a reader, it can change your life in schools.”
The Sylvia Ruth Foundation has personally spearheaded the call to increase avid readers in Wards 7 and 8, establishing six first grade classroom libraries within its first three years, including at the Neval Thomas and Burrville elementary schools located in Ward 7.
Burrville Elementary – or as Pilgrim likes to call it, “the Ville on the Hill” – is the most recent adoption of the foundation, officially opening two first grade classroom libraries, each supplied with more than 300 books, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Northeastern school on March 21.
“The joy on their faces,” Pilgrim said with a smile, “it was remarkable to see.”
As principal, Pilgrim shared some of the realities of serving in a historically underfunded subdivision like Ward 7, reiterating the means of survival that’s apparent for both students and educators alike.
According to the principal, more than 99% of the students at Burville qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the school holds a high population of Title I students, which refers to a student from a low-income family who attends an elementary school receiving additional federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
“My budget is limited, as many of you may know, so the opportunity for me to buy classroom libraries for all of my students, that’s not possible–but this foundation made it possible,” Pilgrim shared with the room on March 22. “I want to let [the foundation] know I appreciate the legacy that you are carrying on for students that are marginalized…and I know it is making a terrific, [positive] impact on our students and families at Burville.”
Furthering a Lifelong Commitment to Serve Youth
During the celebration, the communal live auction acted as leverage to further some of the initiatives prompted by the foundation.
Guests bid on luxurious Maryland getaways such as a week long vacation to Ocean City and a one-night stay at the Hyatt Place Baltimore Inner Harbor, plus a few personal items like a bottle of Moonshine liquor, and Black art, including an imagined portrait of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Malcolm X, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As board member Mary Warren joked to the eager bidders, “You got your tennis shoes on, you can run,” she also added that all donations would go towards equipping the classroom libraries with essentials like bean bag chairs and Sylvia Ruth Foundation custom rugs.
Moreover, Byrd told The Informer that the fundraiser would help enhance another pivotal initiative of the organization – opening up student college funds.
While she noted that a set amount is allocated in scholarships for Howard University students, the veteran educator said the main goal is to amplify literacy and higher education for the impressionable first graders the foundation serves at its core.
Thus far, she proudly announced, the non-profit has already opened up five college savings funds for three infants and two first grade students.
“Talking to parents who are disenfranchised, parents who are surviving, when you say college to them, they go, ‘Oh no, my child’s not going to college.’ And so that child hears that, especially in first grade…it becomes an uphill battle,” Byrd, principal at Payne Elementary in Northeast, explained. “But for a child to hear you have a college savings fund early on, it just sets the bar.”
Pilgrim applauds the Sylvia Ruth Foundation’s unwavering commitment to the advancement and generational wealth of Black youth, adding she is “proud to partner” in the legacy of Ruth and the founding board’s vision.
As educators remain adamant to uphold the values of education and literacy improvement, the Burville principal encourages community members to continue the campaign for underserved youth, especially east of the river.
“We are in schools and we push literacy, push reading, but if they are modeling that as well at home–having students [be] a part of reading directions…having the students more involved in what they see, little things that’s consistent will make the difference,” Pilgrim told The Informer. “If we can get the community involved that way, I think it would strengthen literacy. It would show that we’re valuing literacy, and that’s what I would love to see more of in Wards 7 and 8.”
