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Raising Expectations educates, engages and empowers our youth with a unique mentoring and tutoring
program designed to bring out the very best the have to offer academically, socially and culturally.

  • Raising Expectations Programs
    • Our Model
    • Educate
    • Engage
    • Empower


"Community service was a major aspect of my life prior to attending Spelman and I sought to continue performing service during my freshman year. I asked a friend about where she volunteered since she always talked about the kids she mentored. I boarded the community service van headed to the townhouse in the newly built Villages of East Lake and found myself doing so every week for the rest of my first year. I volunteered with RE throughout college and am amazed that 10 years later I’m still involved in some capacity with Maria and Tangee. RE is a wonderful and vital resource for the Atlanta neighborhoods it has served and continues to serve."
Natane Eaddy, Volunteer




"Initially, I came to Raising Expectations with the notion that I would provide homework help to students. Boy was I wrong! I look back over the four years I spent with the program and I am astounded by the dedication and support that I put forth as well as received. I have not only seen improvements from the children I worked with, I’ve also seen improvement within myself. By conducting classroom visits, connecting with parents and organizing community outreach programs, I was pushed to become more involved and more aware of the challenges that students in the community faced. This awareness is what enabled me to push my students to strive for success."
Jazmin D. Williams, Mentor & Tutor




"As a fourth-year mentor, the most important lesson I’ve learned while working as a member of the RE family is that every child has their own story filled with plot twists and turns that could potentially distract them from reaching their goals. As a mentor and tutor of these young people and as a member of the RE family, it’s my responsibility to serve as a positive light and guide these young minds through all the distractions and occasional chaos—everything from challenges with their schoolwork to family issues and even neighborhood violence on a daily basis—and help them write that happy ending to their story."
Lawrence Johnson, Mentor & Tutor




"I decided to volunteer at Raising Expectations during my freshman year at Morehouse College because I had a strong desire to help our youth realize their full potential, but I never could have predicted how they would help me realize my full potential as well. Every since I went through the training modules, I have been developing my leadership skills at Raising Expectations by working with my mentees, who I consider to be my little brothers and sisters. I remember when I first met my new little sister Dereka during my freshmen year; she was very shy about sharing her poetry with me because her writing contained some of her deepest emotions and thoughts. After working with her for a year, I was able to convince her to compete in a competition entitled ‘America’s Next Great Poet’. When she walked on the stage with full confidence and recited her poem in front of a packed house, I realized my potential as a millennial leader because she realized hers. Thank you Dereka!"
Lawrence Johnson, Mentor & Tutor