The Faith First Educational Assistance Corporation honored Wisconsin state Rep. Annette Polly Williams (D-Milwaukee) at its fifth annual Anniversary Banquet in Philadelphia in early November. Williams wrote the bill that created the nation’s first school choice program nearly 20 years ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Faith First primarily gives scholarships to students in Christian schools, from pre-K through 12th grades. Over the past five years the organization has awarded approximately 400 scholarships to children all over Philadelphia–and for the past two years, in Virginia as well.
It also holds Parent Engagement Meetings twice monthly to help educate parents so they remain engaged in their children’s lives. In addition, the group helps local church schools renovate or build facilities for the purpose of enrolling additional students.
Faith First founder Dr. Alberta C. Wilson–former principal of a Christian school in the city–and her husband, Woodrow L. Wilson, had no money to help disadvantaged students choose better schools in 2002, but that didn’t stop them from establishing a corporation intending to do just that.
Also recognized at the banquet were:
- Tyree Johnson, editor of Westside Weekly, for his consistent work educating parents about educational choice;
- Jean Allen, member of Beulah Baptist Church, for her volunteerism supporting Faith First;
- Donald Forrest, of Christian Accountants, for maintaining Faith First’s finances; and
- Linda Rumer, a member of Calvary Chapel, for her diligence in engaging parents and furthering the mission of the organization.
Several “educational freedom fighters” also attended the event, including Virginia Walden Ford, executive director of DC Parents for School Choice in Washington, DC; Evelyn Taylor, executive director of Parents Challenge in Colorado; Daria Stone, program manager of Parents Advancing Choice in Education in Dayton, Ohio; and the Rev. Ron Harris, CEO and founder of A Level Up, Inc., in Springdale, Arkansas.
For more information about Faith First and how to contribute to its ongoing fundraising efforts, or to obtain a scholarship for your child, contact Dr. Alberta Wilson at 215/870-9454.
