This Is the Edge

This Is The Edge – What We Do

The Edge offers student-faculty workshops to middle and high schools free of charge. Our workshops counter, head-on, a myriad of social issues: prejudice, peer pressure, drug abuse, bullying, body image and other self-esteem issues, learning disorders, gangs, name-calling, homelessness, hunger, cutting (self-mutilation), suicide, and many more. We accomplish this by emphasizing respect for self and others, promoting tolerance of unfamiliar cultures and ideas, and cultivation of a heightened sense of empathy and understanding.

Our organization addresses serious problems among children in our schools that also ripple out to affect our larger communities. By modeling and then advancing extraordinary honesty and shared vulnerability among school participants at an Edge workshop, facilitators utilize Edge protocols to reduce alienation and bullying, build school culture, and foster empathy, emotional literacy, and mature personal and social relationships.

See The Edge in Action

The Edge, as a private foundation, is in a transition period. At this time, it is not a certified 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. We are still available to go to any school. Please contact us to discuss our status. Keep in mind that we are staffed by experienced volunteer mentors. Our program was developed for middle and high school students in Southern Oregon and Northern California to promote non-violent peer interaction, acceptance of others, and cooperation within school communities.

Students learn to accept their own uniqueness, and to express their individuality in appropriate and safe manners, while accepting the many differences that typify our human race. It is our experience that, in most cases, the overall school culture is significantly impacted in a wide variety of positive ways by the end of the workshop: fewer fights, decreased disciplinary actions, and increased academic achievement.

Status Update, Spring 2018

A Note from the Founder: As we approach the end of this school year (2017/2018), I wanted to check in and connect again with anyone out there who has ever shown interest in The Edge. As previously stated, we are down but not out. With schools not showing enough interest, it became necessary to close up shop. It was a very painful experience for me, but one with loads of great memories, knowing that we made a difference in the lives of many middle and high school kids. I remember one of our vice principal fans saying that we were ahead of our time.

I firmly believe that there is no other program that leaves the kind of beneficial imprint on kids like we did. What I could have done better was the logistics, administrative matters, and what it takes to make a non-profit successful. That means crossing all our T’s and dotting every I along the way, so we look good to a foundation that might be willing to fund us. I ask again, please check out our website in full, especially the testimonial pages, and you will be impressed. Have a great summer (which is right around the corner). If you have any suggestions or questions, my contact info is easy to find. Peace, Grant.

We Help Schools Overcome…

Help kids in our community help themselves by getting involved today! Tell your school’s administrators and counselor about us, make a donation, join our mailing list, and/or serve as a volunteer. Thank you for caring!