EVkids Gala Champions

1. Go to our Gala Ticketing page and click on Become a Fundraiser. (This screenshot is the mobile view - on your computer, the button will appear in the right-hand sidebar.)

2. Select a profile photo and input your information.

3. Set a fundraising goal and write something brief about why your family, friends, and coworkers should give to EVkids. Stuck on what to say? You can edit this after you’re done registering. Need help? Scroll down this page and get pointers and inspiring EVkids stories in our Champions Toolkit!
 

 
Amina (right, grade 3) was so excited to finally get to join her siblings at EVkids Tutoring, and she and Edlawit (BU ‘29) clicked immediately this spring. Edlawit noticed that while Amina loves math, she finds reading more challenging. However, the pair discovered together that Amina is better at reading than she thinks she is. Edlawit reports:

"There was one time when she kept getting frustrated with her reading, saying she ‘just wasn’t good at it.’ But after slowing down, working through it together, and encouraging her, she was able to read a passage on her own and actually explain it back to me.
 
“What made it stand out wasn’t just that she got the answer right—it was the shift in her confidence. You could literally see her go from doubting herself to feeling proud. That moment reminded me why tutoring matters so much. It’s not just about helping with homework, but about helping someone believe in their own abilities."
 
 

 
Emir (left, grade 4) started Tutoring with EVkids last fall with his mentor Madison (Northeastern ‘27). Math is his favorite subject, so when Emir’s homework is done, he and Madison often round out a Tutoring session with math games. Madison writes:
 
“A memorable moment for me was playing a math game with Emir. He decided to keep score in his notebook for us, but he wanted to surprise me at the end of our session with the results. I waited in suspense, and when he showed me the results, he had beaten me by one point! It was cool to see how excited Emir was about revealing our scores.”
 
 

 
Ethan (right) just finished up 7th grade, and wrapped up his third and last year working with his mentor John, who just graduated from Harvard. Along with homework, an important task for this pair was helping Ethan become more comfortable socializing with his peers. “Social interactions can often be challenging for him,” John shared. But by the end of their third year together, the difference in Ethan was huge: “This semester in particular [Ethan] has had a blast playing games like Uno and sharing his joys and concerns with others,” John wrote.
 
Several times over his time in Tutoring, staff have asked Ethan if he wanted to lead the EVkids “To The Top!” cheer at the end of circle time, and he would shyly decline. But one day in the spring semester, Ethan had a particularly good Tutoring session, joined some new friends in a game of Uno, and even won the game, and that day, he agreed to lead the cheer!
 
 

 
Kiki has been in the EVkids Tutoring program for 4 years, has just finished 8th grade at MCA, and is an energetic ball of sunshine who loves to be around people and get to know others. She has attended EVkids Camp for several summers, and loves the opportunity to spend time in nature with her friends. Asked on the camper survey if she would return next summer, Kiki wrote:
 
"Yes, I will always come back because this is my home and my safe place and I like going - it helps me find my passion in nature…I enjoyed every single moment I spent with you guys - it was amazing and incredible and I love the laughter and joy that was around me."
 
 

 
Elhajj (top, grade 11) was newly paired with Jaden (Tufts ‘28) for the spring semester, and Jaden observed that Elhajj seemed to be “going through the motions” while they worked on homework together, and would guess or try to get Jaden to give away the answer. With a little gentle encouragement, and help thinking through the problems, however, the pair made a breakthrough. Jaden shares:
 
“To see him genuinely understand vector addition, and to see how happy that it made him to feel like he understood something that he was going through the motions for, was rewarding in a way that's hard to describe. We then went downstairs to play basketball, and just had fun talking and playing basketball.”
 
 

 
Hadiatou (right) is a senior at UMass Amherst, who participates in EVkids College Success, and has continued working with her long-time mentor Ellie (BC ‘22). This past summer, Hadiatou got to level up her studies with a paid internship on Fidelity's Social Impact/Community Relations team. At her internship, Hadiatou worked with Fidelity’s Invest In My Education program, which “expands access, affordability, and support to students facing barriers to financial mobility.”
 
This is an important full-circle moment because Hadiatou received her full-tuition Fidelity Scholarship through the same program! This means that she’ll be giving other youth the same access to success that she received from Fidelity.