Empowering Memphis Students

(Aug. 19, 2024) “I did not know when I was 15 and in the tenth grade at East High School, that I would be here today,” says Cortney Richardson, CEO of Peer Power, a nonprofit that provides youth with high-quality, life-enhancing tutoring and mentoring services.

As a high school student, Richardson began his Peer Power journey as a paid tutor to fellow teens at East, the alma mater of late businessman and visionary Peer Power founder Charlie McVean.

Twenty years after the organization’s founding in 2004, Richardson leads a burgeoning, effective organization recruits and trains high-performing University of Memphis students, known as Success Coaches, to tutor and mentor high school students in public school classrooms. From its beginnings at East, Peer Power has expanded to 12 Memphis Shelby County high schools, with a goal to be in every school in the district.

The organization and its Success Coaches address the needs of students by improving grades, boosting graduation rates, and preparing them for college. Data shows the remarkable impact the organization has. Just one example: Peer Power students graduate at a rate more than 10 percent higher than those not engaged in the program.

“We really are uniquely positioned to provide an incredible impact to a large, large number of kids in our community,” says Jim Barton, Jr., Community Foundation fund holder and member of Peer Power’s board.

Initially introduced by McVean to the organization in 2014, Barton became involved and has remained so because of Peer Power’s proven effectiveness and multi-faceted impact.

By employing 145+ Success Coaches, Peer Power not only supports high school students but also provides college students valuable work experience and a living wage. Success coaches themselves have a higher five-year graduation rate than the average student at the University of Memphis. Peer Power is the second largest employer of UofM students behind the university itself.

The program’s embedded model, partnering directly with teachers in the schools, creates a synergy that boosts student achievement, builds an employable workforce, and relieves overburdened teachers and schools.

To ensure its interventions remain effective, Peer Power prioritizes rigorous research and evaluation. “Why Peer Power? Because it works. We can measure and show impact,” says Barton.

The agency is seeking funders who can it scale its impact and support to even more students across Memphis.

“We don’t have to look to an organization outside Memphis to have impact in the city when we have an organization that was founded by a local Memphian, that built a model that is tried, tested, and true,” says Richardson. “We often leave the city to bring programs in, and they are short-lived. But we have something right here in the city that we know works, and we need Memphis to embrace it. And when Memphis embraces it, I think that’s it.”

We encourage fund holders and community members to consider Peer Power and 150+ Black-led nonprofits at LIVEGIVEmidsouth.org and make a difference on August 28!