At 18, Gates has spearheaded a humanitarian effort to provide funding to cover school fees for dozens of students in Liberia, West Africa.
Called the Brooke Gates Project, Gates’ organization paid the tuition for 51 students in grades K-12 at the Paynesville Adriel Academy in Paynesville, Liberia, for the 2024-2025 school year.
Gates plans to cover tuition for the same students again this year, she said in an interview with Dayton Daily News recently.
“This started in 2024 when during a trip to Liberia, I visited several schools, including Paynesville Adriel Academy; while at this school, a group of high school girls asked me if I could help them with tuition scholarships,” Gates said. “I really didn’t know how I was going to help them raise the money, but I agreed. Being a student myself, I know how important scholarships are, and I’m committed to helping these students have the opportunity to succeed.”
Depending on the grade level, school fees for the academy vary from $60 to $125 per student.
The first round of tuition funding was made possible through help from Gates’ family, as well as from money she’d saved through her part-time job as a grocery store bagger.
“Many of these students have single parents who are not always able to keep them in school,” said Gates’ mom Veleta Jenkins, whose own humanitarian work in Liberia inspired her daughter’s project.
Jenkins said it’s common for Liberian families to struggle to pay for all their children to attend school, instead having to make the painstaking decision to send just one or two.
“She’s really standing behind these girls, and boys, too; there’s one young man whose tuition she paid who is 21 years old and said he can only go to school when his family can afford to send him,” Jenkins said. “And when they decide who’s going to go, it’s more than likely going to be the boys.”
Gates also keeps in touch with the students at Paynesville Adriel Academy, hosting a monthly virtual Youth Forum.
“Our group was formed to create a sense of understanding between different cultures and to grow comfortable with one another,’ Gates said. ”We have a goal of encouraging more youth to advocate for quality education and to be involved in humanitarian work."
Gates plans to attend a four-year university this fall, the first step in her journey to med school and, one day, a career as a cardiologist.
But before her classes start in late August, Gates hopes to have fundraised enough money to cover the tuition costs for those 51 Paynesville students.
Gates is collecting donations via GoFundMe, a link to which is available on her organization’s website, at www.thebrookegatesproject.com.
She’s also planning a fundraising walk event called Walk for Scholars, which will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Triangle Park Pavilion, located at 2680 Ridge Ave. in Dayton.
Donations can also be sent to The Brooke Gates Project, PO Box 208, Englewood, OH, 45322.
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