The mission of the Education Elevators program is to elevate the abilities and aspirations of students to make them more confident in themselves and more receptive to learning.

To make our mission possible, the Education Elevators program connects a West Virginia-based business or organization with a local elementary school to create a mutually beneficial partnership. Volunteers ("Elevators") from the partner business mentor students in need of the one-on-one attention who attend the partner school.

By impacting individual students, we respond to fundamental needs in our communities.

Education Elevators is designed to facilitate and support meaningful mentoring partnerships of businesses and organizations with local elementary schools.

The program is founded on the proven benefits of mentoring  and the reality that developing mentoring partnerships makes a positive, transformational impact on the students mentored and on our communities.

Some alarming statistics point to the ongoing, critical need for the mentoring partnerships fostered by Education Elevators: 

• West Virginia has the second highest number of kids in foster care in the nation. (17.8 per 1000 youth).   Due to the opioid crisis, the number of kids in foster care has increased 45% in the past 8 years (over 300% higher than the national average).
• One in 10 West Virginia children has the traumatic experience of having a parent incarcerated at some point during their youth
• West Virginia is ranked 6th for the most underprivileged states for youth based on a combo score of socio-economic/welfare rank, health rank and education rank.

Our mentoring partnerships give businesses, organizations, and Elevators many opportunities to “shine,” and yet, the long-term improvement of our communities is the primary reason that Education Elevators exists! So, what are some of the benefits to our communities?

For our students, the Education Elevators program:

• builds self-esteem and self-confidence
• improves academic performance and attitude towards school while elevating educational aspirations
• enhances communication and social skills
• encourages better behavior, both at home and at school
• strengthens relationships with parents, teachers, and peers
• improves overall decision-making skills
• enhances sense of self and future by improving overall emotional well-being

And for our local schools, the Education Elevators program:

• allows schools to advance their educational mission by providing much-needed, one-on-one time with students
• offers valuable exposure to the business community and opportunities for student engagement outside the classroom
• promotes student learning and engagement
• provides funds and additional resources that support the schools’ missions

We invite you to join us in our pursuit to improve communities through the development of elevating partnerships!

The Education Elevators Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

In 2007, Tom McJunkin, a partner at the law firm Jackson Kelly and a long-time advocate of education, encouraged the firm to take their existing partnership with Piedmont Elementary School to a new level by implementing an innovative program that would allow attorneys and staff from the firm to mentor students at Piedmont.

The idea came from a Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) meeting where McJunkin asked what more his firm could do for Piedmont. The response was simple: What Piedmont needed was more caring adults spending one-on-one time with students.

McJunkin, a dedicated father of three children, knew that to succeed, children's belief in themselves had to be regularly nurtured and they had to have aspirations. He believed that there was no mission more important than the education of our youth and agreed with the LSIC that it was imperative for businesses to take a more active role in local education.

With those ideas in mind, McJunkin developed the Education Elevators program, offering businesses a cost-effective way to be part of the solution. In his program design, McJunkin conveyed to businesses his understanding that by providing the human capital to support, inspire and “elevate” students, businesses could have a positive impact on communities and make a real investment in our future.

Since McJunkin’s untimely death in 2011, schools and businesses throughout West Virginia have embraced the Education Elevators program with remarkable success. The program continues to spread, enhancing young lives and entire communities.