Connecting with others can be difficult in the digital age. But it was especially tough during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when a Lee County student decided to break the barrier.
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Dylan Moon saw other students struggling to learn with remote education. Along with not being able to socialize with classmates, students had challenges connecting to Wi-Fi and having the right technology to succeed.
“Kids were struggling with education because of the lack of resources given to them during the COVID pandemic,” Moon said. “Especially, they were falling behind in their classes.”
After learning this, he knew he could help.
“I decided that it would be a great idea to get a group of my friends together from my seventh-grade class and kind of help these kids catch up to what they were missing,” Moon said. “So, I presented it to my class on Zoom, and then kind of got the interest. And then I ended up with maybe 10 or 12 friends of mine who wanted to help the cause.”
This is when his nonprofit Creating Role Models and Mentors (CRAM) began.
They started out in a small conference room and made connections along the way. After a few years, CRAM was able to connect with United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades, which is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all people in Southwest Florida.
“So that was our big chance to get into schools. It was much more organized, efficient, professional,” Moon said. “We started at Fort Myers Middle Academy and made some great progress and strides there. We started contracting and getting ambassadors from different schools to kind of raise interest and awareness within their own high schools.”
CRAM is now a Florida nonprofit that strives to enhance students’ academic skills, social development and emotional well-being.
Moon is now 17 and a senior at Canterbury High School.
CRAM has over 80 mentors who work with more than 200 middle, elementary and high school students.
Although sessions vary, a typical one lasts about an hour. During that time, mentors spend the first part giving the mentees the resources they need to learn, ranging from snacks to pencils. Most of the session is spent tutoring using a workbook CRAM provides and additional homework help. The final part of the session is spent doing something of the mentee’s choice, such as playing a sport or a board game.
“I think that the school system at the moment has some built-in inequalities due to tax funding, due to, like, immigration, language barriers, many facets of that,” Moon said. “So, we're kind of trying to close the opportunity gap. You know, it's hard to close the opportunity gap because there's so many schools, but we're doing it piece by piece, and it kind of brings the community together in support of a cause.”
Moon said his board of directors has been the foundation of CRAM since its beginning. The board includes Noah Moon, Nino Engelhard, Arnav Adi, Luca Favalli and Gabe Dahan.
“It (the board of directors) is a group of guys that I've known this since I was 4,” Moon said. “We spearheaded this together, and without them, I don't know where this (CRAM) would be.”
Through its fundraising efforts, CRAM has generated over $13,000. The organization plans to allocate the funds to students, families and classrooms in Southwest Florida.
“At the moment, we are a nonprofit with the state, so we're able to receive funding. Through that, we do fundraisers,” he said. “Lately, it's been hurricane cleanup, resources to the schools, scholarships for children for computers, for clothes. The majority of our money that's funded to us goes to scholarships or resources.”
After Moon graduates from high school in the spring, he plans on attending college out of state. His brothers Noah and Asher Moon are set to inherit CRAM and develop it further.
“I want to stay involved as much as I can,” Moon said. “So, wherever I go to college, I’m looking into the civic engagement of each school I'm looking at so that I'll have a nice opportunity to continue CRAM, wherever that may be.”