February Compassion Offering:
UW Odyssey Project
“Odyssey has changed my life, the way I see the world, the way I think, and the future of my family,” wrote a mother who is Latinx.
“Odyssey has given me hope. I look forward to a never-ending journey of education to better myself as a man and father,” wrote a father who is incarcerated.
“Odyssey was that catalyst that said, ‘Hey, you can go out into this world and be successful,” said a Black alumna. “My mind is opened, and there’s no stopping me now. Turns out I AM college material.”
“Odyssey is the major reason I succeeded,” said a single Bla mother who went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees. “It was my foundation, my steppingstone, to overcoming so many obstacles.”
Those and other student comments testify to the transformative power of the UW Odyssey Project, which takes a whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty by providing free access to education, giving adult and youth learners a voice, and increasing confidence through reading, writing, and speaking. Now in its 19th year, Odyssey offers a jumpstart to college for students facing adversity and barriers to higher education through a free yearlong humanities course in South Madison. Odyssey has empowered over 550 low-income adults to find their voice, develop a new sense of hope, and transform their lives. Graduates have gone from homelessness to UW master’s degrees, from incarceration to meaningful careers as counselors, teachers, journalists, entrepreneurs, and nurses. They report life-changing effects not only for themselves but for their children: “My four-year-old daughter will follow after me and go to college someday.”
All donations you make to Odyssey through the compassion offering will be used for grocery and gas cards, WIFI access, childcare help, and other basic needs for our Odyssey families struggling to keep going in school despite the higher cost of living, lost wages, and closed schools and daycare facilities due to COVID. Thank you for supporting the UW Odyssey Project this month!
You can make a donation by check, on the memo line, please write “compassion” and mail to ORUCC, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711, or donate online at
orucc.org. Click the brown button “Contribute” in the upper right of the home page.
