The Change Makers Grant Program gives students of Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) living in the four most challenged neighborhoods in Louisville the opportunity to receive a four-year college education by helping the students overcome obstacles that prevent them from continuing their education. These students struggle to get and stay in school due to transportation, childcare, work, and family issues.
The program began in January 2009 with 24 students who live in the neighborhoods: Smoketown, California, Phoenix Hill, and Shelby Park. In these four neighborhoods, about 50 percent of the students attending Jefferson drop out in the first semester. Dr. Amelia (Amy) Stewart, associate professor at JCTC teamed with Jill Adams, assistant professor at JCTC, in developing the proposal for the grant program.
“One of the things we want to do is to keep the students from disappearing. A couple of things that we have discovered are that many students in Louisville start college at Jefferson. So in a way, we are the gateway to higher education. In these four neighborhoods, about 50 percent drop out in the first semester. We are trying to bridge the gap for these high risk students,” says Stewart. “The students in these neighborhoods often can’t get to class because of transportation, no job to pay for day care, no health care for them or their family” Stewart explains.
“The people in the neighborhood see the college as a way to change their economic status,” says Stewart. The research shows that even with a two- year degree an individual can earn $140,000-$360,000 more over a lifetime. Stewart adds, “We will help these students to have as many resources as possible to help find them a job.”
Sharon Bass, a student in the program, says “this grant is helping me to excel and achieve success. Growth and communication lead to empowerment.” Tiffany Beeler, another student in the program says, “This grant is opening doors and opportunities for me.”
The Change Makers Grant is a collaborative effort between the Community Foundation of Louisville (CFL), UPS Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) to provide assistance with the human, social, and economic issues students face. For 2009, the partnership between the Change Makers Grant Program and CFL, AECF, and the UPS Foundation, has awarded $750,000 in grants to fund the programs and projects involved with Change Makers. JCTC’s project provides each student a mentor to work with to help solve these issues. The program also works with ULTRA (the U of L Transfer Program) to ensure that students continue their higher education after graduating from JCTC. “We have arrangements with U of L so students don’t just get dumped there; they actually get the support they need there,” says Stewart.
For the past decade, CFL awarded 220 grants totaling 3.8 million dollars to programs and projects designed to help children’s school success. The UPS Foundation is dedicated to enriching lives by creating healthy communities through education, economic development and new opportunities. AECF also focuses on helping children coming from tough neighborhoods. Alex Spoelker, the Director of Community Philanthropy for the CFL, encourages “all students to get involved to make positive changes in their neighborhood.”
The program began in January 2009 with 24 students who live in the neighborhoods: Smoketown, California, Phoenix Hill, and Shelby Park. In these four neighborhoods, about 50 percent of the students attending Jefferson drop out in the first semester. Dr. Amelia (Amy) Stewart, associate professor at JCTC teamed with Jill Adams, assistant professor at JCTC, in developing the proposal for the grant program.
“One of the things we want to do is to keep the students from disappearing. A couple of things that we have discovered are that many students in Louisville start college at Jefferson. So in a way, we are the gateway to higher education. In these four neighborhoods, about 50 percent drop out in the first semester. We are trying to bridge the gap for these high risk students,” says Stewart. “The students in these neighborhoods often can’t get to class because of transportation, no job to pay for day care, no health care for them or their family” Stewart explains.
“The people in the neighborhood see the college as a way to change their economic status,” says Stewart. The research shows that even with a two- year degree an individual can earn $140,000-$360,000 more over a lifetime. Stewart adds, “We will help these students to have as many resources as possible to help find them a job.”
Sharon Bass, a student in the program, says “this grant is helping me to excel and achieve success. Growth and communication lead to empowerment.” Tiffany Beeler, another student in the program says, “This grant is opening doors and opportunities for me.”
The Change Makers Grant is a collaborative effort between the Community Foundation of Louisville (CFL), UPS Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) to provide assistance with the human, social, and economic issues students face. For 2009, the partnership between the Change Makers Grant Program and CFL, AECF, and the UPS Foundation, has awarded $750,000 in grants to fund the programs and projects involved with Change Makers. JCTC’s project provides each student a mentor to work with to help solve these issues. The program also works with ULTRA (the U of L Transfer Program) to ensure that students continue their higher education after graduating from JCTC. “We have arrangements with U of L so students don’t just get dumped there; they actually get the support they need there,” says Stewart.
For the past decade, CFL awarded 220 grants totaling 3.8 million dollars to programs and projects designed to help children’s school success. The UPS Foundation is dedicated to enriching lives by creating healthy communities through education, economic development and new opportunities. AECF also focuses on helping children coming from tough neighborhoods. Alex Spoelker, the Director of Community Philanthropy for the CFL, encourages “all students to get involved to make positive changes in their neighborhood.”
“The great thing about the program is the people in the neighborhood try to help each other with these different issues,” says Stewart. “Nonprofit work is my favorite kind of work because nonprofit agencies help people when they need it,” says Adams. There is now a waiting list for the program.
Hi,
ReplyDelete• We have just added your latest post "Making a Difference By Tracey Estes and Fallon Tinney" to our Directory of Grant Programs . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.
Warm Regards
Project Grant Team
http://projectgrant.info