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The College Crusade of Rhode Island Receives $100,000 Grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Contribution provides a significant match for federal funds that support college-readiness programs and services for Rhode Island students
Providence, R.I., February 9, 2009 – The College Crusade of Rhode Island today announced that the Nellie Mae Education Foundation has awarded the organization a grant of $100,000. The award provides The College Crusade with a significant local match for its $2.7 million federal GEAR UP grant, which supports college-readiness programs and services for young people in Rhode Island’s low-income urban school districts. Based in Quincy, Mass., the Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on education.
The grant will help to provide a wide range of College Crusade programs designed to increase student readiness for college, including extracurricular reading and math enrichment, SAT test preparation, campus visits, leadership development opportunities, career exploration activities, and financial aid workshops. The grant also supports the services of College Crusade Advisors, who counsel students in 32 middle schools and high schools throughout Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket about the steps they should take to stay on the path to college.
“We are deeply grateful for this very generous award from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation,” said Robert Oberg, director of development for The College Crusade. “Their contribution helps make it possible for thousands of students from our state’s disadvantaged urban communities to experience life-changing personal and educational success. As a match for our federal GEAR UP grant, this gift also plays a crucial role in ensuring that millions of dollars from other sources are available for funding college-readiness programs and services for Rhode Island youth.”
About The College Crusade of Rhode Island
The College Crusade of Rhode Island is the state’s most comprehensive college-readiness and scholarship program for middle school and high school students in low-income urban school districts. It serves approximately 3,800 students per year and rewards the efforts and achievements of financially eligible students with up to four years of college scholarships. From grade 6 through grade 12, Crusaders experience the steady, nurturing presence of caring adults and participate in activities that focus on academic enrichment, social and personal development, career awareness and exploration, and readiness for college. Students who are members of The College Crusade graduate and go right on to college at much higher rates than their peers in the state’s urban school districts. Since 2001, The College Crusade has awarded over $18 million in college scholarships to more than 2,500 graduates from Rhode Island high schools. For more information, please visit www.thecollegecrusade.org.
The College Crusade is a nonprofit organization funded by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP program, by the State of Rhode Island, and by private corporations, foundations, and individuals.
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