Tag Archives: promise indiana

Fulfilling the Promise: Feb. 23 Event Highlights Promise Indiana Program

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on a number of impactful stories during my time at the Indiana Chamber and as part of the BizVoice® magazine team. One of the favorites was helping introduce the Promise Indiana program in 2015.

In the last year, the number of students with Promise college savings accounts has increased from 5,000 to over 10,000, with deposit activity going from $800,000 to more than $2.7 million. These are not only providing dollars but incentives for young people to realize the postsecondary dream.

What started in Wabash County now has 14 counties activated. An additional 14 are applying to participate. Learn more.

Local efforts are what make Promise programs successful, with community foundations and business leaders part of the success equation. An upcoming event – the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance’s Promise Indiana Deep Dive Day – explains how it works.

Conner Prairie is the location. February 23 is the date. The event is free, but registration is required. Details and registration.

Promise Receives Extra Boost

Posted on by
Reply

promise inCreating a college-going culture is the primary theme of the Wabash County Promise Initiative and the growing Promise Indiana network. Now, Wabash County students in grades four through eight are receiving additional financial assistance as the result of a $430,000 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The Promise program allows parents to create a 529 college savings account for their children when they register for school. The new grant permits elementary and middle school students to earn additional funding for their accounts through academic accomplishments, family savings and postsecondary planning.

The work that started in Wabash County is earning national and international attention. The Indiana Chamber was pleased to help spread the word through its Indiana Vision 2025 regional forums in 2015 and additional outlets. Learn more:

Applications Open for Promise Indiana

Posted on by
Reply

[tube]vcCzmJsHLI4[/tube]

Promise Indiana (profiled in the March-April 2015 BizVoice magazine) is a community-driven framework for helping youth increase hope and build the assets they need to pursue education beyond high school. With support from the Indiana Education Savings Authority, eight Indiana communities are currently piloting Promise Indiana and the initiative will expand to include additional communities during the 2016-17 school year.

Business, education, local government and non-profit sectors each have a part to play in increasing educational attainment in your community by creating a college-going culture and helping youth establish college and career identity. Students with a dedicated college savings account in their name are seven times more likely to attend college; account ownership is a key piece of identity-building for youth at every stage of the educational pipeline. The Promise helps communities leverage support for families to begin saving for higher education and for youth to begin college and career discovery.

The Promise Indiana pilot is a unique opportunity to be one of the first communities in the state to receive operational support to launch the initiative and create meaningful outcomes for youth and families. Follow the link below to learn more about the Promise Indiana model and how your community can become one of the pilots selected for the 2016-2017 school year.

Promise Indiana pilot application: https://bit.ly/PromiseIndiana. Applications must be submitted online by February 12, 2016 (11:59 pm EST).

Questions about Promise Indiana or technical assistance with the online application can be directed to: Phil Maurizi, VP of Promise Operations, Wabash County YMCA, pmaurizi@wabashcountyymca.org, (260) 563-9622, ext. 406.

Promising Future: Initiative Seeks Change in Education Culture

Posted on by
Reply

bizvoicepicAs an assistant principal with Wabash City Schools, Jason Callahan recalls sitting and watching parents “who were signing their 16-year-old kids out from school – and how empty that feels. You feel like you just lost this kid for life, and they’re only 16.”

In reality, those students were “lost” years before their official withdrawal from school. Lost because there was no recognition of the power of education or perceived hope for a bright future.

Today, in Wabash County and three other northeastern Indiana locales (and maybe someday throughout the state and beyond) communities are making a “promise” to prevent that from happening.

Why is that promise so important?

“It really is an opportunity for us to tell kids in our community that we care about them, that we care about their education,” says Casey Weimer, CEO of the Cole Family YMCA – the convening agency for the Promise program in Noble and LaGrange counties. “That we don’t want the circumstances that kids have in their lives or where they come from to determine their futures. Dream as big as they want to dream.”

Adds Jill Ostrem, senior vice president of health and well-being at Parkview Health (a financial supporter of the Promise initiative in its four current counties, including Whitley): “It’s been amazing – to make sure kids know anything is possible. Every child’s future should only be determined by their potential.”

Read the rest of the story in BizVoice.

VIDEO: A Look at the Promise Indiana Initiative

Posted on by
Reply

[tube]Qx3Rz6lMs3s&feature[/tube]

Clint Kugler of the Wabash County YMCA discusses the Promise Indiana Initiative. The initiative is helping boost college savings accounts and cultivating a fresh approach to education in the state.

Read a feature on the program in the latest edition of BizVoice.