Changing the Community by Changing Lives Scholarship Fund

“We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.”

~ President Barack Obama

The Genesee County Young Democrats (GCYD) are working with Blue Tiger Democrats, the charitable wing of the Michigan Democratic Party, to fund the Changing the Community by Changing Lives Scholarship Fund (CCCL), an endowed scholarship to provide disadvantaged, but talented high school seniors in Genesee County the opportunity to start college.

We Michiganders know how to live through difficult times. We have seen them before and we will see them again. However, how can we ever repair our community if talented students are unable to get the education that they have been working towards for twelve years?

Our children are told from kindergarten till they graduate that if they work hard enough they will get ahead. This is simply not always the case.

Over 20,000 Genesee County students are enrolled in the free lunch program. If these students do not have lunch money, how can we expect them to have money for college tuition? By the time they pay back all their student loans, now with higher interest rates, they are too poor to be anywhere but behind. That’s unfair and it jeopardizes the American Dream.

One in six Genesee County students dropped out of school in 2007. Rather than risk the financial burden of a college education, many students opt out in order to supplement their family income with their own earnings. At a time of economic crisis, this threat to the national resource of knowledge is only increasing, and something must be done now.

Help the GCYD raise funds to support local scholars make it to college by joining us for our kickoff event at Luigi’s Pizzeria on Saturday, March 28th from 1pm-4pm. General attendance is $25 at the door for pizza and salad bar. $6.75 covers costs for the event; the rest goes toward the scholarship fund. Additional donations are welcome. Contributions are non-deductible.

Luigi’s Pizzeria

2132 Davison Rd.

Flint, MI

If you need directions or have any questions call (810) 625-0741.

The GCYD would like to thank the following sponsors for all of their support thus far:

Founding Sponsors:

Senator Deborah Cherry

Representative Rick Hammel

former-Representative Ted Hammon

Gold Sponsors:

Lt. Governor John Cherry

Mrs. Pam Farris

Mr. Keith Flynn

Congressman Dale Kildee

Silver Sponsors:

Chairman Jack Minore, Genesee County Democratic Party

Mrs. Catherine Frederick.

Calling All Community Organizers - - Help Support MI Students

"About one in every six high-schoolers in Genesee County did not graduate in four years, according to 2007 data released . . . by the state of Michigan."

Recently, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) took a tour of Traverse City, home to an 84% high school graduation rate, roughly the same as Genesee County. Students are dropping out at increasing rates. This State is facing a vicious cycle relying on higher education and training to bring employers to Michigan and cure an economy that's been suffering for decades. Yet, how can the State count on highly educated Michigan workers when Michigan high schools are having so many problems even graduating students?

To use an Obama term, there is hope. However, hope will not magically appear as a result of government action; instead, hope is going to have to come from us. Community organizing is getting a bad rep at the Republican convention. With one hand, Republicans enjoyed patting community organizers for picking up the slack left by the federal government in dealing with the crisis in New Orleans. With the other hand, former NY Mayor, Rudy Guiliani, and Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, stated that community organizers do not serve as important of a role as elected officials. Here in Michigan, we should obviously disagree.

After decades of state and federal government action, Michigan still suffers from a languishing economy and educational disappointment. Government cannot fix everything. Only we the people can fix our problems with education. Here's four ways we can get involved . . .

First, those who work hard and believe in the community should have the right to scholarship funds so that tomorrow's future leaders receive the education they need. No child should ever question the trade-off between pursuing their educational goals and the realities of high interest student loans. Community organizers can assist in the creation of scholarships to support young scholars.

Second, we have to take personal accountability for Michigan's future and realize that our own progress effects Michigan. Community organizers focus dedication and talent, reminding young people in the community that there is always hope and a place where they can positively use their skills and talents.

Third, students need mentoring to put life in prospective. Community organizers fulfill this important function quite well.

Fourth, students need support at home, however, welfare programs have proven to be an inadequate solution as these programs take parents out of the home, provide slight compensation, and nurture an environment of dependence not conducive to educational ambition. It takes a community to raise a child and neighborhood organizations need to take responsibility in providing support.

I refuse to say that government has no role in all of this. Government must fulfill a support role. However, our elected leaders should not take community organizers for granted and assume their own superiority because a government run by people that arrogant has no other choice but to oppress and fail.

-Keith

Kettering or Mott, Private or Public, It's All Getting More Expensive

An interesting article from The Flint Journal here regarding the ever-increasing cost of higher education in Flint.

I suppose on some level it's reassuring that both Kettering University and Mott Community College, two schools that really couldn't be more different vis-a-vis their respective franchises and student bodies, are both seeing tuition hikes of 3%, but it's still distressing. Most everyone with a college degree has some debt (I certainly do) and I'd wager that most of those folks are more than willing to call it an investment in the future, like a mortgage, say.

But what's the breaking point? I don't know, I don't know that anyone does. But it worries me.

(Speaking of breaking points/signs of the apocalypse...)

-Will