5X at Salem’s Rural Scholars Program received a $15,000 grant from the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.
According to Wendy Pfrenger, program director for Rural Scholars, the funds will support the mentors in their individual work with the scholars.
“The grant from IICF will be critical in helping us meet the increasing demand from our participating districts for financial literacy education and mentoring for their students,” she said. “We are especially excited about adding a workshop on entrepreneurship for our tenth graders this summer with the help of the grant.”
Jason Warden, regional vice president of The Hartford and an IICF board member, presented the grant to Pfrenger, noting that the Rural Scholars program’s mission aligns with the focus of the IICF’s educational outreach.
“We support organizations that work to make sure high school students graduate ready for success and prepared to earn post-secondary degrees,” he noted. “The Rural Scholars program does just that and we are proud to support it this way.”
The Rural Scholars Program is designed to offer local first-generation college-bound students and their families the knowledge and social support they need to succeed at a university. The goal is for each student in the program to complete a post-secondary education with credentials necessary to succeed in his or her career. Students are chosen by their schools on the basis of their academic and leadership potential.
Currently, there are 74 rural scholars in the program from grades seven through 10. They represent Salem, Crestview, Lisbon David Anderson, Southern Local, East Liverpool, Wellsville, United Local and Leetonia school districts.
# # #
PHOTO:
On hand for the presentation of a $15,000 grant to 5X’s Rural Scholars program from the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation were (from left) Rural Scholars mentor Julia Pitcock, sophomore English major and Honors student; Jason Warden, IICF board member; Wendy Pfrenger, director of the Rural Scholars Program; and Courtney Wagoner, sophomore nursing major.