Sallie Mae Provides $105,000 in Grants to Help Delaware Kids Prepare for College
Company Partners with Local Nonprofits Boys & Girls Clubs, Junior
Achievement, and Big Brothers Big Sisters
NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sallie Mae, the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college
company, today announced its charitable foundation, The Sallie Mae Fund,
made three significant grants to support programs that help Delaware
students prepare for college. The company provided $50,000 to the Boys &
Girls Clubs of Delaware, $30,000 to Junior Achievement of Delaware, and
$25,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware.
The $50,000 grant to the Boys
& Girls Clubs of Delaware will support college-awareness
programs, including learning resources centers at club locations
throughout the state, books and curriculum-based guides for tutors at
every grade level, and dedicated space for academic tutoring. The Sallie
Mae Fund grant also will help fund scholarships awarded to the
organization’s State Youth of the Year winners.
“This grant will help hundreds of youth prepare for success in college
and throughout life,” said George Krupanski, president and CEO, Boys &
Girls Club of Delaware. “We aim to help our Club members achieve their
goals beyond high school, and Sallie Mae’s financial support and
employee volunteers make it easier for kids to succeed.”
The $30,000 grant to Junior
Achievement of Delaware will support “JA Career Fusion” programs, in
which middle- and high-school students explore careers and associated
educational requirements, and learn how to prepare and pay for college.
The Sallie Mae Fund grant will also underwrite the paying-for-college
section in the tablet version of “JA Finance Park,” which influences
student course selection and other post-secondary education decisions.
“From kindergarten to 12th grade, all Junior Achievement experiences
help students connect their academic accomplishment to their future
success,” said Rob Eppes, president, Junior Achievement of Delaware. “We
are deeply appreciative of not just Sallie Mae’s funding, but also the
many employees who volunteer their time and talents to teach our
courses, lead workshops, and otherwise mentor our students.”
The $25,000 grant to Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware will support the BBBS mentoring
partnership in nine schools in New Castle County. Mentors visit weekly
with students in grades one through 12 to provide one-on-one academic
assistance, emotional support, and guidance for at-risk students.
“More than 80 percent of the students in our mentoring program are from
low-income families,” said Mary P. Fox, executive director, Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Delaware. “These students need extra encouragement, and
Sallie Mae’s grant will help us help them set higher goals for
themselves.”
The
Sallie Mae Fund supports employee volunteerism and community service
in communities where Sallie Mae employees live and work.
“The Boys & Girls Clubs, Junior Achievement, and Big Brothers Big
Sisters are terrifically successful at helping young people realize
their potential,” said Bonnie Beasley, senior vice president, Sallie Mae
Bank, and president, The Sallie Mae Fund. “Their efforts to promote the
importance and value of higher education fit naturally with Sallie Mae’s
desire to help families make college happen, and we value the
contributions they make to the well-being of our community and its
citizens.”
Sallie Mae, which has been helping families make college happen for more
than 40 years, has more than 700 full-time employees at its corporate
headquarters in Newark, Del. For more information, free resources, and
tips on how to save, plan, and pay for college, visit www.salliemae.com.
About the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware is part of a nationwide movement
whose mission is to inspire and enable all young people to realize their
full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. The
Clubs provide vital youth development services for more than 30,000
children ages six through 20. The 44 sites are located where such
programs are limited or nonexistent. With additional resources, the Boys
& Girls Clubs of Delaware could expand into additional unserved areas to
serve even more youth in need.
About Junior Achievement of Delaware
Junior Achievement of Delaware’s mission is to inspire and prepare young
people to succeed in a global economy. Taking a proactive approach to
combating poverty, high dropout rates, and other social ills that
interfere with young people achieving the American Dream, the
organization provides 26 curriculum offerings that serve more than
15,000 local students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The JA message
is one of self-sufficiency, entrepreneurial opportunity, personal
responsibility, and sustainability.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware
For more than 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware has
partnered with adult mentors and role models to provide at-risk
children, primarily from single-parent homes, with strong and enduring,
professionally supported one-on-one relationships that help them gain
self-confidence, realize their potential, and envision happy and
successful futures. For more information, or to support the
organization’s efforts, visit www.bbbsde.org.
About Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) is the nation’s saving, planning, and
paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just
around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible
personal finance, including private education loans, Upromise rewards,
scholarship search, college financial planning tools, and online retail
banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com.
Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are
not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
Contacts
Sallie Mae Contact:
Ellen J. Roberts, 302-451-0428
ellen.roberts@salliemae.com
or
Boys
& Girls Clubs of Delaware Contact:
Hilary LaMotte Burke,
302-658-1870
hburke@bgclubs.org
or
Junior
Achievement of Delaware Contact:
Rob Eppes, 302-654-4510
rob.eppes@ja.org
or
Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware Contact:
Mary P. Fox,
302-998-3577
mfox@bbbsde.org
