When students in our mentoring program make attending college a priority and post-secondary planning a main concern, we come alongside them. We help with everything from applying for scholarships to assisting them when they enroll in college. Simply put, we are participating with their family at the same degree as their high-income peers. Upon graduating from high school, many of the students we mentor choose to be part of an intense leadership development initiative. These students agree on common goals to work toward. Recently a group of six young men covenanted together over the course of 2 years to participate in leadership training, commit together to face their fatal flaw, learn how to manage money effectively, and have a basic understanding of biblical exegesis in order to communicate the meaning of a passage to others. This process is not something that Lake Avenue Community Foundation does on its own. We rely heavily on key partners such as Ascending Lights Leadership Network to accomplish these goals.
Our goal in 2009 is that we come alongside students in our mentor program in 8th grade addressing the college enrollment gap and encouraging the family’s commitment both to delivering a rigorous, high quality education for their student, and connecting that education to a promising future in college and beyond.
