Grant Connects At-Risk Youth to Employment and Education

Madison, Wis. - Operation Fresh Start will continue to lead at-risk youth to job and higher education placement thanks to a $35,000 grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. The grant will allow Operation Fresh Start to assist 60 disconnected Dane County youth to become self-sufficient through career-track employment and enrollment in post-secondary education.

Operation Fresh Start serves low-income, out-of-school youth ages 16-24 who face multiple barriers to attaining higher education and employment. Program participants receive a paid, 34-hour per week opportunity to learn basic work skills, improve academic skills, earn a high school diploma or its equivalent, secure and retain employment and/or post-secondary placement, and contribute to the community by providing affordable housing to low-income families.

In addition to receiving guidance on the college application and financial aid process, Operation Fresh Start participants who successfully complete the program receive an AmeriCorps Education Award voucher that can be used to help pay for college. This voucher which can be worth as much as $10,000 helps to reduce or eliminate cost as a barrier to post-secondary education for many of the program's graduates.

"Our program serves youth who never dreamed that college was an option," said Connie Ferris Bailey, Executive Director of Operation Fresh Start. "Our goal is to show our students that college is indeed possible, and then to provide the guidance and support they need to successfully enroll in college and utilize the AmeriCorps Education Award they earned by completing our program."

"Operation Fresh Start embodies Great Lakes' mission of helping at-risk youth realize that college is possible," said Richard D. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes. "We are pleased to lend support to this program and its participants as they use education as the means to achieve independence and become contributing members of Dane County."

For more information on Operation Fresh Start, please contact Connie Ferris Bailey at 608-244-4721. For more information about Great Lakes' outreach initiatives, please contact Amy Kerwin at 608-246-1785.

About Operation Fresh Start
A non-profit organization, Operation Fresh Start has provided comprehensive employment and training services to 6,000 youth and adults in Dane County, Wisconsin, since 1970. The organization's chief training approach is to renovate or construct single family houses for sale to low and very-low income first-time homebuyers. One hundred and fifty houses have been completed to date. The housing sites are the vehicles for employment training and are at the center of a comprehensive program of educational and support services. Instruction in basic skills and preparation for the high school equivalency examination, instruction in independent living skills, leadership development, counseling, pre-employment skills training, placement in a job or post-secondary education, and supportive follow-up are vital components of the program. For more information, visit operationfreshstart.org.

About Great Lakes
Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and Affiliates works with schools, lenders, and community organizations to change lives for the better through higher education. Great Lakes supports these partners with financial, educational, and operational resources that help students and families pay for college and build bright futures. As a leading guarantor, originator, and servicer of student loans for over forty years, Great Lakes serves more than 2,700 schools and 1,400 lenders across the nation. One of the nation's largest integrated providers of student loan services, Great Lakes services student loans for more than two million borrowers and holds guarantees on more than $43 billion in FFELP loans. Great Lakes serves as the designated guarantor for Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands under the Higher Education Act. Great Lakes is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with operating centers in Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. For additional information, visit mygreatlakes.org.

Posted 03/21/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.