This Saturday, an educational awareness day will provide students in grades 6 to 12, their families and other young adults with resources from food assistance to help with federal financial aid to information on scholarships. Specifically, Hispanic families and their children are being targeted to take advantage of the opportunities provided by higher education. The free event will run from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Hispanic American Council, 930 Lake St. in Kalamazoo.
Challenges faced by Hispanic students include "lack of awareness of assistance programs and having to work extra hours to keep resources flowing into the family, which can detract from spending time with children on their school work and planning for college."
“We want to be able to get the resources to the community in an environment that is safe territory for kids and their parents and where language barriers can be dealt with,” Lori Mercedes, interim director of the Hispanic American Council said of the event. “We’re always talking about making The Kalamazoo Promise a reality, but there are so many barriers to overcome. Our goal is to get these kids to the university.”To learn more about the Hispanic American Council, visit http://www.hispanicamericancouncil.org/.
The full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/10/education_awareness_day_is_sat.html
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