Sponsor-A-Scholar

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Community Partners

To provide academic, personal and financial support to disadvantaged students who wish to pursue post-secondary education.

• To provide personal guidance and ongoing support to succeed in high school and build foundations for college.
• To bring together community resources dedicated to helping youth stay in school and prepare for college and careers.
• To provide additional financial resources for college.

Sponsor-A-Scholar Milwaukee was established in 1996 as a replication of the successful Sponsor-A-Scholar Program in Philadelphia.  The first graduating class, the Class of 1999, included thirty scholars.  Since then, the program has expanded to serve fifty students per class, beginning with the Class of 2007.  Sponsor-A-Scholar Milwaukee has seen over 200 students off to college and has awarded over 1 million dollars in financial resources to program graduates who are enrolled in college.

Fulfilling a Dream

Many of Milwaukee's youth face daily obstacles that threaten their ability to succeed in school.  Young people simply don't have the personal support, direction, motivation or financial assistance they need to go on to college.  Sometimes just a few thousand dollars can make a college education a reality... and the prospect of a self-supporting future more likely.

As a participant in the Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, you would be paired with a student from the City of Milwaukee who would not, under ordinary circumstances, have the mentoring support or the financial means to attend college.  You would have the option of participating in Sponsor-A-Scholar in one of three ways: as a mentor, as a sponsor, or as both a mentor and a sponsor.

Mentor

Despite good attendance and acceptable grades, many urban students lack sufficient adult role models to encourage and guide them in pursuing a college education.  As a mentor, you would help guide your student through high school challenges.  You would serve as a model and friend through academic guidance, shared community activities, exposure to the working world, and accessing community resources.  Monthly informal meetings, phone calls in between, and group activities planned by program staff would help you provide the ongoing support deserving students need to succeed.

Sponsor

Paying for college is a challenge for anyone.  But it's especially overwhelming for low-income students.  Many low-income students can't come up with the "last dollar" to fill the gap between their financial aid package and college-related expenses.  As a sponsor, you would provide the financial foundation for each student's college dream.  You may make a tax-deductible initial investment of $4,500 or $1,250 for each year of high school, resulting in a guaranteed $5,000 college expense fund.  One hundred percent of your gift will be invested until it's needed for college and applied directly to your student's education.  Scholarship funds are administered by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation through an interest-bearing field of interest fund.

Mentor and Sponsor

Sponsor-A-Scholar is flexible, accommodating a variety of sponsor/mentor combinations.  Organizations and individuals may sponsor and/or mentor a student.  A business may sponsor and mentor, creating a meaningful connection to the working world.  A professional or trade group may sponsor one student or a number of students.  An individual or group of friends may serve as both sponsor and mentor.  In every case, sponsors, mentors and students work together toward academic success.