State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant

September 25, 2018

 

Last year the nonprofit partnered with Bethel Middle School for a new program called Safety Net. Through the program, Empower Youth volunteers and middle school teachers are helping students “change their future narrative,” explained Empower Youth founder Lori Conley.

The program recently received a significant boost with a $25,000 State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant. A total of 40 causes across the country received similar grants.

Safety Net is a pilot program, Conley said. The successful grant application, along with the program’s curriculum, was written by Sandy Marquez, she said. Through this program, students will be given the tools they need to create their positive future.

“I hope at end of the day, when students have been through the program in grades six, seven and eight, they go to high school equipped with questions to ask the guidance counselors rather than guidance coming to them,” Conley said.

Students hopefully will not only have a plan for after high school for additional education or a career, but they will also know how to pursue it, she said.

Like all other programs developed by Empower Youth, plans call for Safety Net to be rolled out to other schools in Appalachia.