Cal State Participates In "College Can Happen" Initiative For Disadvantaged Students

$20,000 Awarded to CSUN to Assist Disadvantaged Middle, High School Students

NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Ã¢â‚¬â€¢

Cal State Northridge has received a $20,000 grant from the Citi Foundation to help disadvantaged middle school and high school students.

The money supports “The College Can Happen” initiative, which will serve 4,000 educationally disadvantaged middle and high school students and their parents through the 2009-2010 academic year.

“The majority of the funding will be used to hire CSUN Student Outreach interns who will go out into local middle schools and high schools to give individual and group presentations to students and parents throughout the academic year,” said Dwayne Cantrell, associate director of Student Outreach and Recruitment Services. “Funds will also be used to provide transportation to bring students and their parents to Cal State Northridge.”

The presentations will explore the process of getting into a four-year college. The student interns give the middle and high school students and their parents information about the many services that are available for getting into and paying for a four-year college, including Free Application for Federal Student Aid and scholarships.

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need. It fulfills this mission by providing grant support for programs that are aligned with its priority focus areas, promote collaboration and effective use of philanthropic resources, engage our employees, and demonstrate impact and positive outcomes. It is particularly interested in supporting program innovations in the following priority focus areas: microfinance and microenterprise, small and growing businesses, education, financial education and asset building and community development.

In addition, the Citi Foundation works with its partners in its priority focus areas of Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses and Community Development to support environmental innovations and embed a “green” component within key areas of their work.

Student Outreach and Recruitment Services provides outreach and recruitment to students at over 100 high schools, 22 community colleges and various middle and elementary schools in the Southern California area. It also serves as the clearinghouse for university information and inquiries stemming from perspective students. Student Outreach collaborates on local and statewide parent college awareness initiatives.