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CORS Awarded
Community Connectors Grant
Piqua, Ohio - Council on Rural Services has recently learned that they
are recipients of a new grant through the Ohio Department of Education
as part of the Community Connector Initiative. The Community
Connectors program is proposed to give Darke County students more
access to inspirational role models and to nurture skills that will
help them succeed both in school and in the workplace. The state
received 192 grant proposals from Ohio community agencies that work
with schools across Ohio; of these proposals the state has funded 82 at
this date.
Community Connector grants must address the following key components
that are focusing on developing partnerships to serve grades 5-12 and
carry out 5 core principles:
1. Setting goals to be prepared for the
21st Century Careers
2. Building character
3. Developing Pathways to Achievement
4. Building a Sense of Resiliency
5. Believing in a Positive Future
This grant in the amount of $89,716 was awarded to CORS/Gateway Youth
Program as the lead organization. But as our community rallied and came
together to propose this grant, many business, non-profit, faith-based
and school partnerships are included. Partners involved
are: Midmark, Wayne Healthcare, Norcold, Greenville National Bank, H
& M Precision Concrete, State of the Heart Hospice, Darke County
Wellness & Recovery Center of West Central Ohio, Darke County
Municipal Court, Family Healthy Services of Darke County, Inc., Darke
County Economic Development office. OSU Extension Office
and the Darke County Chamber of Commerce.
Other community partners consist of First Baptist Church in Union City,
Cedar Grove Church of the Brethren in New Paris, Mississinawa Valley
and Tri-Village School Districts.
Through all the collaborative work of these partners, the target
students in grades 5-12 will have access to one-on-one mentoring, skill
building related to job readiness, career planning and work
ethic. There will also be tutoring, career exploration, job
shadowing opportunities and internships. A family component will
be offered through a parent program called “Raising Highly Capable
Kids”.
Because this state program provides a $3 to $1 match funding, the
communities’ assistance both financial and supportive is a must to make
this grant successful for the students. This grant benefits
students to be more successful in school and their future. It
helps the community with an increased graduation rate and a stronger,
more knowledgeable, and successful workforce in the county.
Jeff Vaughn, coordinator for the Gateway Youth Program said, “We are
excited about beginning this new program and partnering with local
businesses. The grant will give us the opportunity to
open conversations and build more relationships in the business
community and bring more awareness and personal support to young people
in our county that is needed to transition them to the workforce.”
The Gateway staff will be going to Columbus soon to meet with the Ohio
Department of Education to get all the details of beginning the new
grant. Watch for more information as the grant begins.
About Council on Rural Services; CORS is a non-profit social service
organization that serves clients through federal, state and local
grants. The mission is to provide a unique mix of learning and
social experience to develop competence, motivation, and behavior for a
better life. This is done through programs like Gateway Youth
Programs, Achievement Center for Educational Success (ACES), Head
Start, Early Head Start, Kids Learning Place, and now the Community
Connectors Initiative. CORS has operations throughout the nine
county areas of Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Greene, Logan, Miami,
Preble, Shelby and Van Wert counties in Ohio.
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