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"As college tuition costs continue to rise, scholarships like these
can mean the difference between being able to attend college or
having to sacrifice your dreams," the first lady said. "I want to
thank the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation and Midwest Generation
for their tremendous generosity, and I want to extend my
congratulations to all of this year's scholarship recipients." The
Youth In Scholarship competitive scholarships, awarded to the "best
and brightest" DCFS youth, were given to students from across
Illinois and will allow them to attend an Illinois state university
or community college of their choice. Four of the 48 scholarships
were awarded to children of veterans. Attendees at the event
included Connie Payton, director of the Walter and Connie Payton
Foundation; Guy Gorney, president of Midwest Generation; Bryan
Samuels, director of the Department of Children and Family Services;
youth receiving scholarships; and families of the recipients.
"A priority for Midwest Generation's community involvement is to
support young people and their education," said Gorney, president of
the company. "We're proud to partner with the Department of Children
and Family Services to support its Youth Scholarship Program and
help 10 students pursue their educational goals."
"These scholarships give young people who might not otherwise be
able to afford to go to college a chance to achieve their dreams,"
said Payton, the foundation director. "I am so pleased to partner
with DCFS and first lady Patricia Blagojevich for this wonderful
celebration."
"Over the last three years, the Department of Children and Family
Services has instituted a ‘lifetime approach,' which recognizes that
we must prepare children and youth for life beyond their time in our
care," said Samuels, the department director. "Planning and
providing for college is a critical part of that approach, and we
thank Midwest Generation, the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation,
and all the families and friends who help our youth realize their
dreams of higher education."
"This helps me reach for my goals of a good education and a
meaningful job," said Luvenia Sims, a 20-year-old student from
Bloomington who will use the $2,000 Midwest Generation award to
attend Heartland Community College. "I'm majoring in criminal
justice and hope to use my education to give back to my community."
Emily Forcier, a 23-year-old from Belvidere and a past
scholarship recipient, gave the keynote speech at the event. She
used her scholarship to earn a bachelor's degree in molecular and
cellular biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana. "I am so
appreciative of what this program has done for me," Forcier said. "I
always wanted to go to college, but the money wasn't there. Then
Youth In Scholarship came along, and it was like an answer to a
prayer."
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 Students receiving scholarships and awards are from the following
cities and towns (former Illinois DCFS wards who have been adopted
and moved out of state are scholarship-eligible):
Arenzville, Beach Park, Bellwood, Big Rock, Bloomington,
Champaign, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Darien, Decatur, Dolton, Dundee,
Elk Grove Village, Elmwood Park, Frankfort, Franklin Park, Herod,
Homewood, Lombard, Manteno, Maywood, Midlothian, Murphysboro,
Naperville, Oak Park, Peoria, Rockford, Sauk Village, Schaumburg,
Sesser, Sherman, Skokie, Swansea, Valmeyer and Woodstock in
Illinois; Batesville and Holly Springs, Miss.; and Elizabeth City,
N.C.
Over the past four years, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has worked to
help more Illinois families afford the high costs of college. For
fiscal 2007, the governor provided the Monetary Award Program with
its largest increase in 10 years, a boost of 10 percent over fiscal
2006, and created a new program to help middle-income families as
well. With a new investment of $34.4 million, he created MAP Plus to
help middle-class families who didn't receive the traditional MAP
program and who struggle to afford rising college tuition costs. MAP
Plus will provide a grant of $500 per student for sophomores,
juniors and seniors from families with incomes less than $200,000
who attend college in Illinois. An additional increase of $34.4
million was added to the original MAP grants to increase the grant
awards to their statutory maximum of up to $4,968. In total, 225,000
students will benefit from the creation of MAP Plus and the
additional funding for MAP.
Senate Bill 2225 was sponsored by Sen. Edward Maloney,
D-Chicago, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, D-Orland Park.
As first lady, Patricia Blagojevich has worked tirelessly to
promote initiatives that help Illinois families bring up happy,
healthy and successful children. To promote early childhood literacy
throughout Illinois, she has championed initiatives to encourage
children to read, including the Children's Reading Club. The first
lady also spearheaded the Illinois Pediatric Vision Awareness
Initiative, the first state-sponsored campaign in the U.S. to
specifically target amblyopia, or "lazy eye," in children. Mrs.
Blagojevich has also brought attention to Healthy Families Illinois,
a program that helps prevent child abuse by supporting high-risk
parents. In addition, she has promoted the Prevention Development
Resource Project, which is a partnership between the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services and Prevent Child Abuse
Illinois, and the governor's landmark All Kids plan, which makes
Illinois the only state in the nation to provide affordable,
comprehensive health insurance for every uninsured child in the
state.
[News release from the governor's
office] |
