|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
5.05.2008 - 09:00am ET
|
CSR News from:
|
|
|
News Category:
|
|
America's Promise Alliance Receives Grant from ING Foundation to Support Dropout Prevention Efforts
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC – May 5, 2008 - The America's Promise Alliance (the
Alliance), today announced it has received a $1 million grant from the ING
Foundation to help support its Dropout Prevention Campaign, which aims to
reduce the nation's high school dropout rates by hosting Dropout
Prevention summits in all 50 states and 50 select communities over the
next two years.
The grant will help fund the planning and execution for the 100 state- and
city-wide summits with the majority being used to support the critical
follow-up work that will occur after the summits. This includes providing
the state and city summit planners with online tools and resources and
connections to Alliance partners within their communities to prepare and
deploy the post-summit action plans. More specifically, all summit
coordinators will be asked to report progress against those action plans
six and 12 months after their summits take place.
"Each day, our nation loses thousands of teenagers and countless human
potential as they leave high school without a diploma or the skills
necessary to succeed in this increasingly globalized and competitive
economy," said Marguerite W. Kondracke, president and CEO, America's
Promise Alliance. "To change the course of this crisis, we are going to
need the commitment of every American. The business community is an
incredibly important piece of the solution to preparing our young people
for college, work and life. That's why we're thrilled to have the support
of an industry leader like ING for this campaign."
"We are pleased to lend our support to the Alliance for their Dropout
Prevention Summits initiative," said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING
Foundation. "ING and the Alliance share a common goal of strengthening
children’s education, and focusing attention on improving graduation
completion rates is critical to ensuring our youth are better prepared for
the future."
Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students drops out before
graduating. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year
– about 7,000 every school day, or one every 26 seconds. Nearly half of
all African-American and Native-American students will not graduate with
their class, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will graduate.
Dropouts are more likely to be incarcerated, rely on public programs and
social services, and go without health insurance than those who graduate
from high school. A new report released by the Alliance earlier this month
found that about half of all students served by the main school systems in
the nation's 50 largest cities graduate from high school. The report,
Cities in Crisis, further revealed that in the metropolitan areas
surrounding 35 of the nation's largest cities, graduation rates in urban
schools were lower than those in nearby suburban communities.
In addition to financial literacy programs, the ING Foundation provides
grants to organizations with an educational focus or component. They have
supported Junior Achievement’s job shadowing program and are the sponsor
of the National Teacher of the Year award, a project by the Council of
Chief State School Officers. ING has also joined with the United Nation's
Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help 115,000 children from Brazil, India, and
Ethiopia get the educational resources they need.
About the America's Promise Alliance
America's Promise Alliance is the nation's largest partnership alliance
comprised of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations,
policymakers, advocacy and faith groups committed to ensuring that
children receive the fundamental resources - the Five Promises - they need
to lead successful, healthy and productive lives and build a stronger
society. Building on the legacy of our founder General Colin Powell, the
Alliance believes a child's success is grounded in experiencing the Five
Promises - caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective
education; and opportunities to help others – at home, in school and in
the community. For more information visit: www.americaspromise.org.
About ING
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking,
insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and
institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce
of over 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent
companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.
In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offer a comprehensive
array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which
includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts,
alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment
management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and
reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves
over 14 million customers across the nation.
About the ING Foundation
The ING Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the
communities where ING operates and its employees and customers live.
Through charitable giving and employee volunteerism, the foundation
focuses on sustainable programs in the areas of financial literacy,
children's education and diversity.
For more information, visit www.ing.com.
|
|
