HandsOn Network, the volunteer-focused arm of Points of Light Institute and the largest volunteer network in the nation, is partnering with Fidelity Investments®, one of the world's largest providers of financial services, to help revitalize the learning environments in 11 middle schools across the United States.

The new program, a result of Fidelity's commitment to help middle school students achieve academic success and pursue their own unique path to college and careers, kicks off July 25 in Nashua, NH and ends on September 11 in New York City. HandsOn Network Action Centers in those locations will work with more than 3,000 Fidelity employees to design and create College and Career Zones at locally-tailored "School Transformation Days." This is Fidelity's largest employee volunteer effort and will total more than 30,000 hours of community service, most of which will occur on weekends.

"We are excited to partner with Fidelity on this nationwide volunteer effort to design and deliver practical programs that leverage the power of skilled volunteers, caring adults and corporate resources to address America's increasing dropout rates," said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute and Co-Founder of HandsOn Network. "Together we can create significant impact in ensuring that all students can graduate from high school and pursue their dreams."

The participating HandsOn Action Centers are Boston Cares, Serve Rhode Island, HandsOn Jacksonville, HandsOn Charlotte, Volunteer Center of North Texas, United Way of Greater Cincinatti, Utah 2-1-1, NM Forum for Youth in Community, and New York Cares.

The participating schools are Dearborn Middle School, Roxbury, Mass.; Lowe’s Grove Middle School, Durham, N.C.; Holmes Middle School, Covington Ky.; MS 354K, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Elm Street Middle School, Nashua, N.H.; Thomas Marsh Middle School, Dallas; Bryant Middle School, Salt Lake City; Roger Williams Middle School, Providence, R.I.; Seven Hills Charter School, Worcester, Mass.; Ernie Pyle Middle School, Albuquerque, N.M.; and Alfred I. duPont Middle School, Jacksonville, Fla.

"The middle school years play a critical role in keeping students inspired and on track to receive a high school diploma," said Sheila C. Cavanaugh, senior vice president, Fidelity Investments. "While we believe that all kids have the potential to succeed and make this happen, not all of them have the opportunities, environments or support systems to get there. Our aim is to bring renewed energy and enthusiasm to middle school students and help them make a successful transition to high school and, ultimately, to graduation."

Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of school every day and only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma(i). In addition, nearly half of dropouts occur in the ninth grade. As a result, school transformation projects were identified this spring through intensive "Community Design Days" where school administrators, teachers, students, parents, civic leaders, HandsOn Network staffers, and Fidelity employees identified projects that would help support dropout prevention efforts by inspiring students on the importance of college and a life of meaningful work.

About HandsOn Network
HandsOn Network, the volunteer-focused arm of Points of Light Institute, is the largest volunteer network in the nation and includes 250 HandsOn Action Centers in 16 countries. HandsOn includes a powerful network of more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations that are answering the call to serve and creating meaningful change in their communities. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at $626 million. For more information, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org.

About Fidelity Investments®
Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with assets under administration of over $3.1 trillion, including managed assets of $1.4 trillion, as of June 30, 2010. Founded in 1946, the firm is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and many other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals and institutions, as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.

(i) May 12, 2009: Committee on Education & Labor (http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/05/high-school-dropout-crisis-thr.shtml)

Points of Light

Points of Light

Points of Light is a global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. We envision a world in which every individual discovers the power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant, participatory societies. Through 145 affiliates across 39 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 3.7 million volunteers in 16.7 million hours of service each year, contributing $498.7 million of value in people power into communities around the world. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. To learn more about Points of Light visit pointsoflight.org. 

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