Education is Freedom

Description

EIF was founded by Mr. Jim Keyes on the principle that every young person deserves the opportunity for a higher education. EIF strives to remove obstacles to college by providing assistance to students who demonstrate academic promise and leadership, but require guidance to go to college. EIF is fundamentally affecting the success of urban youth and their pursuit of a higher education through a two-tiered program targeted at both the national and local levels. Nationally, an EIF scholarship program helps to serve students from all 50 states. More than 87,000 students have applied and more than $3.7 million has been awarded to 607 students. The sheer magnitude of this number clearly demonstrates the pressing need for the program as 70 percent of all new jobs created in this country require at least 14 years of education. Scholarships may be used at an accredited two-or four-year college or university for tuition and fees. In addition to corporate and foundation contributions, scholarship funding comes from canister collections, which are conducted at participating 7-Eleven stores. Due to new and renewing scholarships, the number of EIF scholars continues to grow. In the three EIF high schools in Dallas (Adamson, Madison and North Dallas High School), there are currently more than 1200 high school students enrolled in EIF (38% of the student body), the highest enrollment for any extracurricular program with an additional 228 students from the program already enrolled in college. This positive transformation could very well serve as a template for other American urban centers as each city strives for a renaissance focusing on workforce preparedness.