Page Education Foundation Reaches $6M Grant Milestone Announces Page Scholar Orientation on August 5, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn Jones
Page Education Foundation
612-332-0406
763-473-3916


Page Education Foundation Reaches $6M Grant Milestone
Announces Page Scholar Orientation on August 5, 2006

August 5, 2006 – Minneapolis, MN — Page Education Foundation (PEF) will have an orientation welcoming new and returning Page Scholars on Saturday, August 5, 2006 at the 1st floor cafeteria of the Technical Building at the Minneapolis Community & Technical College at 9:30 am. During the orientation, students will receive information about their Page grants and the important volunteer service they will perform with young children of color in our community (Service-to-Children). Page Scholar Orientation is planned and led by Page Scholars – highlighting service work performed by last year’s Page Scholars. Page Scholars who renewed their Page grants will meet in small groups to help new Page Scholars understand the goals of the Service-to-Children program. It is an energetic and fun morning for the students who participate.

Former Minnesota Viking Hall of Famer and Minnesota State Supreme Court Judge Alan Page and his wife, Diane Sims Page established PEF in 1988 to encourage students of color to participate in post-secondary education. The couple created the foundation to provide financial assistance for post-secondary education to students of color while fostering positive attitudes about education among school-age children of color.

The PEF gives post-educational grants and provides mentors to youth of color in exchange for their volunteer service to students in K-8th grades. Each year, the PEF awards grants up to $2,500 to Minnesota students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the state of Minnesota. In the past 18 years, Page Scholars have volunteered more than 200,000 hours of mentoring and tutoring through the Service-to-Children program.

The mentoring/tutoring program provides children with positive role models who encourage success and pursuing dreams. Page Scholars also learn responsibility and leadership skills, such as how to coordinate projects, how to interact constructively with others, and conflict resolution.

Former Page Scholar Attorney DeGalynn Wade credits the foundation for shaping her involvement in the community. She shares, “I’ve seen the benefits of community service with the students I’ve mentored. I’ve actually seen the mission of the Page Education Foundation come to light in my own experience. The Foundation provided me with mentors. They gave me the resources and tools to help me set goals.”

Since 1988, with the support of the business and philanthropic communities, more than $6 million in educational grants have been awarded to 3002 Page Scholars. In November 2005, the foundation raised over $100,000 as it hosted former President Bill Clinton during a charity event.

To continue the support of this foundation, corporations may participate as donors for the Page Education Foundation. Contributors of United Way may request on their contribution forms that a portion of their monies be donated to the foundation. Many corporations also offer matching gift programs allowing donors to increase the impact of their donation to PEF.

For media inquiries, donation inquires, or to learn more about the Page Education Foundation, contact the Administrative Director Ramona Harristhal at (612) 332-0406 or by email at info@page-ed.org. You may also visit the website at www.page-ed.org.

Event Details:
What: Page Scholar Orientation
When: Saturday, August 5, 2006, 9:30am – 12:15pm
Where: 1st floor Cafeteria, Technical Building
Minneapolis Community & Technical College
1501 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403*

*Parking is available in the ramp directly across Hennepin Avenue from the college


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