Students Getting Jobs Earn Scholarships
Providing knowledge and resources for students who are not college-bound and ready to enter the work force is a vital function of our schools and business community. The County Forward Fund is a Medina County-based non-profit set up to bring education resources together with business to strengthen both in Medina County. In an effort to change the dialog, help students launch into their career successfully, and show the community’s full support for their careers out of high school, the County Forward Fund would like to launch a scholarship program for those students going directly into a job.
Many companies would like to hire students to start immediately following graduation with positions that are career-oriented, well-paying opportunities. To help “flip the script” on how students and parents talk about these opportunities, the County Forward Fund would like to launch a scholarship program to award $1,000 scholarships to students getting a job immediately after graduation.
For students going to college, scholarships are part of a capital stack to meet the costs of school, room and board, and books. But for someone starting their first job, scholarship money can help pay for uniforms or professional clothing, gas, meals, tools, and other unexpected expenses encountered when starting a new job. The impact of a scholarship on a student’s ability to launch their career would be significant.
In addition, scholarships to start a career is a very different conversation for parents to have. To say, “my child got a job,” may sound like they are less than a student who went to college. But saying, “my child got a job, and got a scholarship to start their career?” completely changes the tone of the conversation. In addition, when the school district reports on the scholarship dollars earned by students, those students receiving career scholarships would be included rather than feel excluded.
The proposed Scholarship program would provide one $1,000 scholarship to each high school, including the Medina County Career Center.
To donate, please send a check to County Forward Fund, 144 N. Broadway Suite 119, Medina, OH 44256