United Way Of Riley County, Kansas, Receives Donation From Verizon Wireless

MANHATTAN, KS — Verizon Wireless announced today that it has donated $5,000 to United Way of Riley County for Schools of Hope, a program that provides students with one-on-one tutoring from volunteers during the school day. The eventual goal of this year's pilot program is to provide every classroom in the school district with a volunteer curriculum that encourages and assists academic achievement. United Way will use this donation to recruit and train volunteers, and evaluate the program’s effectiveness at the end of the school year.

“Verizon Wireless is fortunate to be able to lend a hand to a program that provides students with the extra help and educational assistance they need and deserve,” said Brendan Fallis, president – Kansas/Missouri region, Verizon Wireless. “After seeing what Schools of Hope has done in other communities, we are confident and pleased that this donation is going to a program that will benefit the academic lives of students across the Riley County School District.”

Since the 1995 development of a comprehensive districtwide volunteer model in Madison, Wis., Schools of Hope has made an impact on every student in the Madison School District. With the goal of reducing the racial achievement gap in the third grade by 2000, the project was a success and nearly eliminated the gap altogether by 2004. The volunteer tutors for the program were recognized as the main people responsible for the accomplishment. The Manhattan-Ogden's Schools of Hope program goal is to provide the area students with the similar outcomes.

About Schools of Hope
Schools of Hope is a partnership between United Way of Riley County, RSVP, and Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 to mobilize volunteers, impact learning, and advance the common good in the Manhattan area.

http://www.unitedwayrc.org/
http://www.rsvp.manhattanks.org   
http://www.usd383.org/

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