Page 4 - eagle080521

PAGE 4 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN August 5, 2021

INKSTER - WAYNE
INKSTER - WAYNE

Learn to earn

Wayne Champions program receives

$500,000 funding endowment pledge

Wayne Memorial High School students Wayne County which last year served
can continue to compete for cash based on 16,000 children and adults. The program
improving their grades. offers early childhood and mental health
The Champions of Wayne program, an support among a vast array of other servic-
educational incentive program established es as part of the 25 programs operated by
at Wayne Memorial High School in 2008, the agency throughout Wayne County.
has received a pledge of $550,000 from the The champions program, open to all stu-
Helppie Family Charitable Foundation. dents at Wayne Memorial High School, con-
The grant, to be delivered over five years, is tinues unchanged as originally developed
designed to be the sustaining financial and maintains the champions name. The
base for the champions program at the Guidance Center will seek additional and
school. Helppie Foundation co-founders new funders to achieve the goals of the pro-
Richard and Leslie Helppie have been the gram and enhance student impact.
primary sponsors of the champions pro- From its inception in 2008 with a small Richard Helppie, at left, of the Helppie Family Charitable Foundation and one of the
gram since 2009 and have contributed number of student champions (the student Wayne Memorial High School 'Champions' along with Lisa Styers of Arrow Cares, Kari
more than $1.3 million to the grade- participants are referred to as champions) D. Walker, president and CEO of The Guidance Center and Dr. James Anderson princi-
pal of Wayne Memorial High School celebrate the new endowment outside Wayne
enhancement opportunity. Students sign a the program has grown significantly, reach- Memorial High School.
contract to make a specific grade point ing 600 students and 130 mentors in some
improvement and choose a mentor to help semesters. Academic improvements are Wayne Memorial High School and work to and continued success.” Dr. James
them achieve their goal. When they make seen in 65 percent of the champions. expand the effective program to other Anderson, principal of Wayne Memorial
their goal, the program pays them $200 in Champions who successfully achieve their school districts in Wayne County,” High School, added.
cash as a reward for their improved grades. goals for a semester receive their $200 explained The Guidance Center President Richard Helppie, co-founder of the
Champions also has received a commit- incentive and are celebrated at an awards and CEO Kari Walker who has been serv- Helppie Family Charitable Foundation
ment from Jeff and Lisa Styers, adding banquet. At the end of each semester stu- ing as board chair for Champions of Wayne. was enthusiastic about the new venture.
another $50,000 to their support as found- dents look forward to the awards and Walker is an alumnus of Wayne Memorial “Champions of Wayne has had a materi-
ing donors. recognitions banquet that includes inspira- High School. al positive impact on both individual stu-
Simultaneous with the grant from the tional speakers, shared success stories, and “Since coming to Wayne Memorial in dents and the learning culture at Wayne
Helppie Foundation, champions has individual recognition. To date the pro- 2019, I have seen firsthand how Champions Memorial. Leslie and I have long sought a
announced that the program operations gram has provided more than $600,000 in of Wayne impacts students' lives in positive way to give champions a pathway to perpe-
will combine with The Guidance Center awards at banquet celebrations to the stu- ways. This partnership between tuity. By combining with the outstanding
(TGC). TGC, established in 1958, is one of dent champions. Champions of Wayne and The Guidance management of TGC, we believe that the
the premier non-profit organizations in “The goal is to serve all students at Center solidifies the future of the program program's future is very bright.”
Free Comcast wi-fi ‘Lift Zone’ is now open in Inkster

The first wi-fi connected “Lift Zone” is “We believe the Lift Zone will not only
now open in Inkster. provide access to a necessary and essen- ”
The service, provided by Comcast, tial service, but also it will empower our We are quickly working to ensure the
offers free robust WiFi in safe spaces community,” said Kristin Burney, interim
designed to help students access the inter- executive director of New Step children in our community have the
net, participate in distance learning and Community Development. “We are quickly programming and the safe space
do homework, especially in areas where working to ensure the children in our
there is a significant digital divide. Low- community have the programming and to help them succeed.
income students face a great risk of being the safe space to help them succeed.”
left behind, particularly during the sum- In March, Comcast announced it will
mer months while school is out, Comcast invest $1 billion nationally over the next New Step Community Development will nect to the Internet have access to these
officials noted and these Lift Zones are 10 years to help further close the digital help those families who are unable to con- life-changing opportunities.”
designed to help those students who, for a divide and give even more low-income
variety of reasons, are unable to connect Americans the tools and resources they
to the internet at home. need to succeed in an increasingly digital
Lift Zones also serve adults and can world.
connect them to online education, job The Comcast $1 billion commitment
searches, healthcare information and pub- includes investments in several critical
lic assistance. These sites offer access to areas, including: additional support for
hundreds of hours of digital skills content the ongoing Lift Zone initiative; new lap-
to help families and site coordinators nav- top and computer donations; grants for
igate online learning, officials explained. nonprofit community organizations to cre-
The Lift Zone in Inkster is a partner- ate opportunities for low-income
ship with New Step Community Americans, particularly in media, technol-
Development and Inkster Housing ogy and entrepreneurship and continued
Commission, along with Comcast. A grand investment in the landmark Internet
opening of the new facility took place last Essentials program. It is estimated that
week at 29150 Carlysle St. in Inkster. these new commitments will impact as
“This is a fantastic and critical partner- many as 50 million Americans over the
ship,” said Aaron Cooper, executive direc- next 10 years. In 2021 alone, Comcast esti-
tor of the Inkster Housing Commission. mates students will be able to complete
“The ability for such an established com- more than 25 million hours of remote
pany, like Comcast, to invest in the com- learning lessons to further address the
munities with the most need is very “homework gap” at the hundreds of Lift
important - especially in the arena of low- Zone locations that have already opened
income, affordable housing. Our residents or will open soon.
have been the most disconnected, and the “A connection to the Internet is impor-
pandemic made this even more evident as tant to every family, whether they are
so many of our families were dispropor- learning from home, applying for jobs or
tionately affected.” Cooper said that dur- scheduling medical appointments,” said
ing the grand opening, residents were Tim Collins, senior vice president of
shown how the Lift Zone can help them Comcast in Michigan. “Our partnership
get connected online. with the Inkster Housing Commission and

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