Carver High School seniors and parents were on hand this afternoon attending the kick-off for the Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) Memphis 2016-2017 Awareness Campaign. This program is organized in Memphis and Shelby County by the Memphis Talent Dividend. The focus of this campaign is to build awareness of financial aid opportunities for graduating high school seniors and non-traditional students.
This event is one of several scheduled during the next couple of months. “Last year, Memphis Talent Dividend was able to assist more than 7,000 students with their application process,” said Renee McCreight, Director of Memphis Talent Dividend. “Our goal is to increase that number through a series of scheduled events and through partner organizations hosting FAFSA workshops.”
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell spoke on the importance of this campaign. “The future of this community lies in the investment we put in our youth,” said Mayor Luttrell. “It is essential that we support every effort in helping students continue their education after high school, as well as adults seeking to complete their degree. Not only will our individual citizens benefit from college degrees, but families will be impacted for generations to come.”
The weekend of February 6th is FAFSA Memphis Goal Weekend where churches and organizations across the county will work with students to complete their forms. If an organization is interested in participating they can contact Alton Cryer, Program Coordinator for the Memphis Talent Dividend at 901.278.0016 or acryer@leadershipmemhis.org. Free workshops will be held through June 30th of this year.
The FAFSA MEMPHIS campaign is presented by the Memphis Talent Dividend and its partners and supported by a grant from the Kresge Foundation.
Leadership Memphis
Leadership Memphis is a non-profit, community leadership development organization. Its mission is to prepare and mobilize leaders to work together for the good of the whole community. Founded in 1977 as The Memphis Institute of Public Responsibility, the organization has trained and graduated more than 2,500 leaders from its signature programs: Executive, FastTrack, Criminal/Juvenile Justice, and Grassroots. Its Action Initiatives are Memphis Talent Dividend/Graduate Memphis, and SUCCESS High Schools.
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