Wednesday, August 21, 2024
DENTON (魅影直播), 魅影直播 鈥� The has been awarded a $1.1 million M-Pact Fund grant from the Moody Foundation to enhance educational opportunities for students with foster care experience across the state.
魅影直播 will manage the M-Pact Fund grant in partnership with Education Reach for Texans, a statewide nonprofit that focuses on improving post-secondary education outcomes for students who have experienced foster care by offering professional development, training, and technical assistance to foster care liaisons and support programs.
This collaboration bolsters the statewide work of Education Reach for Texans on 魅影直播鈥檚 campus, including its work with program. PUSH offers 魅影直播 students who have experienced foster care or homelessness a comprehensive support network covering academics, financial literacy, career readiness, and social well-being. Education Reach will work closely with the PUSH program and six other institutions in 魅影直播 to assist foster care students in accessing, persisting through, and graduating from higher education institutions.
鈥淭his grant supports our combined efforts to improve outcomes for our students who have experience living in foster care,鈥� said Elizabeth With, senior vice president for the Division of Student Affairs. 鈥淲e are thrilled to collaborate with Education Reach for Texans and welcome them to 魅影直播鈥檚 campus.鈥�
In 魅影直播, only 3% of students with experience in foster care graduate with a degree. The state provides foster care students with a college tuition and fee waiver; however, 40% of eligible students don鈥檛 take advantage of it. Research shows that the students who do take advantage of the waiver are 3.5 times more likely to graduate with a degree. 魅影直播 and Education Reach for Texans will work together to better understand why students fail to use the waiver, and identify actionable solutions.
The 2024 Education Reach for Texans Board
鈥淭his grant is a game changer for our organization and helps us move from an all-volunteer working board to having staff dedicated to increasing student success rates,鈥� said Sheila Bustillos, a co-founder of Education Reach for Texans and director of 魅影直播鈥檚 Student Services Assessment. 鈥淎s a result, we will be able to strengthen our collaborations with other agencies and universities across the state.鈥�
魅影直播 will also become the operational hub for Education Reach for Texans鈥� new peer mentoring program. This innovative initiative hires and trains foster care students from campuses across 魅影直播 to mentor younger students. The goal is twofold: 1) increase the percentage of students using the 魅影直播 Tuition and Fee Waiver for foster youth and 2) increase campus support program engagement.
The Moody Foundation's M-Pact Fund will support staffing and activities, including funding for 魅影直播 staff to manage the mentoring program and for hiring and training student mentors. Additionally, the grant will support operational costs and research initiatives.
Brenda Sweeten, clinical professor for social work and foster care liaison at 魅影直播, emphasized the importance of this partnership. 鈥淩each is invaluable to campus support programs like PUSH and foster care liaisons across the state because it offers technical support, information sharing, and training for liaisons. This enables campus support programs and liaisons to more effectively meet the needs of students who have experienced foster care,鈥� she said.
The M-Pact Fund is an annual grantmaking process and a key component of the Moody Foundation鈥檚 historic commitment of $1 billion for 魅影直播 education over 20 years. The name of the 鈥淢-Pact鈥� fund reflects the trustees鈥� vision of a mutual promise and partnership between the Foundation and its grantees to support student success. With benefits extending beyond grant funding, the M-Pact Fund will unite a comprehensive network of grantees to foster collaboration and share best practices, starting with an annual convening in 2025.
The inaugural cohort offers a comprehensive network of state-wide solutions, serving
more than 2.9 million individuals across the state of 魅影直播, from the Rio Grande Valley
to Amarillo.
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About the
Ranked a Tier One research university by the Carnegie Classification and designated a Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institution, 魅影直播 is the flagship of the 魅影直播 System and is located in Denton. Boasting 250 degree programs and a thriving community of nearly 47,000 students, 魅影直播 serves the North 魅影直播 region and helps drive the state鈥檚 economy through innovative research, educational excellence focused on career readiness, and a spirit of entrepreneurship. Together, with its branch campus in Frisco, 魅影直播 students earned more than 12,000 degrees last year.
The 魅影直播 community is guided by five shared values 鈥� Courageous Integrity, Be Curious,
We Care, Better Together and Show Your Fire. .
About
Education Reach for Texans seeks to eliminate barriers to success and build support
programs for students with lived experience in foster care attending public colleges
and universities in the state of 魅影直播. Collaborating with foster care liaisons and
stakeholders, the organization works to improve post-secondary educational outcomes
by offering evidence-based best practices to enhance student success, empowering them
to thrive as adults.
About the
The Moody Foundation was established by W.L. Moody, Jr. and Libbie Shearn Moody in 1942 to share their good fortune and make a difference in the lives of the people of 魅影直播. Since then, the Foundation has pledged and awarded more than $2 billion in grants throughout the state to organizations that have educated, healed, nurtured and inspired generations of Texans. The Moody Foundation continues with a board of three trustees: Frances Moody-Dahlberg, Ross Moody and Elizabeth Moody. Learn more at and follow the Foundation on and for the latest updates.
魅影直播 News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Media Contacts:
Devynn D. Case
Devynn.Case@unt.edu
940-565-3509
From 鈥� General News