Boys & Girls Club of Dane County (BGCDC) recently received numerous grants from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, which combined will be over $1.2 Million dollars in support.

BGCDC made the formal announcement today at Madison East High School Library. The announcement included Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Cheatham, Michael Johnson, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, and Amy Kerwin, vice president of community investments for Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation.

The three-year, $720,000 TOPS program grant will enable the AVID/TOPS program to expand academic tutoring to help participating students improve their grades in regular and AP/Honors classes. The $100,000 capacity building grant has allowed BGCDC to hire additional development staff in order to increase the organization’s fundraising efforts. Lastly, the two-year, $447,000 College Ready Scholars Grant will provide 75 Verona Area High School students assistance with math and English, composed of tutoring and a special course taught by qualified instructors. It also will help provide one-on-one coordinators who can help students work through life issues and focus on their studies.

“Great Lakes is pleased to continue our support of the Boys & Girls Club because they share our goal of making college a reality for more low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students,” said Kerwin. “Our multi-year commitments to the AVID/TOPS and College Ready Scholars programs will help prepare over 900 Madison and Verona high school students for college – and, in turn, help narrow the achievement gap in our community.”

“The support of Great Lakes will give our young people the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Johnson. “We need to ensure that our kids will graduate from college and become productive citizens.”

Boys and Girls Club President Michael Johnson holds a check for $1.2 million from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation.
Boys and Girls Club President Michael Johnson holds a check for $1.2 million from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation.

Boys & Girls Club was selected as a Great Lakes College Ready grant partner based on the strategies it has developed with Madison Metropolitan High Schools and Verona Area High School to prepare students for college, and its commitment to tracking results.

“From providing students with intensive academic coaching to arranging field trips to colleges across the state, the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County would not be able to support students on their path to college acceptance and graduation without the generous support of Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation,” said Anne Gillespie, Chief Academic Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. “We could not be more grateful and are thrilled about our continued partnership that will continue to profoundly shape the lives of young people.”

“AVID/TOPS is an incredibly positive partnership that supports our students in consistently achieving academic results, graduating from high school and going on to college,” Cheatham said. “Thank you, Great Lakes, for so generously supporting this work and thank you to the Boys and Girls Club.”