Pictured from left: Chad Zaucha, CEO Kosciusko Community YMCA, Jerry Yeager, KCCF board, Suzie Light, KCCF, Brett Boggs, Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, David Hoffert, Warsaw Community School Corporation, and Tom Edington, Wawasee Community School Corporation.

“For the past several years, the Community Foundation has been looking at ways to support education, and in particular to help meet some of education’s most pressing needs in our county,” said Suzie Light, executive director of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. “We learned from bringing both Dr. Ruby Payne and Dr. Eric Jensen to the community, the importance of all children having a future story.”

Kosciusko County Promise is the latest program designed to help local students pursue post-secondary education. Kosciusko is one of four pilot communities in northern Indiana, and the Kosciusko Community YMCA is sponsoring the local program.

On June 8, the KCCF awarded a $50,000 grant to support the program. “We believe that Kosciusko County Promise offers some simple tools to help children from all socioeconomic backgrounds develop their own future story that includes technical training or college,” Light says.

The program takes a three-pronged approach. First, Kosciusko Promise makes a $25 match to families who start a 529 college savings plan. “Students who have their own college savings account are seven times more likely to attend college,” says Chad Zaucha, CEO of the Kosciusko Community YMCA. “However, this project is not just about saving for post-secondary education. This project is about instilling hope in our children, investing in the future of our community and ensuring that we are building a foundation where everyone believes they can achieve.”

Another prong of Kosciusko County Promise is to bring post-secondary education discussion into the classrooms; the other is to hold a “Walk into My Future” event each year. The event will take kindergarteners, first graders and second graders to visit and explore a local college.

“We realize how important it is for students to develop their dreams early in their educational career,” says Dr. David Hoffert, superintendent of Warsaw Community School Corporation. “This program will be a catalyst that will encourage students to explore college and career opportunities knowing that the community fully supports their advancement towards their dreams.”

“We’re all in on this,” adds Wawasee Community School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Tom Edington. “It’s great to be working together on this opportunity.”

While Kosciusko County Promise does help provide for a traditional college education, it also supports alternative career paths. Edington notes that approximately 25 percent of students nearing graduation will forgo universities for trade schools, apprenticeships or going straight into the workforce. And Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation have programs, like the building trades classes, designed to prepare students for such career paths.

“Planning for the future begins today, and by supporting our young children and their families through Kosciusko County Promise a strong foundation is being established for tomorrow,” says Brett Boggs, superintendent of TVSC. “Thank you to the Kosciusko County Community Foundation for its continued support of education in in our county. By awarding this generous proactive grant to Kosciusko County Promise, children from all socioeconomic backgrounds will have the opportunity to develop their future story, one that includes education beyond high school. Also, thank you to the Kosciusko Community YMCA for sponsoring this exciting pilot program.”

To learn more about Kosciusko County Promise or to discuss how you can be involved, please contact Brenda Faulkner at (574) 269-9622, ext. 224 or [email protected].