"Hand Up" College Support Program
Passion for Life, Inc. launched its College Support Program in 2010. The College Support Program assists students who do not have financial or emotional support from home. Instead of giving these students a "hand out," we offer them a "hand up." Our goal is to be their support system and eliminate financial stress so they can focus on studying and succeeding academically. We also provide our students with emotional support, motivation, encouragement, care packages, and an allowance for incidentals.
Why Is This Program Important?
The U.S. Department of Education found that 41% of low-income students enrolled in a four-year institution managed to graduate within five years. For higher income students, this jumps to 66%. Of the low income students that did not return, 47% left in good academic standing. It is estimated that 40% of college students will leave higher education without getting a degree, with 75% percent of these students leaving within their first two years of college.
DONTAVIOUS TAYLOR BIO
Dontavious Taylor, Passion for Life's first Hand Up College Support Program recipient, is currently a sophomore at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Dontavious comes from a single parent household and is a first generation high school graduate and college student. In addition to assistance from Passion for Life’s Hand Up College Support Program, Dontavious has student loans and works several jobs during the summer to pay the balance of his tuition.
A natural leader, Dontavious has served as an Ambassador and Mentor to Morehouse’s Ambassadors Program, a Senator in the Morehouse Student Government Association, and as a Team Leader for the Project GRAD Leadership Team. In 2009, Dontavious received over 8 scholarships and awards including:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Award
Atlanta Hawks Scholarship Award
McDonald;s Ray A. Kroc Award
Bill Maness Good Samaritan Award
George W. Brumley-GRAD Scholars Award
First TEAM America, Inc. Service Award
G.W. Carver Guidance and Counseling Award
Councilman Ivory Lee Young Leadership Award
