Greater Cincinnati Foundation gives Connect2Success $125,000

It's never too late to learn.

Thanks to a $125,000 gift from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF), Connect2Success ensures that those in Cincinnati who didn't finish secondary school are getting another shot.

Connect2Success, a program run by Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (CSTCC) and Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates (JCG), has a clear mission:  bring Cincinnati's high school dropouts back into school, and to graduate.

In the long run, this goal is important in that it leads to a greater likelihood that these school returnees will have a better chance of earning a sustainable income.

This is achieved through two main routes.  One, students may return to traditional or charter schools, join credit recovery programs, or earn their GEDs through partner institutions.  Another possible outcome of Connect2Success is the provision of post-secondary education at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, among others.

Other aims of Connect2Success are to raise funds for job and life skill training, subsidized day care, promoting cooperative learning opportunities and identifying jobs for those who must work as they complete the program.

There are over 25 other institutions involved in the program, alongside CSTCC and JCG, including Cincinnati Public Schools' ABLE and GED programs, the Greater Cincinnati Urban League, YWCA and others.

The program has received an upbeat response from many who have gone through it.

“I used to hate to go to school; now I can’t wait to get there every day,’’ says participant Aisha Briggerman, 18, of College Hill.  “I love to get up in the morning.”

Alongside funding from the GCF, Connect2Success also receives stage one endorsement from Strive, a KnowledgeWorks program, and has over $500,000 in public funding in the pipeline from Hamilton County Commissioners and the state of Ohio.


Writer:  Jonathan DeHart
Source:  Cincinnati State Community and Technical College

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