|
Wednesday,
September 24,
2008 - 344 hits
Campus, housing authority honored for PAWS 'Best Practices'
The Housing and Urban Development Community Outreach Program
(HUD COPC) partnership between Penn State Altoona and the Altoona
Housing Authority has received a “Best Practices” Award for Merit for
its post-secondary mentoring program, Perseverance, Ambition and the
Will for Success (PAWS). The award comes from The
Pennsylvania Association of Housing and Redevelopment Agencies, an
affiliation of Pennsylvania's housing authorities, redevelopment
authorities, community development agencies, and nonprofit corporations. The PAWS program was created as an
outgrowth of a HUD COPC grant. The grassroots project helps residents
of the Fairview Hills low-income, government-housing complex apply to
post-secondary school and obtain financial aid to fund their education.
The program is free to the public and staffed by volunteers, three of
whom are PAWS alumnae. To date, PAWS has recruited and
assisted 16 low-income housing residents from Fairview Hills and other
sites select the appropriate post-secondary placement, initiate and
finalize the application process, and complete the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The 11 females and five males have
completed at least one semester at a post-secondary institute with a
median GPA of 3.0 or above. Thirteen low-income housing residents are
currently enrolled with two slated to start classes in the fall of
2009. Eight of the PAWS participants are
enrolled at Penn State Altoona. Two have joined the Job Corps, one
attended the Altoona Center for Nursing and another graduated from
Pruonto's Hair Design Institute. Academic focuses include: criminal
justice, social services, paralegal, human development and family
studies, nursing, communication, graphic design, business, computer
networking, eldercare and kinesiology.
left to right: Amanda Neff, PAWS participant and volunteer; Cheryl Johns, Altoona Housing Authority Executive Director; and Christina Frantz, PAWS participant and volunteer
|
RSS Headlines
