Beverly, MA -- The Verizon Foundation recently awarded a renewal grant of $10,000 to Keys to Degrees, the program for single parents at Endicott College, to be used for the expanded mentoring program and the residential summer program for young single parents from the North Shore area.
Keys to Degrees: Educating Two Generations Together is a program at Endicott designed for academically qualified students ages 18-24 at the time they enter the program, who are the parents of a young child. Endicott College, a comprehensive institution with a focus on the liberal and professional arts located in Beverly, Massachusetts, is deeply concerned about young men and women who become single parents before they have an opportunity to attend college and complete their education. In an effort to make a difference in the lives of these young men and women, Endicott developed Keys to Degrees: a program that puts a baccalaureate degree within reach for young single parents who seek a better life for themselves and for their children. This comprehensive program brings educational opportunity to a largely under-served population.
"Education is key," says Wylie. "The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 75 percent of future positions are expected to require at least some type of certificate or licensure. They also project that positions in professions requiring a Bachelor degree will grow nearly twice as fast as the national average, which makes a college degree a good investment. We have seen single parents' lives transformed on our campus, and we want to continue to invest in these young people."
The Keys to Degrees Program is in its 13th academic year as of the fall of 2010. We are pleased to report that four Keys students graduated last May, majoring in English, Spanish, Visual Communications and Biotechnology. Five more Keys students are on track to graduate from Endicott College in May of 2011. Through mentoring, community service and the summer informational program, Keys students at Endicott reach out to large numbers of youth at risk, teen parents and people in need in the entire North Shore community.
About The Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation's Mission is to improve education, literacy, family safety and healthcare by supporting Verizon's commitment to deliver technology that touches life. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than $500 million in the United States and around the world to help others. Verizon matches its employees' donations of time and money, which in 2009 totaled more than 700,000 hours and $12.6 million. Of the nearly $68 million of charitable contributions made by the Verizon Foundation in 2009, $14.7 million went toward the Foundation's support of volunteerism.
About Endicott College
Located in Beverly, Massachusetts on 235 acres of oceanfront property, Endicott College offers Master and Bachelor degree programs in the professional and liberal arts. Founded in 1939, Endicott provides an education built upon a combination of theory and practice, which is tested through internships and work experience. Studying at the Beverly campus, regionally, and internationally are approximately 2,200 undergraduate and more than 2,400 adult and graduate students.
Photo: Stan Usovicz (middle) of Verizon presents check to President Richard E. Wylie and Program Director Jill Sullivan of Endicott College.