GRADUATION REALLY ACHIEVES DREAMS
Newsletters
Celebrating the achievements of our remarkable students
Thanks to your unwavering support, we continue to uplift and empower our students, giving them opportunities to shine. Collaborating with a variety of entities, Project GRAD Akron has been able to offer many services for students to engage in a variety of summer experiences.
In this update, we celebrate the achievements of our remarkable students. We are so pleased with the incredible partnerships and experiences that the students were exposed to during this summer. We are also very pleased to announce the Homecoming Court for our 18th annual Achieving Dreams event on September 7, 2024.
Staff, Volunteer and Graduate Highlights
We're thrilled to spotlight the remarkable individuals who exemplify our mission of empowering students to succeed.
From recent graduates to staff and volunteers, they inspire us to continue fostering educational excellence and empowering our community. If you’re interested in learning more or making a difference, we look forward to welcoming you to the Project GRAD Akron community!
Our 10th Annual Slam Dunk Event
Whether your brackets were busted or you won big, join us for a post-tourney celebration at our 10th Annual March GRADness event.
We'll have all the same games, food, and good times you've come to expect from our annual event, but none of the bracket stress!
Leaping with Opportunities
The second semester of the 2023-2024 school year continues to find our staff and volunteers busy with implementing the various programs and services in six schools in the Akron Public Schools.
We began the new year with a retreat consisting of combined staff members from Project GRAD Akron (PGA) and the Akron Public Schools (APS), who are jointly implementing the AIM HIGH GEAR UP grant for students currently in the 8th and 9th grades. It was wonderful watching the teams come together to implement strategies to support student success.
Help us continue supporting the dreams of young people!
We walk side by side with our students from kindergarten to college and beyond, keeping them supported and succeeding with continued guidance, scholarships and programs. And none of this would be possible without the help of people like YOU.
We are Thankful and Grateful
I am very thankful and appreciative of the wonderful partnerships we have developed at Project GRAD Akron. We are fortunate to live in a collaborative community, where people enjoy working together for the common good. In this newsletter edition, I will highlight just a few of the things that we are thankful for at Project GRAD Akron!
Achieving Dreams Recap
On behalf of Project GRAD Akron, please accept our sincere appreciation for your support of this year's Achieving Dreams' Back to School Bash! Our guests had a great deal of fun and enjoyed taking a "Walk Down Memory Lane" as many relived their school days!
The Achieving Dreams' Back to School Bash raised significant funds to support Project GRAD Akron! The net proceeds from sponsorships, ticket sales, advertisements, donations, raffles, and auctions were earmarked to support our programs, services, and scholarship fund!
It has been so much fun to watch our students engage in the summer activities!
This newsletter will provide you a brief glimpse in the variety of activities and experience that are students enjoyed as well as for you to see some of the Class of 2023 scholarship recipients as they begin pursuing their post-secondary options.
Thank you for making Project GRAD Akron's 9th Annual March GRADness a success
We have received so many positive comments about the event! From all accounts, March GRADness was another "Slam Dunk" fundraiser!
PGA's 9th Annual March GRADness
Project GRAD Akron's 9th Annual March GRADness will be held on Monday, April 3, 2023, with delicious food stations, raffles, games, beverages and more!
Executive Director, Jacqueline Silas-Butler, and board member, Charles Parnell, were interviewed by WKYC Channel 3 - Cleveland for the segment called “We the People."
Happy 2023 from Project GRAD Akron!
In this newsletter, we reflect on the last few months of 2022 and all of the support we received.
We also look ahead to what's on the horizon for 2023 and how we will use grants and funding that we've received to support a variety of our initiatives our students.
Two Weeks until PGA's Achieving Dreams Gala
We are two weeks away from Project GRAD Akron's Achieving Dreams Celebration Gala on Saturday, October 15th.
Project GRAD Akron is celebrating our 20th year of providing programs, services, and scholarships to benefit students in the Akron Public Schools. We are excited to announce that the first $50,000 of the Gala’s net proceeds will support scholarships for students we serve at Buchtel and East in the Akron Public Schools, and the additional revenue will support our programs and services for students from kindergarten through college.
Join us for An Evening to Remember!
Project GRAD Akron is celebrating our 20th year of providing programs, services, and scholarships to benefit students in the Akron Public Schools. To celebrate this milestone occasion, we hope that you will join us for “An Evening to Remember” on Saturday, October 15, 2022 at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron, Ohio. The committee has been planning a wonderful evening to capture the important work that we have been doing to support students and families in the Akron Public Schools.
"E" Says it All for Project GRAD Akron!
The past two months have been extremely busy at Project GRAD Akron! Our staff and team members finished out the school-year activities; attended promotion and graduation ceremonies; prepared summer experiences for students; and just recently completed a three-week Summer Entrepreneurship Adventures for rising 8th and 9th graders, just to name a few of the activities! We are preparing for additional summer programs, including our Bridge to Kindergarten program, beginning in July.
The letter "E" Says it All! The programs have been educational, engaging, exhilarating, exciting, and extraordinary! I will add another "E" which is exhausting, but in an enjoyable way!
Project GRAD Akron Expands Our Reach
April has been another productive month for Project GRAD Akron. We have been busy with programs for students, held a very successful 8th annual March GRADness fundraiser, and more! Please read our latest newsletter, which features PGA Scholar Mikailah Ramsey, and PGA staff member, Matthew Futch!
Powerful Interactions = Positive Results!
In this edition of our e-newsletter, you will see how Powerful Interactions = Positive Results! Thank you to PGA Scholar, Brandon, and PGA Staff member, Tiara, for sharing your stories! Click here to read:
Strategic Programs + Strong Supporters = Student Success!
You often hear us recite our motto that "Graduation Really Achieves Dreams." At Project GRAD Akron, we begin our work with the end in mind. Student success requires strategic programs and strong supporters (board, staff, volunteers, donors, parents/guardians, community stakeholders, believers, and of course, students)! At every phase, we are always setting the stage for success!
Please enjoy our most recent newsletter including an interview with PGA Scholar, London Green, and PGA Board President, Marty Belsky.
February - Love of Our Students
The relationships we have established with the students and families includes talking and hearing what their concerns are and jointly trying to figure out solutions. Sometimes it takes additional resources; sometimes it takes making a referral; sometimes it takes being a listening ear; sometimes it takes leveraging connections; and all of the time, it takes a lot of prayer! Whatever your role in the relationships we are building, we thank you!
In this edition of our newsletter, we interview PGA scholar, Cordelle Harris, and Staff Member, Dr. Naomi White.
Discover the Impact of Your Donations
Today's thankful is dedicated to the donors to our Scholarship Fund. Since 2006, Project GRAD Akron has been blessed with the opportunity to support our college students from the Akron Public Schools with scholarship payments! Without your scholarship contributions, we would not be able to assist the students with the much-needed scholarship payments. Whatever the amount and no matter the frequency, it makes a difference!
Our latest newsletters features interviews with PGA Scholar, Mariah Muhammad, and Staff Member, Laurie Curfman.
A New Year at Project GRAD Akron
In this new year, it is our intention to share more about the work that we are doing, the services we are providing, and provide you with a closer look at some of our students, alumni, volunteers, staff, and supporters!
In each edition of our newsletter this year, you will see different examples of why we are "thankful" at Project GRAD Akron and how you are assisting us as we make positive and impactful differences in the lives of the people we serve!
In this month's newsletter, we highlight Board Member Pamela R. Valentine.