The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation Awards RISE Program Scholarship Grant to Elevate Phoenix.

“These students deserve a chance to create a future for themselves,” said entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bob Parsons. “Education is key to allowing DREAMers the opportunity to work towards obtaining their share of the American Dream.”

Each year, Elevate Phoenix assists more than 4,500 at-risk, urban youth through its unique, relationship-based approach. The organization has achieved high-level results including a 98 percent senior graduation rate (compared to the state average of 75.1 percent) and a 90 percent post-secondary entry rate over the last five years. Most of these students are first generation college entries and go on to participate in a variety of educational and cultural enrichment activities both on and off campus.

“The name DREAMers truly fits these young adults because for them college was just a dream, but thanks to The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation getting their degree soon will be a reality,” said Tim Cleary, Elevate Phoenix’s Executive Director. “This grant is tremendously important to our organization because we have worked with these students for many years through our other programs and this will ensure they can complete an Associates degree, pursue higher education if desired and start working towards getting their dream job. “

“We are proud to continue our support of Elevate Phoenix and provide scholarships for these students,” said Renee Parsons.  “The education, mentoring and support offered by this organization truly changes the lives of at-risk children in our community.”

Elevate Phoenix’s RISE Program helps low-income students who are at tremendous risk of dropping out of high school to make it through graduation. The program goes on to help them envision and achieve a successful future by assisting with college enrollment, providing support throughout the academic journey and helping them prepare for employment. RISE has maintained a high retention rate of 93 percent over the past four years, student cohorts have a GPA of more than 3.0 and all students in the program are employed. To learn more about Elevate Phoenix and how you can get involved, visit: www.ElevatePhoenix.org.