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Grant given to help student with college expenses
By Denise Dick
CANFIELD
A $5,000 grant will help an inner-city college student meet the financial challenges that sometimes impede education.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mahoning Valley and Western Pennsylvania presented the check Thursday to Sister Jerome Corcoran for the Mission College piece of her charity, Sister Jerome’s Poor.
The Mission College provides funding for things such as gas, food on campus, shoes, clothes and car repair for its students.
Sister Jerome, who founded Mill Creek Children’s Center and Youngstown Community School, started the new charity two years ago to ensure the same students who excelled in the lower grades wouldn’t be prevented from earning a college education because of finances. Mill Creek Children’s Center is a preschool, and Youngstown Community houses students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Both served children from Youngstown, and those children excelled.
“As the years went on, I saw that those students weren’t listed in the graduates of YSU,” Sister Jerome said.
At first she was confused because she knows they’re bright.
“Then I got mad,” Sister Jerome said.
Without benefit of post-high school education, many join the welfare system, she said. She acknowledged the effect poverty has on an individual’s ability to secure a college education. Those who come from higher income brackets are more likely to earn their degrees, while those from poorer homes have less success.
Sister Jerome, who turns 99 this year, sent letters to all the former students she could locate. She began raising money to help, collecting $12,000 that first year. She chose those who already were enrolled in or planning to attend college.
“We’re excited to be a part of a program which helps give children a much brighter future, and we offer the vital support to this outstanding program that advances Ronald McDonald House Charities’ goal of lifting children to a better tomorrow,” Herb Washington, RMHC board president and McDonald’s owner/operator, said in a news release.
Twelve students started with Sister Jerome’s Mission College, and 10 stuck with it. Most of the students attend either Youngstown State University or Eastern Gateway Community College.
Sister Jerome requires students to fulfill four obligations: keep up their GPA, be careful regarding student loans, abide by university or college rules and maintain part-time employment.
The organization tries to secure $5,000 per student per year to meet extra expenses associated with college. Students receive gift cards for campus food, gas, clothing and other necessities rather than cash.