A Blast from College Now's Past: 1987
One of the best parts about celebrating a milestone like a 50th Anniversary is the opportunity to dig through old files and photos! This month, we came across a newsletter from spring, 1987, when College Now (then The Cleveland Scholarship Program, or CSP) was celebrating its 20th Anniversary.

The 2oth Anniversary was celebrated with a luncheon keynoted by the U.S. Secretary of Education, William J. Bennett, and the newsletter also featured an editorial from The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which talks about CSP as a model for similar organizations nationwide, the uniqueness of the private sector's involvement in higher education and ends on the following note: "Clarence W. Mixon, CSP's Executive Director, believes the program's future will continue to focus on increasing grants and providing guidance to students. The organization's track record gives reason for continued optimism about its success."

Click the cover image below to read more about CSP/College Now's 20th Anniversary!

Attention Students: New External Scholarship Database

Just in time for financial aid and scholarship season, College Now is pleased to present its new and improved external scholarship database! In partnership with the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center's coding boot camp, the College Now IT and Data team developed a new database that allows users the ability to search for scholarships and apply via the web.  Click the image below to begin searching for scholarships!

The Scholarship for a New Generation

As we enter this season of giving, College Now is grateful to all the individuals who are involved with us every day - as thoughtful donors, involved mentors and longstanding partners in our work to increase postsecondary educational attainment in Northeast Ohio through college and career access advising, financial aid counseling and scholarship and retention services.

John Sullivan Wilson exemplifies this commitment; Mr. Wilson recently established a fund at The Cleveland Foundation to provide renewable scholarships to College Now to award to academically qualified immigrants and first-generation US citizens who live in Greater Cleveland. To be eligible, these students also must come from low-income backgrounds and pursue four-year college degrees. 
 
As a region, Greater Cleveland has long benefitted from the creativity, talent and diversity which immigrants and their families provide. It is Mr. Wilson's goal that with The Scholarship for a New Generation, future students - with families from all over the world - will continue to have the ability to earn their postsecondary credentials and continue to give back to this community. 
 
College Now will select the first recipient of The Scholarship for a New Generation in May 2018. On behalf of all future recipients, College Now thanks Mr. Wilson for his foresight and generosity. For those interested in making contributions to the Fund, please click here.
Partner Spotlight: Westfield Insurance

With the support from the Westfield Insurance Foundation of our Adult Programs and Services, College Now helps parents and caregivers earn postsecondary credentials and/or manage burdensome student loan debt. Our work aligns perfectly with the Westfield Insurance Foundation's interest in stabilizing economically vulnerable families. Thanks to Westfield's philanthropy, College Now offers these distinct services, tailored specifically to hundreds of adult, non-traditional students, free of charge. While College Now partners with many other organizations across Northeast Ohio that target workforce development in a variety of different capacities, College Now is the only community-based college access organization that comprehensively provides individualized assistance with every step in the postsecondary education application and enrollment process.
 
Additionally, Westfield Insurance significantly increased its involvement with our Mentoring Program last year. In just one year, Westfield recruited an additional 24 employees to volunteer as new mentors. The company has also supported College Now's annual career fair for students, MentorInCLE Connect, since it began in 2012. Westfield's Group Underwriting and Product Leader, Beth Riczko, also on the Board of College Now, characterizes the relationship between Westfield and College Now as one of mutual benefit. "Serving on the College Now board is an honor for me as it aligns with my passion for education and desire to give back to the community.  I am equally fortunate to work at Westfield, a company committed to giving back, surrounded by folks who share a passion for service.   It has been great to see these two great organizations come together as we recruited for College Now mentors at Westfield, resulting in nearly 30 mentors! The Westfield team looks forward to playing a role in the success of first-generation college students through this important program."
 
Many thanks to Westfield Insurance, and to all our partner organizations! If your organization would like to partner more closely with College Now, please contact Kittie Warshawsky at kwarshawsky@collegenowgc.org or 216.635.0155. 

Mentoring Program Produces Musical Collaboration



Team Mentor is excited to share that one of its mentoring pairs collaborated on a recently released EP! Mentor Adam Reifsynder, formerly of Walk the Moon and current Honeybucket frontman, released his first solo EP, "Phases," earlier this month with the help of his mentee, Anthony Miozzi. Anthony, now graduated from Capital University with a degree in Music Production, used the three songs from "Phases" as part of his senior project. You can find the EP on iTunes. Congrats, Adam and Anthony!
College Now Greater Cleveland | 216.241.5587 
info@collegenowgc.org | www.collegenowgc.org
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