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April 21, 2008
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Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection gets a booster shot from local health insurance provider
Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection receives major grant from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield to fund program’s expansion in Syracuse city schools
Syracuse, NY-April 21, 2008- Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection announced today that the program has received a major grant from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield that will impact the future of the program and the services it provides to students in city schools.
Over the course of the next five years, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection will utilize the $160,000 grant to bolster workforce development in Syracuse and increase the graduation rate in city schools through an expansion of the program to help an additional 50 students.
“We're thrilled about the grant. The students will benefit by working with youth advocates who will help them to develop good habits, achieve academic success, and become responsible young people at home, at work, and in their community,” said Wayne O’Connor, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection-Syracuse executive director.
During the 2007-2008 school year, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection has provided services, including academic support, part-time employment experience, and access to professional mentors, to 180 students in the Syracuse city schools. Through its work with these students, and the program’s proven ability to turn around the city’s dropout rate, businesses have come to see Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection as a good investment.
"Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is pleased to support programs that positively affect the lives of adults and children alike. We see Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection as an ideal investment in a qualified workforce for the future," said James Reed, regional president, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
About Hillside Work-Scholarship
Connection
Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, founded in 1987 by Robert and Danny Wegman,
is an affiliate of Hillside Family of Agencies. Hillside Work-Scholarship
Connection helps urban youth stay in high school by providing academic support,
part-time employment experience, and professional mentors (youth advocates) who
help their students to develop good habits, achieve academic success, and become
responsible young people at home, at work, and in their community.
Hillside Family of Agencies (www.hillside.com) is a family and children services organization that provides child welfare, mental health, youth development, juvenile justice, special education, and developmental disabilities services across central and western New York. Hillside Family of Agencies is comprised of affiliates Crestwood Children's Center, Crestwood Children's Foundation, Hillside Children's Center, Hillside Children's Foundation, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, and Snell Farm Children's Center.
About Excellus
BlueCross BlueShield
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a nonprofit independent licensee of the BlueCross
BlueShield Association, is part of a family of companies that finances and
delivers vital health care services to 2 million people across upstate New York.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield provides access to high-quality, affordable health
coverage, including valuable health-related resources that our members use every
day, such as cost-saving prescription drug discounts and wellness tracking tools
in our Step Up program. To learn more, visit
www.excellusbcbs.com.
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