The Rho Nu Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has been selected to receive part of a $1 million grant to support its Go-to-High School, Go-to-College mentoring initiative.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, the world’s oldest intercollegiate fraternity founded by African-American men, was awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in October as part of the expansion of its 93-year-old mentoring program, Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College. The fraternity announced in October that it was providing sub-award grants to forty of its chapters throughout the country, representing twenty-eight geographic regions in America. The Carrollton-based Rho Nu Lambda chapter will receive a sub-grant to support its mentoring program in the North Dallas area.
“The effort of this chapter to help secure the grant funds shows the commitment of Rho Nu Lambda to the next generation of leaders,” said Corey Wilson, Rho Nu Lambda chapter president. “The allotted funds will open an avenue of programming, resources and tools needed to better assist with training youth to become positive products of society.”
As a key component of this program, which is currently implemented in each of the fraternity’s 700 chapters worldwide, fraternity members will connect program participants from age 6 to 17 with an adult mentor and provide them with valuable resources, as well as one-on-one and group mentoring opportunities aimed at reducing truancy and increasing graduation rates. Rho Nu Lambda’s mentoring program serves students enrolled in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD) and Dallas Independent School District (DISD). This sub-award will allow the chapter to expand its existing program by targeting more minority males who, based on academic and behavioral history, may be at risk of dropping out of school.
School districts, and public and independent agencies across the nation continue to work tirelessly to combat the chronic social and academic issues facing young minority males. While some progress has been made, there is still an overwhelming gap in academic performance due to various socioeconomic issues. Community-based organizations such as Alpha Phi Alpha aim to provide another resource that can be leveraged as a partner in the development and uplifting of the underprivileged and downtrodden youth in our society.
“Although, collectively, high school students overall are graduating at a rate higher than ever before, and some say that there are signs that the achievement gap is incrementally closing, minority students still lag behind the national average in getting a high school diploma,” said Alpha Phi Alpha General President Mark S. Tillman. “Alpha men will continue to raise the collective consciousness of our nation. Whether it is in the streets protesting detrimental policies that adversely affect the disenfranchised or mentoring young men one-on-one, the need to strengthen and, indeed, expand Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College has never been more prescient.”
For more information about Alpha Phi Alpha and Go-To-High-School, Go-To-College, visit www.apa1906.net.
