Bristol County Savings gives UMass $30K grant

DARTMOUTH – The Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation is giving a three-year, $30,000 grant to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to expand a program that matches university students with public school students to encourage leadership, educational attainment and community service.
The Leadership for Educational Attainment Developed through Service program, already under way in New Bedford’s Normandin and Keith middle schools, now will be expanded to the Roosevelt Middle School and New Bedford High School.
“The university is a powerful engine of social and economic development in our region, and we believe this partnership will have a transformative impact on children in New Bedford by encouraging them to work hard at their education and serve their community,” Bristol County Savings Bank President Dennis Kelly said.
The goals of the program are to increase the civic engagement of New Bedford public school students, the leadership skills of the grade school and university students, the engagement of grade school students in their schools to prevent dropouts, and younger students’ awareness of and aspiration to college=level studies.
Almost one-third (32.4 percent) of residents 25 and older in the Southcoast region of Massachusetts do not have a high school diploma, compared to 15.2 percent statewide.
Bristol County Savings Bank is a full-service financial institution founded in 1846. It has $1.05 billion in assets and 244 employees, serving Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., from 10 branch offices, two educational branch offices, five lending centers and its headquarters on Broadway in Taunton. Additional information is available at ww.bristolcountysavings.com..

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