2013 Ford Driving Dreams Through Education Winners Announced, Program Empowers Latino Students to Graduate

USA - English

• Latin America - español

LAS VEGAS, June 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Company Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens have announced the 2013 Ford Driving Dreams Through Education grantees. Eight winning LULAC councils each receive $20,000 over two school years to implement a high school dropout prevention program in partnership with an educational entity.

Each winning council will implement programs that uniquely address its local dropout crisis using student engagement activities ranging from music to mentoring. This year's winners are:

• Albuquerque, N.M. – Council No. 8035
• Austin, Texas – Council No. 4933
• Bartow, Fla. – Council No. 7227
• El Paso, Texas – Council No. 8
• Plano, Texas – Council No. 4537
• Pueblo, Colo. – Council No. 3043
• San Antonio, Texas – Council No. 4619
• Tucson, Ariz. – Council No. 1057

Another two councils – Council No. 39000 in Dayton, Ohio, and Council No. 9607 in Kansas City, Mo. – were selected from the 2011 recipients to receive an additional $10,000 to continue their programs.

"Ford Driving Dreams Through Education has encouraged more than 700 students to stay in school, graduate on time and pursue higher education," said Joedis Avila, manager of community outreach, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. "Programs like this help ensure young people have the education they need to one day compete in our global economy."

Recent studies indicate that while dropout rates are decreasing and college enrollment is increasing for Hispanics, Hispanic youth continue to lag behind white youth in both measures.

In 2011 about 14 percent of Hispanics, ages 16 to 24, were high school dropouts according to the Pew Research Center. In 2000 this rate was double – or 28 percent. For white students, the rate was 5 percent in 2011 and about 7 percent in 2000.

"Ford Driving Dreams Through Education helped me graduate on time, and I am thankful to LULAC and Ford for their commitment to the program," said Mario Machado, 19, a program participant who graduated in May from J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, Kan. "Thanks to the Ford Driving Dreams program, I now plan to major in legal interpreting at Johnson County Community College. I hope after the two-year program, I can get a job as a translator in the judicial system and help those who don't know English or cannot explain to a court what they are going through."

Hispanic students are the fastest-growing segment of the public school population. Nearly one in five public school students is Hispanic.

"In the past decade, Hispanic dropout rates have decreased by half, and that's something to be proud of," said LULAC National Executive Director Brent Wilkes. "We must work together to continue this positive trend."

"People need access to a high-quality education so they can compete at a global level. That's why our work with Ford Motor Company Fund is critical to our country's success," Wilkes added.

Ford Driving Dreams Through Education started in 2010, and to date 28 grant recipients have worked to keep students on the road to graduation. The grant selection process considers the best practices for engaging students, including mentorship programs, after-school volunteer and extracurricular programs, and parental involvement.

The winning programs also must be sustainable, reflect the local education landscape, and rely on partnerships with local education institutions.

The eight new LULAC councils will begin implementing their programs this fall, and the two model councils will continue their existing programs. For more information on Ford Driving Dreams, visit www.lulac.org/ford.

About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community partners to advance driving safety, education and American heritage and community life. The Ford Motor Company Fund has operated for more than 60 years with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. The award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program teaches new drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods. Innovation in education is encouraged through programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and retirees each year work on projects that better their communities in 30 countries. For more information, visit http://community.ford.com.

About the League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company Fund