The Ford Driving Dreams Through Education grant program is bringing educational hope to America’s Latino community. Image by author.

One of the big issues in the United States the past few years has been education. Either we’re talking about not enough people going furthering their education in STEM fields or we’re talking about low graduation success numbers. Ford Motor Company decided not long ago to do something besides talking about it. Ford has partnered with LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens to address the issue in the Latin American community. Together they created the Ford Driving Dreams Through Education grant program.

The program is administered by ten LULAC councils who receive grants that they then use to create localized programs designed to combat the high school dropout rate. Since the grant program was established in 2010 more than a million dollars has been awarded to help more than 1,200 students realize their education potential and dreams and promote on-time high school graduation.

2015 winners in this program were recently announced. Ford and LULAC announced that over $180,000 has been or will be awarded this year to help grantees achieve their potential. The announcement was made at LULAC’s 86^th annual National Convention held early in July.

One program created through grants received has a 100% success rate. Image via co.chalkbeat.org.

Eight LULAC councils in the United States will receive $20,000 apiece over the next two school years in order to create dropout prevention programs in partnership with educational entities in their areas. These councils are:

• #47013 in Vancouver, WA
• #5385 in Moline, IL
• # 1 in Corpus Christi, TX
• #319 in Milwaukee, WI
• #2060 in Stockton, CA
• #756 in Little Rock, AR
• #313 in Chicago, IL
• #2862 in Sacramento, CA.

Due to the success that they have had, two grantee councils from 2013 have also been granted another $10,000 apiece to continue the great work they started with their original grants. The two councils are #4933 of Austin, TX and #8035 out of Albuquerque, NM. These grants will allow them to continue their successful programs of mentorship and academic support for another school year.

Ford’s manager of community outreach, Joe Avila is quoted as saying: “For six consecutive years, Ford Driving Dreams Through Education has activated local LULAC councils around the country. Together we have made an extraordinary impact on more than 1,200 students by providing them with access to technology resources and innovative opportunities that help them achieve academic success. Education will always be a priority for Ford because there is still much work to do to ensure that Hispanics attain solid education that will prepare them for the future.

The Milwaukee Council, one of the first to receive a grant, has a remarkable success record. All student participants in the council’s programs have achieved a 100% on time high school graduation rate. Even better, they also have a 100% college transition rate. Both numbers are remarkable and well over the national average. Participants in the council’s program are double-enrolled in both Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Each program class a student takes qualifies them for high school credits as well as credits that can be transferred at the college level.

For more information, check out the Ford Communities page.