Governor Deal gave a speech. Dignitaries from throughout the state’s government were scattered in the audience. Yet it was the 32 2018 REACH GA graduates that had everyone in the building.

REACH Georgia is Georgia’s first needs-based mentorship and college scholarship program. The mission is to ensure that Georgia’s academically promising students have the academic, social, and financial support needed to graduate from high school, access college, and to achieve postsecondary success.

The Governor created the REACH GA scholarship program in 2012. At the announcement ceremony he said the scholarship “rewards students for self-accountability, promotes parent involvement and provides motivation and support; all factors that we know are critical in student educational achievement.”

Cut to yesterday and we got to see the fruits of that labor as 32 seniors from all across Georgia were honored for their hard work. Students who faced barriers to graduation signed onto the program by committing themselves to doing all that the program asked for their entire high school careers. The graduates received $10,000 scholarships toward higher education upon completion of the program.

REACH Scholars are selected in middle school and sign a contract along with their parent/guardian to maintain a 2.5 GPA, remain crime, drug, and behavior issue free, and meet with a volunteer mentor and academic coach until they graduate from high school.

To be awarded their scholarship, each Scholar must continue to meet program requirements until high school graduation. If a student does not fulfill program standards, they risk losing their $10,000 scholarship.

Today, REACH serves 103 school systems across Georgia and nearly 1,200 Scholars, committing over $17 million in scholarships.

If you would like to donate to the REACH GA program you can do so by clicking this link. 100 percent of the donations go toward the scholarships for Georgia students.

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