With deadlines to apply for college financial aid fast-approaching, a Richmond program providing free scholarship money and support has launched an aggressive campaign to ensure every last high school senior from Richmond and North Richmond can realize their college dreams.
On Friday, officials from the Richmond Promise program held a Financial Aid Kick-Off Rally at De Anza High School attended by all of the high school’s seniors and staff.
The event aimed to get high school seniors both aware and excited about securing funds for college, and invited all Richmond and North Richmond high school seniors to a series of workshops set to take place at both De Anza High and Kennedy High through March 2.
March 2 is the Cal Grant deadline for submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) or California Dream Act for the 2019-20 school year.
The workshops will also prepare students for the Richmond Promise scholarship application deadline of March 8.
The Richmond Promise provides funds of up to $6,000 to Richmond graduates of any public, charter, or private high school in the West Contra Costa School District boundary area. The program also provides students with a network of guidance and support in financial aid, academics and college acclimation.
Richmond Promise was established in 2014 by a $35 million investment from Chevron Richmond, which was part of a larger $90 million environmental and community investment agreement with the City of Richmond, that connected to the company’s Refinery Modernization Project. Since 2016, the program has committed $5.4 million in scholarships to hundreds of students along with programs to support them before and during the college experience.
The successful program recently appeared in a Forbes.com article penned by the program’s executive director Jessie Stewart, who described the Promise as a movement toward building “a college-going and graduating culture throughout the city.”
Below, see dates and locations for upcoming workshops to assist students with their financial aid and Richmond Promise applications:
DeAnza High School:
- January 11th – Financial Aid Kick-Off Rally
- January 25th – 1st workshop (Getting Started with FAFSA)
- February 1st – 2nd workshop (Tax Return/W-2 information)
- February 8th – 3rd workshop (RP and local/regional scholarships)
- March 1st – 4th workshop (Last day Financial Aid Application Push)
Kennedy High School
- January 23rd & 24th – Program Introduction
- January 30th & 31st – 1st workshop (Getting Started with FAFSA)
- February 6th & 7th – 2nd workshop (Tax Return/W-2 information)
- February 13th & 14th – 3rd workshop (RP and local/regional scholarships)
- February 27th & 28th – 4th workshop (Last day Financial Aid Application Push)
