During this season of giving, The University of Olivet is pleased to announce it has awarded 10 grants to organizations in the city of Olivet, totaling $14,500, as part of its Community Investment Grant program. The grant program, along with the Olivet Community Commitment Scholarship, was initiated in mid-2017 and is aimed at strengthening the local Olivet community.
Grants benefited organizations in a variety of ways to enable Olivet Community Schools student success in the classroom and to provide for the well-being of families in need and even for the care of adoptable shelter pets: Chromebooks to enhance learning opportunities; investing in math programming, especially the 10th annual Math Night for K-5 students; food and personal care items; dog kennels; and more that demonstrate a commitment to the Olivet community and its future leaders, educators and trailblazers.
“As part of The University of Olivet’s ongoing commitment to the Olivet community, we are pleased to have the opportunity and capacity to provide financial support to key initiatives and needs within the greater Olivet community,” said Steven M. Corey, Ph.D., president of The University of Olivet. “This inaugural year has been a tremendous success. I am thrilled at the quality of proposals submitted by the many nonprofit and civic organizations that enrich our community. It is an honor to support the selected organizations in the important work they do for the benefit of the citizens of Olivet.”
Students have also been afforded the chance to explore spaces they never experienced before. Through $600 in round-trip expenses, eight high school students were able to leave the classroom and see the latest in contemporary arts at the ArtPrize exhibition in Grand Rapids. Only a few students were familiar the grand-scale event prior, and some students had never been to Grand Rapids before.
“Without this grant, the best we could’ve done was look at pictures on Google, and there is no comparison to seeing the work up close and realizing not only the scale of the work but also the time and talent that is behind each piece,” said Julia Cordier, art educator at Olivet High School.
In addition, the college has established the Olivet Community Commitment Scholarship, which provides all eligible employees and dependents of Olivet Community Schools and the city of Olivet with a tuition grant equivalent to 75 percent at the college, for up to eight semesters of full-time undergraduate enrollment. Beginning with new students entering in the Fall 2018 semester, at the current annual tuition rate of $26,748, this grant is valued at $20,061 per year, or $80,244 in grant aid over a four-year period.
“The University of Olivet believes that a strong, vibrant and thriving school system, city and college are the foundation for a strong, vibrant and thriving community,” said Corey. “Through direct investment in our school system and city, The University of Olivet sees this as another way to strengthen not only our city and schools but also the greater community of Olivet.”
The following organizations were the recipients of The University of Olivet’s first Community Investment Grant:
City of Olivet
$1,000 to purchase a desktop computer to be used by a student intern.
Eaton County Humane Society
$1,800 to purchase stainless steel cages to use as kennels for injured animals.
Olivet Good Neighbor Program
$1,500 to help those living in the Olivet School District and who need assistance with food and personal care items throughout the year.
Olivet Future Farmers of America (FFA)
$2,900 to use toward the construction of a building to process donated chickens through the Olivet Food Bank.
Olivet Community Schools
$600 to purchase three Chromebooks for the Intensive Resource Room.
Olivet Community Schools
$1,000 for new reading and writing course materials for reluctant readers and writers.
Olivet Community Schools
$1,600 to support three publications and related costs for The Oakum, the school’s newsletter.
Olivet High School
$600 for round-trip costs for eight students and chaperones to attend ArtPrize in Grand Rapids.
Olivet High School
$1,500 to purchase 20 TI-graphing calculators.
Olivet Fern Persons Elementary/Olivet Middle School
$2,000 to sponsor the 10th annual Math Night with national math expert Greg Tang Jr.
Watch for the details coming this spring on how to submit a proposal for a 2018 Community Investment Grant.
To learn more about the Olivet Community Commitment Scholarship, contact the Office of Admissions at 800.456.7189 or admissions@uolivet.edu.