Grundy County Community Foundation Supports Career and College Readiness

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (April 10, 2020) — ICAN is pleased to announce it has received a grant from the Grundy County Community Foundation to support college and career readiness programming as part of its Life After High School – Building Iowa’s Future Workfroce Initiative.

The Grundy County Community Foundation is a local, non-profit, charitable affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. Through the funds held with the Grundy County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation meets our county's needs by increasing connections between people and the organizations that serve them; providing grants in our core program areas of art and culture, community betterment, education, environment, health, historic preservation and human service.

The Grundy County Initiative – Life After High School –Building Iowa’s Future Workforce will bring career and college planning and financial aid information and resources into the Grundy County communities to inform high school students and parents of the steps required to achieve their educational goals. The initiative will also bring focus to FAFSA completion. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a key success indicator for post high school success, and enables students and families to access free money to help pursue further education and training.

With services provided through ICAN, the initiative hopes to serve more than 1,000 individuals including: students, parents, and educators through a partnership with BCLUW High School, Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School and Grundy Center High School in Grundy County, as well as Dike-New Hartford High School, which educates members of Grundy County communities.

“ICAN programs are unique in the respect that they are brought into individual communities and provide face-to-face presentations and one-on-one advice to students in the communities in which they reside,” explained Rob Miller, ICAN executive director. “This grant enables that interaction to happen without requiring families to travel for professional advice. For some families traveling for assistance isn’t possible and the community foundation grant allows ICAN to continue serving these families where they live.”

In an effort to empower students with the understanding that higher education is accessible to everyone, the Grundy County Initiative is part of a wider effort by ICAN to reach every middle- and high school and every student in Iowa to better prepare students for college and the workforce. According to Complete College America, more than 60 percent of Iowa jobs will require a college education by 2020.

“Education and training beyond high school is necessity for long-term success in the ever-changing job market,” explained Miller. “This grant enables ICAN to continue meeting the needs of Iowa students.”

ICAN, a nonprofit organization providing career and college readiness planning to students and parents in Iowa, has been educating and empowering Iowa’s future workforce since

1998.

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About ICAN

ICAN Network is a nonprofit, educational organization. ICAN is the College Access Network for Iowa, and a member of the National College Access

Network (NCAN). ICAN has 11 locations in Ankeny, Cedar Rapids/Hiawatha, Coralville, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Orange City, Ottumwa, Sioux City and Waterloo, which provide information and support to students and their families as they plan their postsecondary education and apply for financial aid. All ICAN programs and services are provided without charge. For more information about ICAN, call (877) 272-4692 or visit www.ICANsucceed.org

About the Grundy County Community Foundation

Charitable, community-minded people who want to do good in their community to support the causes they care about can do so with the Grundy County Community Foundation. Through the funds held with the Grundy County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation meets our county's needs by increasing connections between people and the organizations that serve them; providing grants in our core program areas of art and culture, community betterment, education, environment, health, historic preservation and human service..