Mayor Hahn Launches 2003 L.A. Free Cash for College Project; Program Helps over 10,000 Students Apply for Financial Aid in First Year

Business Wire, Oct 27, 2003

City Desks/Education Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2003

Mayor Jim Hahn today kicked off the 2nd annual L.A. Free Cash for College Project, a highly successful program designed to help young people and their families access financial aid for higher education. The campaign, which helped more than 10,000 students and families in its first year, includes a two-day college and career convention and community workshops at high schools throughout Los Angeles.

"The amount of money a person makes is now more closely tied to his or her education than to any other factor," said Mayor Hahn. "Expanding access to education for L.A. families is crucial to our future as a community."

The College and Career Convention will be held November 12-13, 2003, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Students and families will learn about the differences between various financial aid resources and the process involved in pursuing financial aid through seminars, exhibits and interactive career demonstrations. More than 150 representatives from area colleges, financial aid organizations, lenders and scholarship providers will be on hand to provide advice and answer questions.

Community workshops will also be offered at LAUSD high schools and community centers throughout the city on Free Cash For College Day, January 24, 2004. The workshops will help families complete application forms required to qualify for Cal Grants, including the U.S. Department of Education's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

"I strongly believe in the L.A. Free Cash for College Project," said Los Angeles City Councilmember Tony Cardenas. "My parents both had less than a sixth-grade education and I personally witnessed the difficulties they experienced finding good jobs to support our family. That is why I led the fight to preserve the Cal Grants program while serving in the state legislature. It is absolutely crucial that we help families, particularly those in the lower-income bracket, get the financial aid they need to realize their dreams."

Los Angeles has the highest proportion of undereducated adults of any major metropolitan area in the U.S. One in ten adults in Los Angeles lacks a sixth-grade education and one in four lacks a high-school diploma. Research last year by the College Board, a non-profit group, revealed that the average college graduate will earn $1 million more over his or her lifetime than someone with only a high school diploma.

Last week, the College Board released a report stating that students now pay 47 percent more for tuition and fees than they did ten years ago at public universities and 42 percent more at private universities. Cal Grants offer up to $10,000 in free grant aid per year of college, per child, and are a guaranteed entitlement to California families who qualify. Each year, much of this aid goes unused because families either do not know about the program, or are unable to complete the complicated application forms.

"The distance between deferring a dream and living it is not as far as many of us think," said LA Councilmember Eric Garcetti. "The good news is that when it comes to financial aid, there is something for everyone. We want to do everything we can to be sure that parents and students don't leave financial aid on the table that is theirs by right."

"Educational opportunities provide our students with life changing experiences. Every student deserves the opportunity to a quality education and the chance to attend college," said President of the LAUSD Board of Education Jose Huizar. "Financial aid offers many deserving students support to achieve their academic goals. I am grateful for the financial assistance Cal Grants gave me and I urge students to apply for this program."

"I am pleased that the city of Los Angeles, under the leadership of Mayor Hahn, and LAUSD are working together to help ensure that all of our students have every opportunity to go to college," said LAUSD Board Member Julie Korenstein. "I encourage all of our high school students and families to attend the College and Career Convention on November 12 and 13."

"It is extremely important that our students go on to college," said LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer. "We believe this program provides an incentive to help reach this goal. We are proud to collaborate with Mayor Hahn on the L.A. Free Cash for College Program."

"The simple fact is many families cannot afford the cost of a college education without financial aid," said Alan Arkatov, Chairman of the California Post-Secondary Education Commission and President of the LA Commission on Children, Youth and Their Families. "What's worse is that they don't know where to go for help. Mayor Hahn has created a new version of 'show me the money' by cutting through all the red tape of the financial aid process and showing Angelenos where the money is."

"Ask most business leaders what is the most important asset in their companies and they will say it is their employees, their people," said Rusty Hammer, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. "The L.A. Free Cash for College Project is about building the Los Angeles workforce that will build our great companies of the 21st century."