Integrated Intellectuals 4-H club at Detroit International Academy gives back

A group of young women from The Detroit International Academy for Young Women, home to a 4-H club The Integrated Intellectuals, used their passion for community service to help students gain access to the Detroit College Promise scholarship.

Detroit, Mich. -- For the past three years, the Detroit International Academy (DIA) for Young Women has been the home to a 4-H club, The Integrated Intellectuals. In December, this group of young women used their passion for community service to help students gain access to the Detroit College Promise (DCP) scholarship. They first went through training to become educated about the DCP scholarship and to become ambassadors for the program. Once they completed their training, this group was able to further promote the DCP mission to the students at the DIA.

“This is important because it is preparing children for their futures in college,” 4-H member Briana Tarver said.

One of the guiding principles of 4-H is to encourage youth to grow and contribute as active citizens through service and leadership. The DCP greatly appreciates the work that the 4-H ambassadors have done to further the mission of the organization and to motivate students in Detroit to make education a priority. 

“My service as an ambassador was important because I was able to tell others about how to get money for college,” said Chloe White, 11th grader and 4-H club president. “The best thing about this experience was interacting with other students.”

The mission of Detroit College Promise is to strengthen the Detroit Public Schools and help to repopulate Detroit by offering scholarships to students living in Detroit and graduating from a public school in Detroit.  Since the Detroit College Promise started in 2008, nearly 30,000 students have registered for the DPS system. Seventy-seven students from the class of 2013 received scholarships to help support the financial costs of college.

Parents, students or others interested to learn more can contact the Nat Pernick, DCP executive director, at 248-646-3269248-646-3269 or NatPernick@hotmail.com or visit The Detroit College Promise website -- www.DetroitCollegePromise.org. It’s also on Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Detroit-College-Promise-Fan-Page/353479619569?ref=ts – and Twitter -- http://twitter.com/detroitcollege.

4-H is the largest youth development organization in Michigan, with more than 200,000 youth between the ages of 5 and 19 participating. Because Michigan 4-H is part of Michigan State University Extension, the activities that youth participate in are all backed by and based on child development research. For more information on this and other 4-H clubs in Metro Detroit, contact Jessica Cotton, 4-H program coordinator, at program coordinator, at 314-412-2616, ect. 17, or cottonj2@msu.edu.

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