Eight local parents earned their high school GEDs with the help of the LeBron James Family Foundation.
In 2015, James announced that his foundation would provide full, four-year scholarships for children in the Akron Public School District through his I PROMISE program. This year, eight parents participated in the I PROMISE, TOO program - graduating with their General Education Development (GED) this month.
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The program, designed to help engage parents in their children's education and their own career success, provided free GED and career preparatory courses for all eight participants. Through a partnership with Project Learn of Summit County, participants completed required courses and took four required GED tests in math, science, social studies and reasoning through language arts.
All eight participants also received a free tablet to assist with coursework.
As successful graduates, each participant is also receiving a sponsored shopping day for business clothes and accessories. To help them navigate their career path, Chase Bank is committing resources to host a mentorship program for the graduates, too - providing them with guidance from professionals who can help lead them to success.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for years but didn’t even know where to start. LeBron’s Foundation and this program made this possible for me, along with my teacher and my fellow parents and classmates,” said Bobbie Keener, one of this year’s graduating parents whose son, Darzell, is in the I PROMISE program.
Any families who participate in the I PROMISE program are eligible to participate in I PROMISE, TOO.
“As a parent, all the hard work and sacrifices they made to take classes and study for tests while still working full time jobs and raising their families is inspiring. I know this incredible accomplishment will open a lot of doors for them and their families," said LeBron James.
