EOC partners with 21 Kids Foundation
The Cheaha Educational Opportunity Center has partnered with Dre Kirkpatrick's 21 Kids Foundation
Nov. 4 marked the beginning of a partnership between Gadsden State Community College’s Educational Opportunity Center and the 21 Kids Foundation. The announcement was made during the half-time of the Gadsden City High School vs. Cullman High School play-off game.
Through the partnership, the 21 Kids Foundation provides financial assistance with childcare and transportation expenses for students attending the EOC.
“We are thrilled about the partnership with 21 Kids Foundation,” said Dr. Cheryl Sington, director of the EOC. “The support helps ease the burdens our students face when it comes to providing childcare while they are receiving benefits and services at the EOC. Transportation will cease being a barrier for our students who want to improve their lives through education. Childcare and transportation will no longer be issues for them.”
In 2013, Gadsden native and football stand-out Dre Kirkpatrick established the 21 Kids Foundation to impact the lives of disadvantaged youth. Now the mission of the foundation has evolved to include the families raising the children in impoverished and disadvantaged homes.
“We have consistently serviced disadvantaged youth in Etowah County for almost a decade but we have since shifted our focus to assisting the parents and guardians who are responsible for the safety, the education, the encouragement and the upbringing of these children,” Kirkpatrick said. “We are focusing on the adult population so that our children are raised in healthy, loving, productive households.”
The EOC is a federal TRIO program that provides opportunities for academic development, including academic tutoring; guidance on secondary school re-entry and entry to a general education development program; career workshops; and financial literacy seminars. It also aids in course selection, preparation for college entrance exams, completion of college admissions applications and applying for financial aid. It is funded with a $232,050 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
For more information about the EOC, visit www.GadsdenState.edu/TRIO. More information on the 21 Kids Foundation can be found at drekirk21kids.com.
A group of 21 Kids Foundation supporters posed with Dr. Cheryl Sington, EOC director, during the Nov. 4 partnership announcement. Pictured are, from left, Kevin Young, Gadsden City High School principal; Charlotte Worthy, board president of 21 Kids Foundation; Kim Kirkpatrick, mother of Dre Kirkpatrick; Sington; Charles Kirkpatrick, father of Dre Kirkpatrick; Dre Kirkpatrick, founder of 21 Kids Foundation; Apriele Kirkpatrick, sister of Dre Kirkpatrick and a member of the 21 Kids Foundation Board of Directors; Todd Lambert, GCHS athletic director; and Wayne Rowe, member of the 21 Kids Foundation Board of Directors.