RICHMOND – As a tribute to First Lady Anne Holton’s commitment to Virginia’s foster youth, a fund to help those youth has been established in her honor. The Anne Holton Legacy Fund will provide unrestricted emergency funding for foster youth enrolled in Great Expectations, a program that focuses on the value of a college education as the best way to gain employment and achieve independence.
The creation of the fund, which was a surprise to the First Lady, was announced at the Governor’s Conference on Children’s Services Transformation in December. During her four years as Virginia’s First Lady, Holton’s goal has been to help ensure that all of Virginia’s young people have permanent, stable family connections and the community support to sustain them.
Holton has been an active supporter of Great Expectations, which is administered by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. Fundraising for the Legacy Fund is under way, with an initial goal of $250,000. “We currently are in the process of reaching out to colleagues of Anne Holton to help us raise these funds in her honor,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges.
“We are inspired by the way Anne Holton has dedicated her career to the plight of children others have forsaken and forgotten and believe this is a significant way to celebrate her work,” said John Grisham, nationally-known author. The Grisham family was an initial contributor to the Anne Holton Legacy Fund.
Resources from the Fund will be available to help foster youth who are facing an emergency situation, such as a car breakdown that would prevent the student from getting to class or to a job. Many foster youth are left without a support system when they age out of the foster care system, and challenges such as transportation and housing can prompt them to drop out of high school or college rather than completing their education. Statistically, only two percent of foster youth in Virginia receive a college education compared with 28 percent of all youth.
“This fund, founded in Holton’s name, is a small way to carry forward her spirit and serve as a resource for young people who are building a better life through the Great Expectations program at their community college,” said Renee Grisham.
To make a donation to the Anne Holton Legacy Fund or learn more about Great Expectations, visit www.greatexpectations.vccs.edu.
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About Virginia’s Community Colleges
Created more than 40 years ago, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is composed of 23 community colleges located on 40 campuses across the commonwealth. Together, Virginia’s Community Colleges serve more than a quarter-million credit students each year. For more information, please visit myfuture.vccs.edu.
About Great Expectations
Great Expectations is an initiative of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. The program, currently located at 12 Virginia Community Colleges, focuses on the value of a college education as the best way to gain employment and achieve independence. For more information, please visit www.greatexpectations.vccs.edu.
About the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education
Working hand in hand with Virginia’s 23 community colleges, the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education seeks to guarantee financial assistance to all students who dream of attending college. The foundation is building an endowment that is already generating interest to provide full scholarships to selected community college students. Donors to the fund are invited to endow a single scholarship in their name and designate it to any of Virginia’s community colleges or regions. For more information, please visit www.vccs.edu/Foundation.
Photo: Foster youth in the Great Expectations program at JSRCC congratulated First Lady Anne Holton as she was surprised with the Anne Holton Legacy Fund. Shown left to right, Chancellor Glenn DuBois; Antoine Peyton, Joseph Peyton, their foster mother Ollie Sharper; First Lady Anne Holton; Governor Tim Kaine.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jeffrey Kraus
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Relations
(804) 592-6767
jkraus@vccs.edu