Featured Education Grants

GED Program Launches For Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Youth

"A Gateway To Success" was launched by JRI's Boston Gay & Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (Boston GLASS) Center, with the help of Verizon and IBM.

JRI received a $75,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation and 10 new computers from IBM to support the new initiative, which that will provide workshops to help these young people complete their GEDs.

The program will prepare students by using Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation's free, comprehensive online portal that features 55,000 educational resources. They include standards-based, grade-specific K-12 lesson plans and interactive tools and materials provided in partnership with many of the nation's leading educational organizations.

"We are grateful for the partnership with the Verizon Foundation and IBM," said Douglas M. Brooks, Vice President of Health Services for JRI. "In many cases, these teens have been forced to leave their homes, and for many of them their education ends when they leave their communities and must devote their time to supporting themselves.

"The support this grant provides will make a meaningful difference in the lives of a diverse group of young people who struggle daily for acceptance and are denied access to basic tools of survival such as a high school education."