The Rotary Club of Gainesville recently presented a $1,500 check to Brenau University President Ed Schrader for the 2017 RISE summer program.
RISE – the Real, Interactive, Summer-Learning Experience – is a summer program focused on retaining education and healthy lifestyles in low-income children. It aims to eliminate summer learning loss, to see all RISE students graduate from high school on time and to help them achieve self-sufficiency as adults with healthy habits.
RISE was started under the leadership of Gainesville Rotarian and former Brenau professor, Bill Lightfoot. The idea was for an ultimately turnkey, community-run program to combat summer learning loss in elementary school students.
Now in its fourth year, community partners include Brenau University, Gainesville Housing Authority, Gainesville City Schools, United Way of Hall County and more.
“We believe this is a summer learning model that can be used in any community or school system,” Schrader said, “and we are grateful for Rotary’s contribution to this program.”
RISE targets Gainesville and Hall County children in first through sixth grades living in poverty. The donation from Rotary will help the program serve more than 100 children this year.
