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����ӰҵNorman Laine Family Trust is announcing a combined $135,000 in gifts to the Ashtabula Foundation to support educational initiatives in Ashtabula County. ����Ӱҵseparate gifts of $45,000 and $90,000 will be used to fund scholarships for ����Ӱҵ University at Ashtabula’s Rising Scholars program.

“We are grateful for the generous support of the Laine Family Trust,” said Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Susan J. Stocker, Ph.D. “I want to thank Mark Andrews, the Ashtabula Foundation and others for recognizing the difference this support is going to make in the lives of our Rising Scholars.” 

����ӰҵRising Scholars program supports a select group of promising students who have been identified by their school districts as having promising academic ability, but may not have access to social and educational opportunities that will allow them to reach their potential. These students are mentored by current ����Ӱҵ Ashtabula students with a goal of increasing their high school graduation rates to 90 percent and having at least 50 percent of them attend a college or university after high school. Currently, 15 percent of Ashtabula County students do not graduate from high school and only 13 percent of adults over 25 have a four-year college degree.  

Rising Scholars who participate in the full program, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and agree to mentor new students entering the program during their college years will be eligible to receive a scholarship for full tuition to ����Ӱҵ Ashtabula.  

“ ����Ӱҵfamily of Norman Laine has resided in Ashtabula County for over 100 years, operating a family farm on Carson Road in Plymouth Township, and for Laine and his siblings, Miriam, Arthur, Dorothy, and Sylvia, a strong work ethic was instilled in them at an early age,” said John D. Dolan, Ashtabula Foundation president. “ ����ӰҵLaine family understood that a good education was also necessary to achieve personal fulfillment and success. ����ӰҵNorman Laine Family Trust was established to provide financial assistance to local high school students to better enable them to achieve success in their lives. ����ӰҵRising Scholars program will be an excellent vehicle to achieve that result.” 

For more information about the Rising Scholars program, visit www.kent.edu/ashtabula/rising-scholars.