RamKids, a new University of Mobile (UM) program for at-risk youth in Prichard, has moved off the drawing board and into the planning stage with the appointment of a director and the awarding of a $740,000-plus federal grant.
UM President Mark Foley, who first envisioned the mentoring-based leadership development program as a natural tie between UM and the Prichard community, said it is an outgrowth of the school’s philosophy of "Changing Lives to Change the World."
"This investment in the lives of the youth of Prichard will have a long-range impact for the students themselves and for the city as these youth become college-educated leaders who invest themselves in the community. We are excited about the possibilities for value-centered service/leadership development," Foley said.
Foley announced that Claude Bumpers has been named project director for RamKids. Bumpers previously served as executive director of the Dearborn YMCA in Mobile and as executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of East Central Alabama in Anniston.
In addition, a $740,421 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice was awarded for the first three years of operation of RamKids, according to an announcement by U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R–Ala., then chairman and now ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science.
"Our nation’s young people need tools and training to become contributing members of society. Programs such as RamKids provide youth with alternatives to crime and mischief, which in many cases, is all they need to stay out of trouble," Shelby said in announcing the grant in August 2006.
The RamKids goal is to identify at-risk, low-income minority youth from single-parent homes in Prichard who have leadership potential and provide the resources and encouragement for youth to emerge as college-educated leaders in the community.
Ultimately the program will include after-school, individualized mentoring for at-risk youth with trained UM college students; a summer program; scholarships to attend UM; assistance with securing professional employment; and counseling in the purchase of their first home in the city of Prichard.
When fully operating, RamKids will involve 60–80 youth from fifth grade through college graduation.
Bumpers, who began his duties as project director Feb. 1, is currently designing curriculum and mentor-training materials and building relationships with educators and civic leaders in Prichard.
For information about RamKids, call Bumpers at 251-442-2701 or e-mail cbumpers@mail.umobile.edu. (UM)
Share with others: