Press release from ALAS NC:
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated this year on NOVEMBER 29th, the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. ALAS (Asheville Latin Americans Achieving Success) is asking for your help this year to promote fundraising for ALAS Merit Scholarships to A-B Technical Community College.
Improving access to education for Latinx youth through the scholarships to A-B Tech is one of several ways that we are working together as Latino community leaders to develop the strong Latinx leaders of tomorrow.
In the state of North Carolina undocumented students are charged Out-of-state tuition. Due to the financial aid requirements, undocumented students do not have access to state and federal aid as many students do.
Out-of-state tuition for an undocumented student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) costs $4,224 for 16 credit hours. In-state peers of undocumented students pay $1,152 for the same 16 hours. It doesn’t matter if this student has legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA), or if their family has paid taxes in Asheville most of their life.
This makes it very challenging for students to pay for tuition and books. It also restricts the amount of classes that these students can take at a time, and many are forced to discontinue their education.
Through the ALAS scholarships we hope to fulfill the dreams of undocumented students that attend A-B Tech. The ALAS scholarships are one way to offset some of the costs these students have, as well as, a form of funding that they would normally not have access to.
ALAS also aims to raise awareness about the issues that undocumented students face when paying for college. In the coming years, our goal is to secure more funds so that we can increase our level of giving and expand scholarships to other colleges and universities in our area.
Note: Latinx is the gender neutral alternative to Latino, Latina and even Latin@
About ALAS
Asheville Latin Americans Achieving Success (ALAS) is a Latinx-led non-profit organization that develops Latinx leadership in Buncombe County and improves access to education through mentoring, training, and scholarship.
ALAS works directly with the local Latinx community by providing scholarships to DACA and undocumented students attending Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, preparing new Latinx leaders for positions that help effect change through non-profit board trainings and mentorships, and partnering with area anchor organizations to ensure increased Latinx representation in leadership.About #GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give—the 2016 iteration will be held on November 29th, 2016. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners—nonprofits, businesses and corporations as well as families and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday harnesses the power of social media to create a global moment dedicated to giving around the world.
To learn more about ALAS’ activities or to join the celebration of giving, please visit:
Website: www.alasnc.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alasnc
Instagram: latinxleadership
Twitter: @alasnc
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