Thought I'd forward this follow-up from Laurie Davis Van Wert (the Youth Coordinating Board consultant on this) about the U of M camp scholarships. Let me also add again a thank you to the University & President Bruininks! Paul Zerby Prospect Park -----Original Message----- From: Laurie Davis Van Wert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 2:19 PM To: Rybak, R; Peter McLaughlin; Zerby, Paul G; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: 'Louis King'; Kambui, Kinshasha; Takeshita, Erik M; 'Karen J. Anderson'; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Christa Anders' Subject: camp scholarships - Step Up
Want to let everyone know that all of the U of M summer camp scholarships for teenagers have been filled. There are still just a few openings for 5 and 6 year olds, if you know of anyone. Thanks to all of you for getting the word out. Almost immediately after you all put the word out, Tex (the person from the Office of Multicultural and Academic Affairs) was deluged with calls from parents. Thanks so much for your support! Also, I am aware that there has been some confusion and some criticism of the scholarship initiative, which was based primarily on mis-information and/or confusion. There were three "problems" identified with the scholarship program: 1. Kids lacked transportation to the camps. We identified this as a problem immediately (before we received any calls) and agreed to find solutions on an as-needed basis. I was communicating with Tex and other staff at the U of M, as well as with YCB members, and we felt confident that we could arrange transportation for kids as the need arose. Turns out that all the families who signed up were able to make arrangements for transportation on their own. 2. Kids lack health insurance. The registration form was a little confusing on this point, but Tex made a point of contacting the camp director and Legal Services to find out whether a family without health insurance would have to be turned down. The determination was the NO ONE would be turned down due to lack of health coverage, but that all families had to sign the medical waiver (whether on scholarship or not). No young person was turned down for a scholarship due to lack of health insurance. 3. Families needed internet access to print the registration form. It is true the form is on the internet, but our expectation was that the programs and people we worked through to find kids would help the families access the form, if they were unable to do it from home, school or the public library. I printed forms for several families, Tex faxed forms to families, and I assume some of you did the same. No young person was turned away because her/his parents lacked internet access. Thanks again to U of M President Bruininks for raising money for the scholarships. This was the first time such scholarships existed, and we learned a lot about what works and what doesn't, in terms of recruiting eligible families. If you know of families who received scholarships, please encourage them to attend, and to call Tex Ostvig at 612-624-3958 if they encounter transportation difficulties or for some reason are unable to attend the camp for which they registered. Thanks again for all your support! Laurie Davis Van Wert Advance Consulting LLC P: 612.285.2773 F: 612.285.2787 E: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Moving Ideas and Organizations Forward... www.advance-consulting.com <http://www.advance-consulting.com/> TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
