Reading Mayor McMahon to Address Latino Higher Education Concerns Sept. 9

Reading Mayor McMahon to Address Latino Higher Education Concerns Sept. 9

City Hall Event Part of The Sallie Mae Fund's Nationwide Paying for College Bus Tour

RESTON, Va., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by The Sallie Mae Fund:

WHAT: The Sallie Mae Fund's Paying for College Bus Tour will be in
Reading to help Latino families understand how to prepare and pay
for college. The tour enables Latino students and their families to
access resources and information on scholarships, grants, loans and
federal aid in both Spanish and English, as well as attend a
workshop on financial aid presented by recent college graduates. A
scholarship will be given out at each workshop.

Mayor McMahon will welcome the tour to town and hand out a college
scholarship to one of the attendees.

WHY:
* 54-percent of Reading public school students are Latino.
* The number of college-age Latinos in Reading is growing, yet only
16-percent of local Latinos over the age of 25 have graduated
from college.
* 43 percent of Latino young adults and more than half (51-percent)
of Latino parents reported that they were not aware of a single
source of college financial aid. The result: thousands of Latino
kids are not going to college because they do not know about
their financial aid options. (source: Tomas Rivera Policy
Institute/The Sallie Mae Fund)
* More than two-thirds of Latino families believe that getting
financial aid information before leaving high school was "very
important" to their decision to attend college.

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 9
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (Mayor's Remarks/Scholarship Award at City
Hall)
2:25 p.m. - 3:10 pm (Workshop at Reading High School: 801 North
13th St, Reading, PA)

WHERE: City Hall, 815 Washington St., Reading, PA

WHO: - Mayor Thomas McMahon
- Daisy Alfaro and Orlando Espinosa, The Sallie Mae Fund's national
spokespeople
- Local Latino students and families
- Local partners include: Reading Community College, Kutztown
University, The Community Prevention Partnership, The Hispanic
Center

VISUALS/PHOTO OPPS:
* Bus wrapped in colorful mural tour with interactive college
counseling center inside
* National spokesperson and recent college graduate delivering
interactive workshops and distributing financial aid resources
* Local Latino community members learning about financial aid
information

ADDITIONAL TOUR STOPS:
Thursday Sept. 8: 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Hispanic Center, 501 Washington St,
Reading, PA 19601

The Sallie Mae Fund is a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae. For more information, visit http://www.salliemaefund.org/.

CONTACT: Hugh Rosen of Sallie Mae Fund, +1-703-984-6227, or hugh.rosen@thesalliemaefund.org.

Source: The Sallie Mae Fund

CONTACT: Hugh Rosen of Sallie Mae Fund, +1-703-984-6227, or
hugh.rosen@thesalliemaefund.org

Web site: http://www.salliemaefund.org/

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