American Student Assistance Awards $500,000 Grant to FREE TO DREAM to Increase Access to Career Exploration and Skill-Building Experiences That Will Help Opportunity and Justice-Involved Youth Prepare for Their Futures
SAN DIEGO and BOSTON, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With over five million opportunity youth who are neither working nor in school, and more than 700,000 justice-involved young people currently or formerly incarcerated, there is an urgent need to engage this population to activate their strengths and interests and dream big about their futures. To this end, American Student Assistance® (ASA), a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures, today announced a partnership with the nonprofit organization, FREE TO DREAM, and the "I AM FREE TO DREAM" initiative ? led by Common, Academy and Grammy Award Winning Artist, actor, and activist ? to increase equitable access to invaluable career exploration and skill-building experiences and resources for opportunity youth. FREE TO DREAM and ASA are attending the ASU+GSV Summit this week at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, featuring a panel discussion that includes Common and leading educational voices, as well as an immersive exhibit.
The "I AM FREE TO DREAM" initiative is a multi-year campaign to elevate and build upon the dreams of this next generation of youth. This initiative will engage youth from all walks of life, across the U.S., sharing their stories and hopes for a just and joyful future. The initiative will host regional events, and feature a wealth of creative content for schools, teachers, and partner organizations to support a young person's ability to dream big and go forth as entrepreneurs, so they can build the world they hope for and thrive within it.
"We are very proud to partner with American Student Assistance, a leader in the youth career readiness space, because we share a mission ? we want to let young people know that they have permission to dream," said Common. "Together with ASA, we will amplify the dreams of this next generation."
"At ASA, we are committed to fostering a generation of confident, crisis-proof young people who are prepared to navigate a path to career success and economic mobility. That's why we are excited to collaborate with FREE TO DREAM, as part of our 5-year strategic plan which includes an intentional focus on engaging young people who have historically lacked access to career readiness resources and career-connected learning," said Jean Eddy, President and CEO, ASA, author of Crisis-Proofing Today's Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow's World.
Through the strategic engagement, youth from all walks of life, including opportunity youth, will have access to ASA's free suite of mobile-first, digital career readiness platforms that have engaged and impacted more than 15 million teens to date. With the introduction of ASA's EvolveMe® in 2023 ? a skill-building and career experimentation platform that incentivizes students to take the next step on their journey ? ASA's vision for an ecosystem of engaging digital resources is now fully realized. This marks a major turning point in the resources available to students as they prepare for their futures. Starting in middle school, students can explore careers through experiences like the Future Network, a series of original videos that spans five categories and follows Gen Z as they explore and learn about different careers from industry professionals; and Futurescape®, a mobile-first experience that enables career exploration aligned with teens' interests and strengths. As teens continue their journey through high school, they can build career-ready skills and experiment with fields of interest using Next Voicetm, a digital youth advocacy platform that empowers kids with the durable skills they need to effectively make change for the issues and causes that impact their futures; and EvolveMe, co-created with input from thousands of teens. When taken together, these digital experiences create a powerful ecosystem that can help students find what they're good at, what they can be paid for, what the world needs, and what they love. Since the launch of EvolveMe, ASA has earned awards and honors, such as the 2024 Anthem Awards (Gold and Silver), 2024 EdTech Digest Cool Tool Awards Finalist, and 2024 Webby Honoree distinction, for its suite of digital experiences.
About American Student Assistance® (ASA)
American Student Assistance® (ASA) is a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures through equitable access to career readiness information and experiences. ASA helps middle and high school students to know themselves?their strengths and their interests?and understand their education and career options so that they can make informed decisions. ASA fulfills its mission ? in schools and beyond the classroom?by providing free digital experiences, including Futurescape®, Next Voicetm, and EvolveMe®, directly to millions of students, and through advocacy, impact investing, thought leadership, and philanthropic support for educators, intermediaries, and others. ASA fosters a generation of confident, crisis-proof young people who are ready for whatever path comes next after high school. To learn more about ASA, visit www.asa.org/about-asa.
About FREE TO DREAM
Founded by award-winning artist, actor, author, and activist Common, FREE TO DREAM is on a mission to ignite a new renaissance powered by the collective dreams for a just and joyful future. Harnessing the power of proximity, creativity, and storytelling, we work across four pillars ? education, justice, wellness, and job ? to create the conditions necessary for these dreams to come true. From Art in Motion charter school in Chicago, to enrichment programs that take place in schools, communities, and prisons, FTD is dismantling the school to prison pipeline at both ends helping people of all ages reclaim their life's true trajectory. FTD follows from 20 years of Common's leadership as a change-maker, using his entertainment platform to advance the world's most critical social causes. To learn more about FREE TO DREAM, visit www.iamfreetodream.org.
SOURCE American Student Assistance (ASA)
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