Canada, the Graduation Nation.

Chances are, if you’ve been successful in life, somewhere along your path there has been a person who believed in you – someone who shared their knowledge, guided you with a key decision, helped hone your skills, or served as an inspiration for what you could achieve. But what if no one like that existed in your life? Or in the lives of anyone you knew?

This is the reality for tens of thousands of youth in Canada’s low-income neigbourhoods. Lacking sufficient financial means, support at home, positive role models, and opportunities to grow, many drop out of high school. It’s a decision that costs them their education and future earning potential. Taken collectively, it costs their community by ingraining a culture of low expectations. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Pathways to Education is helping to make Canada the Graduation Nation with a program proven to lower high school dropout rates. Pathways helps youth in low-income communities graduate from high school and successfully transition into post-secondary education or training. The ongoing support of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. of the Pathways North Hamilton program has been an integral part of the success of these students.

These funds have allowed students in Hamilton to receive the four supports of the Pathways program:

Academic: After school tutoring sessions, which are available 4 days a week

Social: Group mentoring to hone social and leadership skills, as well as career mentoring sessions.

Financial: Pathways provides short and long term financial support – including bursaries towards their post-secondary education

Advocacy: Student-Parent Support Workers help connect teens, school administration, teachers and community agencies.

The Pathways program has helped reduce dropout rates by over 70% and has increased the number of youth going on to college and university by 300%!

For more information about Pathways or how to volunteer, please visit the website at: www.pathwayscanada.ca or on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pathwaystoeducationcanada