For almost a decade, the Charles H. Dater Foundation has awarded a grant to Chatfield College to fund the college’s Learning to Live program at its downtown campus in Over-the-Rhine.
Introduced in 2009 by Chatfield, the goal of the Learning to Live program is to address the barriers experienced by low-income, single-parent, or first-generation students that may prevent them from completing their college education. This program seeks to alleviate four of the main challenges these students face: academic readiness, lack of reliable transportation, access to affordable childcare, and financial need.
Ryan Hall, site director at the Over-the-Rhine campus, says, “This program is invaluable for our students and is a tremendous resource for them. Being able to support our students when obstacles arise and help relieve those burdens allows the students to stay focused on succeeding.”
Chatfield believes that through education, the cycle of generational poverty can be broken. To improve academic readiness, Chatfield provides free tutoring services to help students succeed in the classroom. New this year, a mentoring program was implemented to not only help students academically, but to provide another layer of support and encouragement. To help with reliable transportation, Chatfield issues bus passes in emergency situations. To assist students looking for quality childcare, Chatfield partners with 4C for Children, a leading referral resource in the Cincinnati area that helps students locate potential childcare centers and also helps with obtaining vouchers to offset its cost. Finally, Chatfield provides students with individualized counseling with a focus on maximizing grants and scholarships and minimizing student loans.
“At our downtown campus, sixty-five percent of our students are parents with young children at home. The typical student is African American, a woman over thirty, often a first-generation college student, and one who may have encountered a number of challenges in a previous attempt at earning a degree, “ said Chatfield’s president John P. Tafaro. “We are grateful that the Charles H. Dater Foundation recognizes the special help this population needs to be successful, and has supported Chatfield’s Learning to Live program for nine years.”
The Charles H. Dater Foundation was founded in 1985, and awards grants to non-profit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area to carry out projects that benefit children and focus in the areas of arts/culture, education, healthcare, social services, and other community needs. The Foundation does not operate programs, but makes grants to private, non-profit organizations and public agencies for their programs and projects. Established to ensure that funding for worthwhile community programs would continue after his death, the Foundation preserves the memory and philanthropic commitment of Charles H. Dater (1912-1993) and his ancestors, whose hard work and business acumen over four generations provided them with the opportunity to share their success with their community.
Chatfield College is a private, faith-based, liberal arts college offering the Associate of Arts degree in Brown County and Cincinnati, and is an open enrollment college. The Brown County campus is located at 20918 State Route 251; St. Martin, OH 45118; the Cincinnati campus is located at 1544 Central Parkway; Cincinnati, OH 45202. For more information, visit the website, at www.chatfield.edu, call (513) 875-3344 or e-mail admissions@chatfield.edu.
