Female juvenile delinquents, whether they know it or not, can help inspire and encourage others to create a better life for them.
This statement is especially true for Claudia Haltom, president and CEO of A Step Ahead Foundation (ASAF).
Before founding ASAF, Haltom was an attorney, then later went to work with juvenile court where she was exposed to a lot of issues with delinquents that made her want to teach young ladies the importance of education and staying in school.
So, for two years now, ASAF has teamed up with Girls Incorporated of Memphis in different ways to help encourage and empower young women of Memphis.
One way that they have come together is with the A Step Ahead Scholarship that will be open until April 15.
Belinda Simpson, community outreach director of ASAF, has been a part of the scholarship since it started two years ago.
The Step Ahead Foundation is solely for young women who are committed to helping make Memphis a better place and making a positive impact on the city and the young women in it as well.
“The way the scholarship works is that we have an anonymous giver of $100,000 and BankTennessee manages the money for us for whenever we are ready to give it out to young women of Memphis,” Simpson said.
BankTennessee is an online and mobile banking program that helps support the program with any kind of contribution.
According to the president and CEO of BankTennessee, Jim Rout, the bank’s main responsibility with the organization is administrative responsibility.
“We help with things that normally ASAF and Girl’s Inc. or even our company would have to pay for, like the preparation of checks,” Rout said, “We donate to the organizations as a part of civic duty.”
Because the scholarship award is so massive, there will be multiple handouts of at least $2,000 for those who apply – the awards will be distributed no later than May 15.
Although the scholarship is open to young women of Memphis, there are a few guidelines that have to be followed.
All participants of the scholarship must be a female between the ages of 17 and 30 and must live in Shelby County with educational plans for after high school.
On the available application for the scholarship, applicants will have the opportunity to go to the home pages of ASAF and Girl’s Inc. and read both missions in order to answer how they intend to use their education to help the Memphis area as well as help lower teen pregnancy rates in Memphis with a short essay.
“The good thing about this scholarship, even though it is only for women, is that it is for women in any college, university, trade, cosmetology, trade and even graduate school in the Greater Memphis area,” Simpson said, “We want to make sure young women who may have had children or a distraction to be able to finish their education.”
For both organizations, none of the money is ever left over – they both make sure that 100 percent of the award is handed out.
According to Lisa Moore, president and CEO of Girls Inc., it is imperative for the young women of Memphis to know about this scholarship opportunity and to apply.
“This money is just waiting to be used to further young ladies’ education to the fullest,” Moore said.
