Collaboration to Help Further Support, Advance Opportunities for Latinos
RESTON, Va., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM), the
nation's leading saving and paying for college company, has been recognized
as the official student loan partner of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation
(HHF), a nonprofit organization that works to identify, inspire, promote
and prepare Latino role models through national leadership, cultural,
educational and workforce programs.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
"Sallie Mae has clearly accepted a leadership role in education and has
made a point to provide a vision as well as opportunities for Latinos to
attend college," said Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the
Hispanic Heritage Foundation. "Thanks to their support, our foundation is
able to provide educational funding for young Latino leaders and position
them as role models for their peers to provide inspiration and a path to
success in the classroom and community."
Sallie Mae, along with more than 35 leading national Hispanic
organizations, will take part in HHF's annual celebration on Oct. 11 in
Washington, D.C. The event will honor the 2007 recipients for their
leadership and the impact achieved in their respective fields. Sallie Mae
will present the Hispanic Heritage Award in the education category to U.S.
Representatives Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) for
their work in advocating the Latino Museum Bill in Congress. The bill
serves as the foundation to establish the American Latino Museum, which is
designed to bring focus on the artistic, cultural and historical
contributions of Latinos in the United States.
"Sallie Mae is proud to support the work of the Hispanic Heritage
Foundation, as it believes as we do that everyone should have the chance to
grow into a dream," said C.E. Andrews, CEO, Sallie Mae. "Making education
accessible and affordable for all students at all times of their lives has
been our mission since 1972. Today, this commitment has served more than 21
million students."
As part of the HHF event, Sallie Mae also sponsored a breakfast for the
parents of the National Youth Award recipients on the morning of Oct. 11 on
Capitol Hill. That gathering provided parents and others in attendance with
information on how to pay for college and what steps can be taken to better
ensure students graduate.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, for every 100 Hispanic
children entering kindergarten, 63 will graduate from high school and only
11 will obtain a bachelor's degree by the age of 29. Sallie Mae is
committed to reversing this trend with programs and initiatives focusing on
the educational needs of Hispanic students and families. In addition to
scholarship programs, Sallie Mae's Hispanic efforts include:
-- Sallie Mae Hispanic, an effort that provides Solutions for Hispanic
Serving Institutions, as well as outreach and support to Hispanic
communities.
-- SallieMae.com in Espanol, which gives Hispanic families access to
information and resources on financing a college education, in their
native language.
-- Spanish content on CollegeAnswer.com, Sallie Mae's early outreach Web
site. The site helps Hispanic families with all of their planning and
paying for college needs -- not only with information about how to
finance a college education, but also with assistance in selecting
colleges, applying for admissions, searching for scholarships and
applying for financial aid.
-- Dedicated outreach hotline for Hispanic families in which Sallie Mae
representatives answer in Spanish and assist families with every aspect
of the college process.
-- 2Futuro, a college financing and outreach program for Spanish and
English speaking families. Developed with USA Funds, the nation's
leading student loan guarantor, 2Futuro specifically addresses the
needs of the 45 million Hispanics in this country today and the
colleges and universities serving them.
Sallie Mae also sponsors The Sallie Mae Fund, a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to increase access to higher education, particularly among
low-income and minority families and first-generation college students. In
response to research showing that low awareness about scholarships and
other forms of financial aid prevents many Latino young adults from
pursuing a higher education, The Sallie Mae Fund launched the Paying for
College Bus Tour. This coast-to-coast education campaign conducts free
workshops and distributes materials in Spanish and English to high school
students and their families in major Hispanic population centers. Now in
its fourth year, the Bus Tour has provided more than 500 workshops in 33
states, reaching 100,000 people.
This year, The Sallie Mae Fund awarded $2.5 million in scholarships to
college students with financial need, including the "First in My Family"
Scholarship Program for Hispanic-American students who are the first in
their family to pursue higher education. It also supported "Latino College
Dollars," a national directory of 300 scholarships available to Hispanic
students.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the
nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The
company manages $160 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8
million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewards
on purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer
debt management services as well as business and technical products to a
range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student
loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is
available at http://www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries
are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae,
achieves its mission-to increase access to a postsecondary education for
America's students-by supporting programs and initiatives that help open
doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and
bridge the gap when no one else can. For more information, visit
http://www.salliemaefund.org.
The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) identifies, inspires, promotes
and prepares Latino role models through national leadership, cultural,
educational and workforce programs. HHF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization, with all sponsorships facilitating its year-round programs,
including the Hispanic Heritage Awards, Youth Awards, LOFT (Latinos on Fast
Track) Network, Speakers Bureau, and HispanicHeritage.org. Additional
information is available on the Web at http://www.hispanicheritage.org or
by calling Esther Rege 202/210-8469.
SOURCE Sallie Mae
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Related links:
http://www.salliemae.com
http://www.salliemaefund.org
http://www.hispanicheritage.org
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/827187.html/
CONTACT:
Beth Guerard of Sallie Mae, +1-703-984-5621,
beth.guerard@salliemae.com
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