CareSource, a missiondriven managed care plan serving more than 440,000 Georgians, announced a $1.4 million donation to the Pathways to Education Scholarship. CareSource (caresource. com/ga/plans) created the scholarship to help Georgia students, including those with complex needs and those in underserved communities, to attend schools that best fit their educational needs.
Learning to Serve (learningtoserve.org), aGeorgia Student Scholarship Organization, administers the scholarship and facilitates tax credits from individuals and businesses through an application process that includes approvals through the Georgia Department of Revenue. Since 2009, Learning to Serve has been helping Georgia students attend the accredited K-12 private school that best fits their needs. LTS students apply annually and are awarded scholarships based on community service. In 2023-24, Learning to Serve assisted more than 450 students statewide.
CareSource’s donation has provided scholarships, many of which are multi-year, to more than 150 students in Georgia. The CareSource scholarship has helped students across 24 counties, including students in Baldwin County.
“Through our collaboration with Learning to Serve, we are expanding educational opportunities to students with learning differences and students from underserved, rural communities who would greatly benefit from a smaller school setting,” CareSource Georgia President Jason Bearden explained.
“Studies show that people who are well educated experience better health outcomes. These scholarships are empowering families with the freedom to send their child to the school that will serve their individual needs and create the educational foundation that will lead them to become healthy, thriving adults.”
Learning to Serve receives applications from students across the state and awards scholarships based on three criteria – merit, community service, and need – to attend the private school of their choice. The scholarship recipients are asked to document their community service activities within their applications and show an increase in hours and leadership skills each year.
“Some students may thrive in a private school setting, but not all families can afford it,” Learning to Serve Executive Director and founder Mandy Hudson said. “Our scholarships provide students with life-changing opportunities, and we are extremely thankful for support from CareSource that will allow us to help even more Georgia families choose the school that meets their needs, regardless of financial constraints or zip code.”
This donation is distributed to the Pathways to Education Scholarship over two years.
– Contributed