40 City Empowerment Tour, Featuring Career Coaches;
$4 Million in Full-Tuition Scholarships; Job
Shadowing; and Fundraising to Educate, Empower and
Employ
DENVER, June 10
/PRNewswire/ -- eLearners.com, a web resource of
EducationDynamics, which has successfully connected
learners to online education since 1999, announced today
the launch of a new national program aimed at helping
adults kick start their careers through education,
entitled "Career Stimulus Package" (www.careerstimulus.com).
The comprehensive career education program will offer
undereducated, underemployed adults access to online
education opportunities, including up to $4
million in full-tuition scholarships, and job
shadowing programs at some of America's most innovative
companies. At the center of the campaign is a 40-city RV
"Empowerment Tour" offering free career coaching
services which starts in Denver, Colorado
on June 12, 2009 and concludes in
Los Angeles on September 9, 2009.
"The undereducated, underemployed adult population is
a silent crisis in America today and it needs a voice -
a very loud voice," explains Terrence Thomas,
EVP Marketing Operations for eLearners.com, which just
completed the third series of its Project Working Mom
campaign which partnered with colleges and universities
to provide more than $5 million in
full-tuition online college scholarships; an eighteen
month campaign that received more than 400,000
applicants.
The Career Stimulus Package and Empowerment Tour is
the voice designed to help adult Americans overcome the
barriers of time, money and confidence in pursuing a
college degree. The scholarships provided by the
participating schools, and the scholarship funds raised
during the tour, is one small but significant step in
helping to alleviate the financial burden. By studying
online, students can do class work from home, during
their lunch hour at work, and at any time of day
mitigating the obstacle of time. And through the
comprehensive Career Stimulus Package efforts, adults
can get the knowledge and information they need to feel
confident about returning to school.
"Everyone talks about the crisis in education, but
nobody is focusing on the root cause - the lack of
college educated adults in the U.S.," explained Thomas.
"Not only is the fact that more than 70% of Americans
aged 25 and older not having a bachelor's degree
debilitating to the competitive status of our nation,
but it's adversely affecting future generations as these
adults ultimately become parents and we need them to be
education role models for America's children."
The tour's primary ambassador is Flavia
Colgan, a passionate advocate for education
over the past decade. She served as the first woman and
youngest Chief of Staff in the country for
Pennsylvania's Lt. Governor Catherine Baker
Knoll. And, most recently she has appeared as a
correspondent and commentator on several national TV
networks including CBS, MSNBC and FOX.
"While the Career Stimulus Package and Empowerment
Tour are a catalyst for discussion and change, they are
certainly not enough," said Colgan. "Funding for
non-traditional adult education must become an ongoing
national priority. Half of the projected job growth in
the United States
over the next decade will require a college degree. To
truly strengthen America's workforce, we need to equip
adults to take on these jobs. If we can educate, we can
empower and employ. It's the solution to America's
current and future economic woes."
The components of the Career Stimulus Package
include:
Full-Tuition Scholarships
The Career Stimulus Package campaign will award
full-tuition scholarships to adults who have applied
through
www.careerstimulus.com. The scholarships will
let deserving adults attend an accredited online college
or university tuition free. The total value of these
scholarships, which range from the associate's level to
the Ph.D. level, is about $4 million.
Participating schools providing the scholarships
include: American Public University, Ashworth
College, Bryant & Stratton College,
Capella University, Ellis University, Everest
University, Virginia College, and
Western Governors University. To apply for a
scholarship, applicants must submit a short application
and essay describing their goals, why they want to go
back to school and past instances of triumph over
adversity. The participating schools will select the
recipients. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is
October 31.
Job Shadowing
The individuals selected to receive scholarships will
also receive a one-week, paid job shadowing opportunity
with one of the Career Stimulus Package participating
companies, including: CareerBuilder.com, Dictionary.com,
ZipRealty, Entrepreneur Magazine, eLance,
EducationDynamics, Habitat for Humanity, spud! and
Orbitek, LLC. This job shadowing opportunity will
provide scholarship recipients the chance to learn more
about the industries they have interest in and will also
provide the opportunity to network with professionals.
The Tour
The "Empowerment Tour: Educate. Empower. Employ."
Will travel to approximately 40 cities across the
country by RV. The tour will launch in Denver
on June 12 and conclude in Los
Angeles on September 9. The
tour will offer free career laser coaching sessions to
help Americans discover what is holding them back and
the strategies needed to move toward success. The two
participating career coaches will be available from
7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations will be accepted
online starting June 10 at
www.empowermenttour.com; however,
reservations can be made on location as well.
In addition to free career coaching sessions, each
Empowerment Tour stop will feature an Education Station
where people can apply for a full-tuition scholarship.
The Empowerment Tour will also include Donation Stations
at each stop where people can donate old suits and other
interview appropriate attire. Each tour stop will also
include complimentary snacks and drinks throughout the
day.
For more information on the Career Stimulus Package,
The Empowerment Tour and the full-tuition scholarships
and job shadowing opportunities, visit
www.careerstimulus.com. For additional
information on the Empowerment Tour, go to
www.empowermenttour.com.
Empowerment Tour Schedule
(Subject to Change)
June 12: Denver, CO July 14 & July 15: Washington, D.C.
June 15 & 16: Dallas, TX July 16 & July 17: Philadelphia, PA
June 18: New Orleans, LA July 19 - July 22: New York City
June 19: Mobile, AL July 23 & July 24: Boston, MA
June 22: Pensacola, FL July 27: Scranton, PA
June 24: Tampa, FL July 29 & July 30: Pittsburgh, PA
June 25 & June 26: Miami, FL July 31: Cleveland, OH
June 28 & 29: Jacksonville, FL August 2 - August 4: Detroit, MI
July 1 & July 2: Atlanta, GA August 6 & August 7: Chicago, IL
July 3 - July 9: 4th of July Break August 10: Indianapolis, IN
July 10: Nashville, TN August 11: St. Louis, MO
July 12 & 13: Baltimore, MD August 12: Kansas City, MO
August 13: Omaha, NE August 28: Spokane, WA
August 14: Des Moines, IA August 31: Seattle, WA
August 17: Minneapolis, MN September 1: Portland, OR
August 19: Rapid City, SD September 3: Sacramento, CA
August 21: Cheyenne, WY September 4: San Francisco, CA
August 24: Salt Lake City, UT Sept. 6 - Sept. 9: Los Angeles, CA
August 26: Boise, ID
About eLearners.com(R)
eLearners.com is one of several high visibility
websites operated by EducationDynamics. Since 1999,
eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners
to online education, including online degree and
certificate programs, specialized career training, and a
variety of online courses. For prospective students,
eLearners.com provides a powerful search engine for
users to find thousands of online program offerings, as
well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid
resources. For colleges and universities, the
eLearners.com website offers a low-cost,
performance-based method to provide national exposure
and increase enrollments in their online learning
programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit
http://www.eLearners.com.
About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard
Capital, is higher education's leading marketing and
information services company dedicated to helping
institutions find, enroll and retain more students. Its
content-rich and highly visible education websites,
including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com,
GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com and its more than 50
special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the
premier provider of qualified prospective students for
colleges and universities. In addition, the company
offers a full suite of Web-delivered services proven to
drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition.
For more information, visit
http://www.educationdynamics.com.
Contact:
Jenny Foust
CSG-PR
jfoust@csg-pr.com
(303) 433-7020 or (720) 244-4268
