June 15, 2010
Generation Charleston focusing on scholarships, workshops
By Whitney Burdette

CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Generation Charleston, a committee of the Charleston Area Alliance, has chosen College Summit as its year-long cause.
The group is seeking volunteers to staff College Summit’s six summer workshops at colleges and universities around the state. It’s also working to provide funds for a scholarship.
Larissa Adams, a senior from Sissonville High School, was chosen to receive Generation Charleston’s $2,000 scholarship. She also received a laptop and will receive $100 certificates each year for the next three years.
“We chose Larissa because she had a very powerful essay,” said Rachelle Beckner, project coordinator. “She’s a well-rounded student with a lot of drive and desire to achieve. We could see her succeeding with this extra push.”
Adams accepted the scholarship and laptop at an event on June 3.
College Summit was formed in Washington in 1993 to help inner-city students improve their writing skills before going to college. Since then, the organization has expanded to 13 states, including West Virginia.
College Summit hosts workshops at colleges and universities throughout the state where students work on their writing skills and develop a compelling essay to use on their college applications, Beckner said.
“It works with students who are B or C students who have a potential they don’t see,” Beckner said.
The Charleston Area Alliance has teamed up with College Summit in the past, and has also provided scholarships. However, this is Generation Charleston’s first involvement with the organization.
“What we agreed to was to issue the scholarship and raise funds for it,” Beckner said. “The other big component was to help College Summit find the volunteers they need for their workshops. They need people to serve as writing coaches.”
Beckner said almost anyone can volunteer as a College Summit writing coach, even those who are not professional writers. Background checks are conducted to maintain student safety, and training is provided for volunteers.
“If someone has writing skills, that would be helpful,” Beckner said. “I think just the desire to help young people be successful and go to college would be the first criteria.”
Concord University in Athens and Glenville State College in Glenville are in need of volunteers for their workshops in late June and July. Each workshop is three days and participants and coaches stay on-campus in a residence hall.
The Concord workshops are scheduled for June 24-27 and July 8-11. The Glenville workshops are scheduled for July 15-18 and July 22-25.
One of Generation Charleston’s goals is to make the city more appealing to businesses through community projects and organizations like College Summit, said group member Danny Forinash.
“The purpose of the group is to make Charleston more attractive for younger professionals in the Kanawha Valley region in terms of keeping them here and attracting new people to the region,” Forinash said.
Generation Charleston is continually fundraising for the scholarship. It will host a homecoming-themed gala on Aug. 7 at the University of Charleston Grand Ballroom. Tickets are $30 and include food and drink, music, contests and door prizes. Beckner said approximately $10 of every ticket will go directly to the scholarship fund.
To volunteer for a College Summit workshop, contact Jayme Waldeck at 304-204-4061.  To donate to the Generation Charleston College Summit Scholarship, call Danny Forinash at 304-340-4253.