Good Citizenship: Helping Black Families Pay for College

LOUISVILLE, KY (Tuesday, April 27, 2004) - Today's African-American students are the history makers of tomorrow. Helping these deserving young people get the education they need to achieve: a new program at a popular fast-food chain that makes it easy to contribute to college scholarship programs while eating out.

"The harsh reality is that it's expensive and not everyone can afford to go to college," said Mike Baker, Chief Marketing Officer for Long John Silver's, Inc. "Through sales of the Tom Joyner Platter, we hope to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during 2004."

The seafood chain makes a donation to the Tom Joyner Foundation - named for the nationally syndicated radio host, entrepreneur and philanthropist - for each Tom Joyner Platter sold.

"Education is a beautiful thing, and money - or the lack of it - should never be the deciding factor on whether our children attend college. Unfortunately, it often is. It's up to us to use all the tools that we have to make sure they have the finances needed to advance," writes Joyner in his foreword to the new book Eight Steps to Help Black Families Pay for College. Written by Thomas LaVeist, Ph.D. and Will LaVeist, the book features many helpful hints for African-American students and their parents, including:

Choose the right school. Assess areas such as academic programs, student body size and location when choosing a school.
Get your head around financial aid. Learn how your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated and how to lower it; learn about the different types of financial aid and how to earn more.
Learn how to apply for aid and negotiate better deals, throughout the student's college career.
You can help make a difference for African-American students when you order the Tom Joyner Platter. Price at $6.99, it includes Crunchy Shrimp, two pieces of fish, one Chicken Plank®, corn, fries, slaw and two hushpuppies. To order Eight Steps to Help Black Families Pay for College, visit Barnes & Noble's web site.

View all Long John Silver's Press Releases

This article has been read 221 times.

Printer Friendly