The City of Moreno Valley is proud to announce it has been named the 2018 Programs Award of Excellence recipient by the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) for its innovative program to encourage residents to attend college by providing financial incentives and helping students find jobs by providing stipends to businesses who hire recent Moreno Valley college graduates.
The City of Moreno Valley will be honored on March 16 at the Celebrating Success Awards as part of CALED’s 38th annual training conference.
In an effort to encourage more residents to pursue a college education and create a more educated workforce, the City of Moreno Valley partnered with Moreno Valley College to expand its Promise Initiative Program. Through its Hire MoVal program, the City also encourages local businesses to hire recent graduates by providing up to $5,000 in incentives.
The Promise initiative was created to help fund the first year of community college for first time students. The program covers the cost of any tuition, fees and textbooks not paid for by financial aid for the student’s first year of college.
Under the leadership of the Mayor and the City Council, the City agreed to match the College’s efforts and pledged $50,000 to pay for the second year of college for Moreno Valley residents attending the college.
“Our young people are the future of our City,” said Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez. “By partnering with Moreno Valley College on the Promise Initiative and Hire MoVal, we are not only eliminating the barriers to a college degree, we are investing in our most valuable asset – our youth.”
In addition to financial assistance, the program offers priority registration to ensure Promise students carry 12-15 units per semester, class planning, and an assigned success coach for the first year to guide students through the college process to earning a degree.
Priority is given to graduates from any high school within Moreno Valley Unified and Val Verde Unified School Districts.
In the first year of the program, the Moreno Valley Promise initiative funded more than 500 students and provided critical support services to increase the likelihood of participants earning a degree. The program also increased educational attainment, a vital metric used by economic developers and expanding businesses.
Additional details about the Promise Initiative can be found at http://www.mvc.edu/promise.
Businesses interested in hiring Moreno Valley grads in exchange for incentives of up to $5,000 as part of the City’s Hire MoVal program should call the City of Moreno Valley at 951.413.3475 or email hiremoval@moval.org.