Article archive / November 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 11. Source pages: 6.
In a news announcement last week, the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s (ULM) Gerontology program, lead by psychologist Dr. Karen Frye, and partnering with the DeSoto Parish Police Jury, Intermediate School District, and Department of Community Services, has been awarded at $690,000 grant for a Foster Grandparent (FG) program in DeSoto Parish.
The FG program, which began in 1965, is a federally funded program coordinated by the Corporation for National & Community Services, said ULM news. The program works with adults 55 years and older who are on a fixed income, to become foster grandparents, paired with one or two children, and working 15-20 hours per week in public school Grades K-12.
Dr. Karen Frye, Biedenharn Endowed Chair and ULM Professor of Gerontology, said the program is one of the “best examples of how a university can partner with community groups and make a difference.”
Dr. Frye, Rita Massey, FG Program Director, and Maidie Johnson, FG DeSoto Parish Coordinator, comprise the team for this program, said ULM news. Dr. Frye and Massey wrote the $689,883 grant. Frye has been involved in community partnering and grant writing for over 20 years.
“The biggest impact we see is academic progress,” Dr. Frye said to the ULM news. “The power is in the fact that somebody shows they care, even if it’s a stranger. The kids want to go to school because they want to work with their foster grandparents.”
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