New partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs will offer mentoring opportunities for students

A new partnership between the University of Washington Tacoma and Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound — called the Great Futures Fund — will offer scholarships and paid fellowships to students in exchange for mentoring youth at the clubs.

The Great Futures Fund will provide financial support and practical work experience to UW Tacoma’s students as they serve as mentors for underprivileged youth in the nine club branches affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound. The fund has two phases of participation, a Great Futures Scholarship for entering freshmen students and a paid public service internship for students during their sophomore, junior and senior years at UW Tacoma.

The Great Futures Scholarship will cover tuition and standard student fees for each recipient for one academic year at UW Tacoma. Recipients will be selected from club branches affiliated with the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound, with preference given to the finalists for the BGCSPS Youth of the Year competition. All scholarship recipients must apply and meet admission standards for freshmen at the University of Washington Tacoma.

The public service internship will occur during the student’s sophomore, junior and senior years at UW Tacoma. This internship will provide opportunities for students to perform paid public service at any Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound branch for up to 20 hours per week. Any UW Tacoma student is eligible for participation in the internship program with preference given to Great Future Scholarship recipients after their freshmen year.