EAST ST. LOUIS – A group of parents and grandparents from Greater East St. Louis has been honored as a project winner for the 2019 Governor’s Hometown Award. The group was one of 21 recognized during a special reception at the Governor’s Mansion on November 14. The group, called Parents United For Change, received a plaque and road sign honoring their advocacy achievements in the year 2018.
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Parents United For Change unite across greater East St. Louis to create a community where all kids are safe, healthy, educated and prepared for success in school and life. Through their advocacy, HB 5195 was signed into Illinois law to allow free transportation to students who live in high-crime areas within 1.5 miles of their school. School District 189, who nominated Parents United For Change for the Governor’s Hometown Award, is working with law enforcement to submit the application for free bus transportation through the Illinois State Board of Education.
“Parents United For Change are truly focused on ensuring the safety of children and youth,” noted Sydney Kaufman, spokesperson for the East St. Louis School District. Their advocacy in 2018 focused on safe school transportation. Kaufman continued, “Their long-term goal was to obtain free bus transportation services for all School District 189 students. While waiting for this, they earned short-term successes as well, including getting bus services for dozens of students because the routes were deemed unsafe due to hazardous road conditions.”
The Governor’s Hometown Awards program gives formal recognition to those who contributed to their community’s quality of life through projects that had strong volunteer support, met a need, and made a definitive impact. The awards are presented by the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.
East St. Louis School District 189 is focused on providing rigorous, high quality education and exceptional educational experiences to the nearly 6,000 students within the community. Our vision is for students to be supported physically, socially, and emotionally in a safe and nurturing environment to achieve academic success that prepares them for college, the workforce, and citizenship in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.estl189.com. Follow more great stories @estl189 on Facebook and Twitter.
