Tonight, friends and family will gather at WKYC Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, to celebrate what would have been Gloria Pointer’s 50 ^th birthday.

Her mother, Yvonne Pointer, knew that staying in school would be a key to Gloria’s success. In 1984, the high school freshman was a cheerleader and had just made the basketball team and, on December 6, 1984, she was heading to school to receive a perfect attendance award. Tragically, Gloria was killed on her way to school that day.

Following that heartbreaking event, Yvonne looked for someone in the Cleveland community who was working to make sure this never happened to another child. “Over time, I became the person I was looking for,” Yvonne told Lorna Barrett in a news interview in 2013.

Yvonne has since put together numerous initiatives and programs in Cleveland to help keep children safe, including founding the Midnight Basketball League in the city, and has become an inspirational, motivational speaker for students and young people across the country.

Her efforts have even stretched internationally after she received a letter in 2003 from a boy named Anthony, living in Ghana, West Africa, who had found an excerpt from a 1996 news article about Yvonne and Gloria. With proceeds raised from her written work and speaking engagements, Yvonne sent funds to Anthony, who has since established the Gloria Pointer Teen Movement in Ghana, which educates young people about violence and disease under the motto that “Every child has the right to good health, education, and a violence free society.” In 2014, the Gloria Pointer Teen Movement Education Center was built in Ghana.

In 1991, using funds that were set aside for Gloria’s reward fund, Yvonne established the Gloria Pointer Memorial Scholarship to help students stay in school. The Gloria Pointer Memorial Scholarship, managed by College Now, is a tribute to the life of Gloria, as well as a form of outreach to those who have fallen victim to crimes and experienced similar hardships. To date, the scholarship has funded 35 students; 81.25% of those funded students have graduated or are still enrolled in a postsecondary program.

This year, a one-year $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to two African American female graduates from John Hay High School who have a strong desire to attain their college degree, but have faced obstacles or hardships along the way. Students who are interested in applying must be recommended by their College Now Advisor and complete the College Now Scholarship Application.

College Now is humbled to manage the Gloria Pointer Memorial Scholarship. To learn more about Gloria and Yvonne Pointer, please watch the video below and join us in celebrating the life of Gloria Pointer.

For more information, visit Yvonne Pointer’s website, www.yvonnepointer.com

College Now is seeking at least 200 more mentors to support a growing class of scholarship recipients!

College Now's unique Mentoring Program is strategically designed to accommodate the schedules of busy students and professionals. When you become a mentor, you join more than 1,700 other Cleveland professionals from over 500 Greater Cleveland employers in making a difference in the life of a local college student!

A small investment of your time can have a tremendous impact on a college student's life, and on the region's economy. If you have a two- or four-year degree and access to email, you can help a college student reach his or her full potential by sharing your experience and expertise. As a mentor, you communicate with your mentee twice a month , using an online platform, and see your mentee three times a year at group events that College Now organizes and hosts. It's a great option for busy people who want to give back and have a rewarding volunteer experience.

By completing an application to mentor today, you can help ensure that College Now and Say Yes scholarship recipients have the support they need to succeed! And, in order to accommodate everyone who is interested in applying, we have extended the deadline to apply until April 1st!

Ready to sign up? Click here to get started. Once your application is complete, a College Now staff member will contact you to set up a telephone interview and schedule an orientation. Matching will take place starting in May, and mentors and students will meet for the first time at College Now's August program Kick-Off event.

Already a mentor? Thank you! Consider encouraging others to mentor using our " Nominate a Mentor" tool. Kelly, a College Now mentor, has been hard at work recruiting her friends and family to join her in the program. She says:

"I am so thankful that I have the opportunity through College Now to help make a difference in the life of a student from my hometown! I've been blessed to have amazing mentors in my life that helped me navigate the road to and through college and beyond. I cannot image the journey along, and that is why I keep sharing with anyone who will listen about the importance of becoming a mentor. Together, we can change the path and break the cycle for young students looking to make a better life. College Now makes it so easy to be a mentor - just two emails per month and three face-to-face meetings a year can make all the difference in one child's life."

For more information, contact Jabari Dorsey ( jdorsey@collegenowgc.org or 216.635.0268).

College Now is excited to be partnering with the Cleveland International Film Festival as a community partner for the documentary " Hungry to Learn," which introduces audiences to "the faces behind an urgent American Crisis - college students who are so strapped to pay tuition they don't have enough money to eat or afford a place to live - and an expos é of how this crisis came to be."

The documentary, produced by Soledad O'Brien, will explore issues that College Now has seen many students face and works to remedy through programs such as Say Yes Cleveland.

Hungry to Learn will be shown on Sunday, March 29 at 1:20PM

and Monday, March 30 at 7:00PM at Tower City Cinemas during the CIFF, which will take place from March 25 to April 5.

For those interested in attending the screening of the documentary, the discount code NOW can be used to purchase your ticket. Ticket sales open on March 6 at 11AM for CIFF members, and on March 13 at 11AM for the general public. More information can be found on CIFF's website.

College Now recently commissioned Policy Matters Ohio to do research and produce a report on the state of Ohio's law that requires Ohio's public colleges and universities to send student debt to the Ohio Attorney General's office for collection. The report, released this month, details the challenges associated with this policy, such as the accumulation of fees and interest rates added to what students already owe, and the withholding of transcripts by schools from students who owe them money.

“Ohio policymakers set an official goal that 65% of our adult population will have a college degree, certificate, or credential by 2025,” said Julie Szeltner, senior director of adult programs and services at College Now Greater Cleveland. “That’s not going to happen if policies and practices drive students into debt that makes them unable to obtain a degree, especially students who are the first in their family to attend college.”

The report also contains recommendations to protect students, including encouraging schools to focus on debt-forgiveness, individual support, re-enrollment, and degree completion.

You can read the full report on Policy Matters Ohio's website.

In February, scholars from Warrensville's Upward Bound program watched the feature-length documentary Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, which takes a close look at the educational, judicial, and societal disparities facing Black girls. Scholars had the opportunity to observe an accurate depiction of some of the stereotypes and obstacles they might face during their high school years. The film urged these young women to take charge and push through those obstacles, and find a mentor who can help them navigate. They left feeling inspired to conquer these challenges!