GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Dejohnae Cegelis said her 6-year-old daughter Amari loves dancing around and being a cheerleader. In June, she participated in a competition at DeVos Place and won a pair of medals.
Cegelis said she was glad to see her daughter showcase her skills on the main stage because the sport is so expensive.
“Her cheer practices are $9 every week and then it’s like a $10 registration fee. And then competition is different fees,” Cegelis said during an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday, Sept. 19. “And then it was $129 for soccer. And she got some homework materials that was like $100.”
Cegelis said she also got Amari a membership to the YMCA, which cost $40. Fortunately, the expenses did not break her bank, thanks to a scholarship from Amplify GR.
“We believe collectively that every child deserves equal access to enrichment opportunities,” said Latesha Lipscomb, Amplify GR’s director of engagement and relationships. “Through the OutBridge AGR program we are providing learners with $500 scholarships to help increase their love of learning.”
She said applicants have to be ages 3 to 18 and live within the corridor of Division Avenue to Hall Street and Giddings Avenue to Burton Street in the 49507. There’s 360 slots and the kids can use the money for anything they’d like.
“The $500 scholarships can be used by the learner in a variety of different ways, whether your child has always been interested in taking a swim class, whether or not they want to participate in AAU and they need to pay those fees in order to participate,” Lipscomb said during an interview with FOX 17 in mid-September. “If they want to explore at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum or even they need some tutoring assistance right there in the home, that $500 scholarship can be used to meet your learners right at their need.”
Amplify GR, which was founded by the DeVos family, teamed up with the educational nonprofit OutSchool.org to launch the scholarship program for marginalized communities. Lipscomb said both organizations believe that learning outside of the classroom is just as important as learning inside.
“With this scholarship parents will be able to focus on increasing their child’s love of learning [while] at the same time it frees up their purse strings to do some other things to financially take care of basic needs for the family,” Lipscomb said.
According to a survey conducted by LendingTree earlier this year, parents paid on average $731 annually for their kids' extracurricular activities. For parents making six figures, it was over $1,000. Of the 2,000 people who were polled, 62 percent said they were stressed out about paying for it and 42 percent said they’ve taken on debt because of it.
“Rent is expensive. Two-bedroom [homes] are high. Even just apartments, they’re expensive,” Cegelis said. “Car notes [too]. People have five, six, seven kids. If it’s not a two-parent house, it’s even more hard. Gas is expensive these days. Food is expensive these days. The list goes on and on.”
Cegelis said she’s grateful for the financial assistance. Her youngest daughter qualified for the scholarship this year and on Thursday, Sept. 21, she received the $500.
As of Friday, Sept. 22, all the slots were filled, said Amplify GR’s Communications Manager Jenny Luth. They had 500 students apply and slots won’t open again until the next phase next year.
Nevertheless, there is a wait list this year, Luth said, and it’s already lengthy.
Cegelis recommended parents get on it if they can.
“Get on that waiting list,” Cegelis said. “If I had another kid or whatever, if my kids would be able to be in the program again, I would definitely sign them up again.”
Check out our list of community resources available to help in West Michigan.