Jane Bradley Pettit is known for her tremendous impact on the Greater Milwaukee area. From 1985 until her death, Jane Bradley Pettit contributed more than $250 million to various projects aimed at improving the lives of families in the community.
She established the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation to initiate and sustain projects that promote the welfare of families and children and disadvantaged people, and was committed to using education as a method to improve the quality of life in Milwaukee. The innovative Life Impact Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an ongoing example of that legacy.
Developed collaboratively by the Pettit Foundation and UW-Milwaukee in 2005, Life Impact helps low-income students with children at UW-Milwaukee overcome the numerous barriers they face in completing their education and move into family-supporting careers.
In addition to providing $2 million for over two hundred $5,000 scholarships by 2010, the Foundation offered valuable expertise towards the creation of Life Impact. The Pettit Foundation and UWM designed the program as a pilot to help find out which support services are needed to help students with children overcome the numerous barriers - large and small - they face in completing their education.
"The Foundation's staff has continuously provided in-depth knowledge of low-income families in Milwaukee area which shapes the program to more effectively address the unique needs of participants," said Natalie Reinbold, Life Coach/Coordinator for The Life Impact Program.
Many of the participants are single mothers who face a high risk of a lifetime of poverty. Life Impact not only provides financial aid, but other resources vital to responding to the student-parents' multiple needs, including:
- access to a "life coach," who serves as a first point of contact for all concerns and follows the students' progress;
- limited funds for emergencies, such as child care expenses, car repairs, rent, and professional development, that could stop a student from progressing with their academic efforts; and,
- social activities and events on campus to help participants and their families feel integrated into the university.
"Life Impact is not just about supporting one student; it supports an entire family and assures a generational impact for disadvantaged families," said Reinbold.
Although the pilot ends in 2010, plans to grow the Life Impact Program are being developed since there is an increasing number of students and families who will benefit from the wide-ranging scholarship and support services.
