The Ramirez Family Foundation and All-In Milwaukee have announced they are giving more than $1.35 million in 2019 to support low-income Milwaukee students complete college.
The Ramirez Family Foundation, founded by Husco International executive chairman Gus Ramirez and his wife Becky, will help provide aid for about 65 students in the 2019-20 school year.
All-In Milwaukee launched in September with the support of several business executives, including Darren Jackson, retired chief executive officer of Advance Auto Parts and a Marquette University alumnus, and two executives with Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. and the Baird Foundation.
The organization is designed to provide high-achieving students with support to help them navigate financial, academic and social challenges in college. The ultimate goal is to help them graduate and enter the Milwaukee workforce. The program is a replication of the Wallin Education Partners program in the Twin Cities area.
The Ramirez Family Foundation has committed to support five All-In Milwaukee Ramirez scholars for the 2019-20 school year and ten scholars for 2020-21. That is in addition to 25 to 30 traditional Ramirez Family Foundation scholarships for high-performing Milwaukee students. All-In Milwaukee and the foundation will work together to maximize financial aid with university partners, track college completion and monitor graduate matriculation into the greater Milwaukee job force, the organization said.
“The Ramirez family is delighted to combine forces with All-In Milwaukee to produce better outcomes for our scholars,” said Gus Ramirez, chairman of the Ramirez Family Foundation. “We expect this partnership to result in significantly higher college completion rates for our scholars.”
The Ramirez Family Foundation has been a longtime supporter of education initiatives in the city, including providing more than $3 million in scholarships for 720 students over the years. In 2017, the Ramirez family opened St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, a new school on Milwaukee’s south side.
Since its launch, All-In Milwaukee has surpassed its target goal of securing donors to support 30 scholars for its first class in 2019-20, and has increased its goal to 40 scholars.
“We are extremely grateful to the Ramirez Family Foundation and the greater Milwaukee community for believing in All-In Milwaukee and supporting our launch,” said Darren Jackson, All-In Milwaukee board chair and retired Advance Auto Parts CEO. “We are honored to partner with the Ramirez Family Foundation on student recruitment, the application process, financial aid distribution and to ensure as many low-income, high-performing students as possible are supported through college and into the Milwaukee workforce. We believe this partnership will only grow and serve more students and develop more talent for our city.”
