 The school year is well over for Central Lakes College in Brainerd, but thanks to a $21,000 grant, 50 students are able to overcome adversity and stay in school through the end of the school year. The Great Lakes Higher Education Emergency Assistance Grant allowed the college to assist students with emergency funding, such as paying rent and utility bills in order to help them stay in school. The emergency funding was good for up to $500 per student. Ultimately, the grant allowed the college to also improve its retention rate. So retention is something that I think is really important at CLC. One of the things I love about working at CLC is I think we really care about students. And one thing we found is that with this grant, 88% of the people who were in the grant were able to continue, they were retained, which is a very high number, much higher than our traditional college number. So I think we're finding this program is a big success. The total funds accumulated to $21,000, $13,000 of that came from Great Lakes. The other eight came from the CLC Foundation. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.