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For Sarah Granderson, who graduated from Ramsay High School in 2021 and is now a senior at Jacksonville State University, Birmingham Promise is more than a program. “It’s a path to economic opportunity that can truly change lives,” she said.
Through Promise scholarships, Granderson has been able to work toward her degree in political science and sociology without needing student loans. She also continues to benefit from her time as an intern at Oakworth Capital Bank, where she met people who continue to serve as mentors and role models. “To this day, I stay in touch,” she said.
On Friday, Granderson attended a gathering that brought together city leaders, employers, and students who have benefited from Birmingham Promise. The program celebrated its fifth anniversary helping city students with scholarships and internships.
Since its creation in 2019, Birmingham Promise has provided college scholarships totaling $11 million to 1,636 graduates of Birmingham City Schools. It has also facilitated paid internships for more than 300 high-school students in the Birmingham system.
The independent nonprofit organization was originally launched by Mayor Randall Woodfin’s administration. Woodfin, speaking at the anniversary event at the Fennec on Friday, said while Birmingham Promise is a charitable organization, its programs aren’t handouts so much as investments that will pay long-term dividends.
“Birmingham Promise, it turns out five years later, is not just the largest economic mobility program in Birmingham; it’s the largest economic mobility program in the state of Alabama for high school students,” Woodfin said.
That is why PNC recently donated $10 million to Birmingham Promise over the next 10 years – the largest private donation in the organization’s history, said Bill Demchak, the chairman and CEO of PNC. The programs, he said, will ultimately benefit the students, the city and the businesses within it. “When our communities thrive, we thrive,” Demchak said.
Promise Executive Director Samantha Williams said almost all students who benefit from Birmingham Promise are people of color, and many come from poor homes where parents did not attend college — all factors that can create roadblocks to higher education and career opportunities. “They are surmountable,” she said, “with help.”
Already, Birmingham Promise has seen growth in the number of freshman college students who return the next fall — a key indicator of how many of them will ultimately complete a degree. The percentage of freshmen returning for the sophomore year grew from 66 percent in 2021 to 74 percent in 2023, she said.
Carver alum Damiuna Dawson said she graduated from UAB in four years with no debt thanks to Birmingham Promise, and is now pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Alabama A&M. But one of the things that excites her most is that her college journey has inspired an older sibling and even Dawson’s mother to pursue additional education.
In accepting the Promise Keeper Award from Birmingham Promise board chair Danny McKinney, Regions executive Leroy Abrahams spoke about more ripple effects that will come from Birmingham Promise.
“It’s so powerful to think of what comes from this,” said Abrahams, who is on the Birmingham Promise board and served as chairman for most of its history.
He recalled being the first member of his family to receive a four-year college degree and said he realized at a recent gathering with his adult children that he was “the least-educated person in the family.”
“This is generational impact,” he added.
While it will take time to reap the full rewards, he urged supporters to be patient and keep investing in Birmingham Promise. “The cost of ignorance,” he said, “is a lot higher than the price of an education.”
For more information on Birmingham Promise, visit http://www.birminghampromise.org/.
