Organization seeks to provide student with means to success

A new children's assistance program may be making its way to Cape Girardeau County.

Care to Learn provides funds for children to help them succeed in school, advocate for Care to Learn and Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said

"[Care to Learn] focuses on three areas: health, hunger and hygiene," he said.

Whether it's a pair of shoes, a winter coat, breakfast or toothbrushes, Kinder said the program provides the funds needed to provide students with what they need to keep them in school and improve the dropout rates around the county.

Founded by Doug Pitt, the Care to Learn program began in the fall of 2007. Pitt is a native of Springfield, Missouri, who lived and worked in the Springfield community for more than 40 years. After hearing some sobering statistics about his community's poverty rates he decided to take action.

There are now approximately 20 chapters in the southwest Missouri community supporting Care to Learn, and Kinder is hoping this program will soon move into the Cape Girardeau area.

At 5:30 p.m. today, Kinder and Pitt will meet with about 70 area business leaders, bankers, educators and others to listen to Pitt's pitch about the program and if it is something they would like to bring to the area.

Kinder is confident people will be accepting to the program, and he hopes, if the community decides to move forward on the project, that some local leaders will surface and a plan will develop.

Pitt is the brother of actor Brad Pitt, and, according to Kinder, he has been a philanthropist in the Springfield area for almost 10 years.

The program was recently approved in the St. Louis area, which reassures Kinder that it will also be approved in Southeast Missouri.

The need for a program like this is great in this area, Kinder said, with many middle and upper class residents maybe not even realizing some of the trials that lower-income residents suffer while trying to keep their children in school.

The meeting is not open to the public, but public support will be needed for the program.

smaue@semissourian.com

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