Startup charity helping low-income students access programs

Adam Rollins, Staff Writer
Posted 2/1/22

When Warrenton real estate agent Jessica Schanuel founded a charitable support effort for low-income students to have more educational opportunities, she avoided making any grand announcements about …

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Startup charity helping low-income students access programs

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When Warrenton real estate agent Jessica Schanuel founded a charitable support effort for low-income students to have more educational opportunities, she avoided making any grand announcements about the program. She said she didn’t want to draw attention, either to herself or to the students benefiting from her startup, the Allan Dreyer Memorial Youth Empowerment Program.

The nonprofit charity provides financial assistance for low-income and housing-insecure students to explore classes and extracurricular activities that they normally wouldn’t be able to participate in because of associated fees.

Despite Schanuel and other board members of the charity keeping their fundraising low-profile, they were nevertheless recognized recently by colleagues in the real estate industry. Members of the Women’s Council of Realtors - St. Charles County recently announced that they would contribute fundraising efforts throughout 2022 to the empowerment program.

Council President Sarah Bell said she recognized an important need that is being served by the empowerment program and asked the realtor group to support that need this year. Bell and Schanuel are both agents at Main Street Real Estate in Warrenton.

Bell said the mission of the empowerment program is actually very similar to that of the realtors council: giving people the resources they need for success, regardless of what they’re starting with.

“It doesn’t matter where you came from. If you want to get somewhere, there’s resources out there, and (the empowerment program) is one of them,” Bell commented. “I thought it was something really innovative that they’re doing at the local level.”

Bell said the results of the year’s fundraising will be donated in November 2022.

Schanuel told The Record that she was inspired to help low-income students have better access to programs after she got to know many of them while volunteering at Warrenton High School. Despite the students dealing with insecure housing and other challenges, they showed a dedication to being at school.

“Whether they’re walking 2 miles to school, they are still coming. And if they want to take a culinary class, if they want to take an art class, those classes all have fees. I wanted to be able to let them have all the opportunities that other kids might take for granted,” Schanuel commented. “I want those kids to know that the community cares about them. They live a hard life, and I want to do what I can to help them branch out, to excel.”

The identities of the students benefiting from the empowerment program are kept completely anonymous, even from Schanuel, in order to protect their privacy, she said. The charity works through a school counselor, who only provides basic information like what program the student is hoping to participate in.

The youth empowerment program, and the fundraising it provides, are relatively small compared to other local charities. But Schanuel said she’s been moved by how generous supporters have been when they’re told about someone else in need.

“People have big hearts, and if you go to them with a true need, they love to help,” she commented.

For more information about the program, go online to the Youth Empowerment Program page on Facebook. For questions about supporting the program, contact Schanuel by calling 636-297-0053.

Youth Empowerment Program, Warren County School District, Warrenton High School

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