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City encourages ‘Pittsburgh Promise' scholarship recipients to stay in area

PITTSBURGH — City officials are encouraging Pittsburgh Promise scholarship recipients to stay in the area after graduation and local employers to hire them.

Nearly $92 million in scholarship has been given away to students, and more than 7,000 students have benefited from the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship over the last eight years.

Councilmember Corey O’Connor said he is introducing a resolution in council to give $60,000 in grants to Pittsburgh Promise graduates and the city businesses to hire them.

“We hope this grant money will entice more people to stay in the city of Pittsburgh and also for more employers to hire local talent,” O’Connor said.

The city is partnering with the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the African American Chamber of Commerce. Both organizations will begin taking applications in January.

Grant money will be given to businesses to incentivize them to hire local scholarship graduates.

“I think this is the right step, at the right time, to get the promise students more heavily engaged,” Doris Carson Williams of the African American Chamber of Commerce said.

Preference will be given to “minority – women and veteran – owned” city businesses.

O’Connor said the grant money is already in the budget and is left over funds from the youth employment program.