TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa non-profit is aiming to help students prioritize their education and helping them learn skills in leadership and financial literacy.
EmpowerED aims to help students and their families with learning more about how they can reach their higher education goals.
It was officially founded by Hieu Lê in January 2024.
“I grew up as an immigrant child, and home wasn't safe for me, and I had to escape home in order for me to fulfill my dreams," said Lê. "I didn't have a dream, but when I escaped my old past, that's why I was able to create my own dreams.”
Lê said he knows what it was like to grow up with limited resources and wanted to help students overcome that through empowerment.
“We started to find out that one of the main barriers, actually, is financial, financial burdens," he said. "That's the reason why we say, 'you know what? We are a program that invests with these children for a long time.'"
WATCH: Tulsa non-profit helping students save funds for higher education goals
One of the biggest perks Empower-ED provides students is a 529 savings account set up in their name.
Students get $20 a month that they’ll be able to put towards their next steps after high school.
Daisy Nonthe lives with her older brother Vicente and just graduated from Jenks High School. She wants to pursue a career in aviation.
“If you have the opportunity to be on the program, join it,” she said. “You don’t know what you’re gonna need when you’re in college and if you don’t have a job or a guardian that can help you, that savings account can help you when you’re really, really gonna need it.”
Her brother Vicente is proud of his sister for working towards her dreams, and is grateful to EmpowerED.
“One always wants to help their children financially, especially someone like Daisy who does want to continue studying," he said. "Resources can be limited sometimes so if there are programs that can help, that’s great!”
If you're interested in helping EmpowerED serve more students, their next fundraising event is Saturday, January 14.
More info is provided below:
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