Choosing to Excel outlines school‑based prevention and youth development work; local grant supports summer meals and clubs
Summary
Choosing to Excel founder Thelma Moton described decades of school‑based prevention work, including lunchtime clubs, summer programming and a November fundraiser. The group said county funding helps provide meals and support for in‑school and summer enrichment.
Thelma Moton, founder and executive director of Choosing to Excel, described the nonprofit’s school‑based prevention work and asked the committee to continue county support for ongoing programming.
Moton said Choosing to Excel operates clubs in middle and high schools that teach goal‑setting, decision‑making, character education and pregnancy prevention; the group serves students in Conway and neighboring towns through in‑school weekly meetings and a summer program that provides meals. She said the organization was founded in 1970 and has since expanded to serve roughly 3,100 students a year in Faulkner County.
Moton described a long history of small grants and federal match funding that helped scale the program statewide in the 1990s; she said the organization continues to rely on grants and donations. She told the committee the county’s appropriation (noted earlier as $2,500 in committee materials) helps the group provide cheap meals and snacks during lunchtime programming and cover other operational costs for clubs in schools that lack space and funding.
Moton invited committee members to the group’s November 15 fundraising event, which includes performances by alumni who have appeared on national television. She said Choosing to Excel maintains independent audits and will provide documentation if requested.
The committee did not take any formal vote on the presentation.
