The Fletcher Fund for Equality and Education announced it will begin accepting applications in the coming months from exceptional students from underserved communities as they pursue opportunities in higher education. The fund will provide scholarships, mentorships, and other critical support to each selected student. The goal is to break down potential barriers preventing them from pursuing higher education at the top colleges and universities their achievements deserve.
The fund will initially focus on high schools in Mobile, Alabama, the hometown of founders Christian and Amber Fletcher, who both came from working class families, but achieved great success through higher education. Christian Fletcher and his wife Amber Fletcher are now the CEO and COO, respectively, of LifeBrite Laboratories and LifeBrite Hospital Group. Both were motivated to give back to their communities at a time when the injustices of inequality are pronounced and prominent.
“As inequalities that have hampered the U.S. for most of our history come to the forefront of public attention with undeniable clarity,” says Christian Fletcher, “we want to catalyze a generational cycle of education, wealth, and leadership that uplifts communities of mutual support.”
The couple wanted to go beyond giving scholarships, because their personal experience proves tuition alone wouldn’t be enough to set students up for success. Amber Fletcher, who attended University of Alabama at Birmingham, remembers facing many additional costs upon acceptance.
“Students in these circumstances need more than tuition,” she says. ”Without additional support, they’ll have nothing left to eat and no way to go home to see their families between semesters.”
Many such students give up their dreams of higher education and possible subsequent opportunities. Others enroll but have to drop out when mounting costs and burdens become too much to manage while studying full-time.
“We fail them as a society when they do everything they’re supposed to,” says Christian Fletcher, “but then discriminate against them based on socioeconomic status. That’s not fair. It’s easier for society to turn a blind eye, to leave it for others to address. But I would like the world to be a better place.”
“The level of resilience these students have shown to overcome their situation, to make good grades, to excel,” says Amber Fletcher, “is something we want to reward.”
For more information, contact [email protected] or call 251-591-6135.