LAUNCHING Yes I Can! GO TO COLLEGE - A NEW WEBSITE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

(Wilmington, DE ) - The $tand By Me financial empowerment initiative has partnered with the Christina School District to create Yes I Can! GO TO COLLEGE. This site features the best websites on the topic of going to college. For anyone looking for these resources online, the number of sites with information can be daunting, and some of the sites not only are inaccurate but charge for assistance. Dr. Freeman Williams, the superintendent of the Christina School District is proud to be involved in this initiative with $tand By Me. He commented, "This partnership with the Christina School District is a wonderful venture and this new website provides opportunities for young people to expand their horizons."

Yes I Can! GO TO COLLEGE features information and resources to help students and families make decisions about post-secondary opportunities. An important goal of the site is to motivate students to take that next step in pursuit of a post-secondary education. Encouraging high school students to go to college is an important goal for Governor Jack Markell and others throughout the state.

During November, which is College Application Month, many high school seniors are getting assistance from volunteers in their school, but now this website is also available to provide easy-to-understand information. The site features both national and local information. The website was designed to help students figure out the answers to questions like:

• What Do I Want to Be?
• How Do I Get There?
• How Do I Pay For It?

There are an estimated 5,500 public high school seniors in Delaware who will be applying to college this year and this website is a FREE resource available to all of them.

To visit the site, go to www.YesICanDE.com

About $tand By Me
$tand By Me, the Delaware Financial Empowerment Partnership (DFEP), is a joint venture of the State of Delaware and United Way of Delaware. $tand By Me's mission is to provide Delawareans with a Personal Financial Coach and a toolkit to navigate the challenges leading to personal financial security. The program goal is to increase the capacity of Delawareans to understand and manage their finances in order to increase their financial stability and future economic opportunities. $tand By Me financial empowerment centers are co-located within public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that embrace shared goals of reaching and serving Delawareans who want to take charge of their financial future. Since it started in 2011, $tand By Me has served almost 3,000 Delawareans with all types of financial issues from credit card debt to retirement. To learn more about $tand By Me, go to www.standbymede.org.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.