Adjusting for inflation, the cost of college tuition since the mid-1970s has tripled at private universities—and it has quadrupled at public universities. Room and board have also more than doubled over the same period.

How do families pay for that? In many cases, by going into debt. Student loan debt in the United States has surpassed $1.7 trillion. (That is almost twice the amount of credit card debt in the U.S.!) According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average student loan debt for a college graduate in 2015 was about $37,850.

The need to assist students trying to afford post-secondary is real. And we can help. Our philosophy is this: If a lot of caring people give a little, it adds up to a lot.

Will you help young Memorial graduates to fulfill their dream of going to college? Donate here!

Educated people have many advantages over those who do not have a degree or career training. Some of those advantages are probably obvious—they are going to earn more money over a lifetime, they will have more job opportunities, they will be better equipped to change jobs or to move elsewhere for a better job. Partly because they earn more money, their family lives tend to be more stable, and they are also healthier.

Educated people also make positive contributions to their community. They are more likely to volunteer, they vote at a higher rate, and they give more money to local and national organizations.

We are all better off if we can help young people pursue post-secondary education either by earning a college degree or pursuing career-training.