DANVILLE (WSLS10) - Three members of Averett University's Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness have a plan they hope reduces crime and poverty in Danville.
They want to create a program allowing students to mentor kids in Danville's housing projects.
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The group will be in Washington, D.C. Tuesday along with two other private schools. Each school will be presenting its own idea to a group of judges.
If Averett's idea is selected, the members will receive a $30,000 grant to help fund the program.
"We think our students here at Averett have a lot of the same experiences that our students here in the Danville community have," said Rachel Covington, the assistant director of community engagement with the CCECC and one of the members who will be making the trip to D.C.
"So, the more interaction they can have we think it could improve a lot of Danville's challenges and solve some of those problems," continued Covington.
The program is expected to start in the fall of 2017 if the idea wins. It would last for nine months and the students would spend 20 hours a week mentoring.
Students who complete the program will earn a minor in leadership.