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Steve Crim, Smithfield Foods corporate liaison for Learners to Leaders, speaks at the announcement of the new partnership in Denison, Ia.

Smithfield Foods and Farmland Foods launched a five-year partnership in April, along with the Denison Community School District and Iowa State University, to help prepare 60 to 75 disadvantaged eighth grade and high school students for college.

Smithfield Foods is underwriting the estimated $296,000 cost of the program, which will run from October 2007 through May 2012.

The community educational initiative is the latest partnership in Smithfield’s Learners to Leaders alliance. The Denison program will feature Iowa State’s Science Bound program, which has developed a national reputation for increasing the number of diverse students who go to college to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees.

“The goal of the Learners to Leaders alliance is to help reinforce what we believe is the most critical part of any community’s foundation, the education of its residents,” said C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer at Smithfield Foods. “We have always been firm believers in giving back to our communities, and we can think of no better way than to bring educational opportunities to disadvantaged youth in Denison to help them achieve their dreams.”

Learners to Leaders and Science Bound will select Denison students from eighth through 12th grade from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in college. They include students who are part of ethnic groups that are considered underrepresented in the sciences.

Beginning in October 2007, 10 to 15 eighth grade students will be the first to participate in the Learners to Leaders program. Each year an additional class will be added to the program and eventually 60 to 75 eighth through 12th graders will take part.

In addition to enabling students and parents, Science Bound supports teachers and provides resources as they set high expectations for students; provides students with rigorous course expectations and academic support; and exposes students to science and technology experiences with professional scientists, engineers and technologists.

“Science Bound’s goal is to increase the number of diverse young people who pursue and earn science-related college degrees,” said Connie Hargrave, Science Bound program director at Iowa State University. “Empowering and informing student and their parents about the necessary elements of preparing for and obtaining a college education are essential to meeting this goal.”

The Denison program is the third Learners to Leaders project in the country. Additional programs have launched recently in South Dakota and Wisconsin. Smithfield Foods plans to launch similar educational partnerships in communities across the nation and in Europe.

“Our ultimate goal is to bring Learners to Leaders to as many communities as possible where our employees live and work,” said Dennis Treacy, vice president of environmental and corporate affairs at Smithfield Foods.

The Learners to Leaders™ alliance in Green Bay hosted a two-day leadership conference on March 30-31 for approximately 300 local high school students.

The highlight of the event was a speech by motivational speaker Bill Cordes. Charles Griffith spoke on behalf of Smithfield Foods.

The conference was the first activity of the Learners to Leaders alliance in Green Bay. Announced in February, the Green Bay partnership consists of Smithfield Beef Group and Wisconsin-based Destination Education. Its goal is to motivate 200 to 350 local middle and high school students to continue their education by organizing and funding leadership conferences, educational workshops, cultural activities and incentive trips.