The troubled children are the ones who need the structure and services of government agencies. They get labeled "problem children" at school, they become involved with law enforcement agencies, they are adjudicated, undisciplined or delinquent by the courts, and they often spend time in training schools or detention facilities.

The uncommitted children are those who are neither achievers nor troubled. Many have the ability to become achievers, and most have the lifestyle to become troubled. They are in the gray area which separates success from failure. Given the chance, they will become achievers. Denied the chance, they may become troubled. They represent our greatest opportunity to make a significant impact on society.

Their opportunity for achievement may take one of several forms. It may be a positive role model, it may be encouragement to excel, it may be recognition for success. Likewise, the troubled life may be facilitated by the absence of positive influences. Achievers are good citizens, productive workers, and assets to the community. Furthermore, their example has a positive impact on peers and family.

In 1989, the Foundation for Good Business, recognizing the importance of motivating uncommitted children to become achievers, established the Extra Special Super Kids Scholarship Program as an incentive for uncommitted children in grades five through eight.

In 1991, the Foundation awarded five scholarships. Eight were awarded in 1992, and seven were awarded in 1993. Several have been awarded in each of the subsequent years. Each $1 ,000 scholarship is awarded conditional upon the recipient meeting the achievement criteria until graduation from high school. The scholarships send a strong message that good things do happen for children who choose to achieve.

Starting in 1996, our recipients started entering various colleges and universities in North Carolina. This program has been so meaningful in the lives of the students that several have achieved well enough in high school to be granted early admission to college. We now have twelve students in colleges and universities in North Carolina. The FGB scholarship grants are all that several of the students have to help them achieve their dream of a college education (the first in their families). They will need help from the FGB in the way of additional grants to help finance attendance beyond the first year. The families are unable to provide much financial assistance.

Parents and guardians have told us that no one else in their families have ever gone to college. Without The Extra Special Super Kid Scholarships, the dream of college was not a reality. The program is one that truly works without the hindrance of a bureaucracy. The many sponsors of the program, corporate and individual, can be involved with a sense of fulfillment regarding the use of their benevolence.