After more than 20 years serving the Lockport community, Give Back, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and guidance to high school students, has opened a permanent office in the city’s historic downtown.

Give Back was founded in 2003 by former Lockport Alderman and Lockport Township High School alumnus Bob Carr, who said he wanted to help disadvantaged students in the town that meant so much to him growing up continue their educations.

“Our office has been over by the Holiday Inn for 20 years,” Carr said. “We’re really excited to upgrade and get a retail space downtown. It’s easier to get to, and we’d love for it to become a piece of the community.”

The new office is located centrally in the downtown area at 923 S. State St..

The main mission of Give Back is to provide scholarships for graduating high school students so they can continue their educations in college or through trade school or other professional certification programs.

However, that is not all the organization does. In addition to helping to fund participating students’ educations, Give Back pairs students with a coach they meet with at least twice per month to help plan for their futures; identify the obstacles they may face; apply for scholarships and financial aid; and “provide a nonparent, caring adult they can come to for guidance.”

Give Back’s team works with the parents of students to help teach them how to navigate college applications and financial aid paperwork.

Students can enter the program as early as ninth grade and can continue to work with their coach after college graduation as they begin their job searches.

“In this generation, we’re moving away from the idea that every kid needs to go to college to be successful,” Carr said. “Most of our students still do, but we’ve also had lots go into the trades or technical careers. Just this week, I approved two scholarships for $500 to help students pay for [certified nursing assistant] programs. It’s really about career discovery and helping them get on that path.”

Although the program was created in Lockport, it did not take long for Carr to begin expanding.

After a few years, Give Back extended its scholarship offerings from just LTHS students to students from all over Will County. When Carr had to relocate to New Jersey for work in 2015, he expanded the program there, then took it national during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it became easier to conduct business online.

Today, Give Back has 30 university partners and coaching offices in 12 states.

Since its launch in 2003, more than 2,500 students have entered the program, with about 1,700 students currently enrolled in high school or college.

On average, Give Back spends about $20,000 per student in coaching and scholarships.

Carr noted that all of the program’s students – many of whom have experienced abuse, foster care, the death of a parent or homelessness – are Pell Grant eligible, and the coaches work with students to help them receive grant and scholarship money from other sources to minimize their college costs.

They also work with students to find part-time work so they can avoid taking out large loans.

“Grades are secondary to financial need to us,” Carr said. “We’ve found that often, kids’ grades struggle because of financial stress and other problems going on at home. It’s a great feeling to help kids who might be on the wrong path find their path.”

Carr himself grew up in a household of nine people with an abusive father. He earned money in high school writing sports coverage for The Herald-News before receiving his own small scholarships for academics and financial need and attending college against his parents’ wishes.

He said his personal experience inspired him to help other low-income students in the community after he achieved success in business.

With the new office in downtown Lockport opening its doors Aug. 12, Carr said he and his staff would “love to have people from the community come in to find out what’s going on and to possibly help out” so the organization can “keep growing and serve more young people.”

In addition to its scholarship services, Give Back has partnered with many local businesses to not only raise funds, but also to host other events for the broader community, such as back-to-school supply drives for local students.

“As I reflect on my legacy, I don’t think about buildings or bottom lines,” Carr said. “I think about people – the students who have become doctors, engineers, teachers and social workers because someone finally said, ‘You deserve a chance.’ And I think about the town that helped me dream in the first place.”