We’ve been hearing about the good works of Take Stock In Children for some time now.
After all, the organization has been around since 1995 of its kind in Florida.
What makes Take Stock different?
No mentoring program in Florida includes a guaranteed 2-year college scholarship and wraparound support services. That means that students get 8 plus years of direct support to help get a strong start in life.
The holistic hands-on approach of Take Stock in Children resonated with the board and staff of the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation. As a result, we are proud to announce a five-year $1.7 million grant that will enable Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County to serve an additional 275 students.
The investment means that Take Stock will serve a total of 750 children in our community.
Our grant will pay for 275 two-year Florida Prepaid College Scholarships. The value of each scholarship is $8,000.
Take Stock’s partnership with the Florida Prepaid Foundation allows them to purchase scholarships at a discounted rate of $4,000. Scholarships are matched dollar for dollar, meaning our investment doubles in value. This is the kind of “civic innovation” that the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation seeks to support. Part of our investment will include the hiring of two new staff members for five years. The staff members will serve as College Readiness Coaches, ensuring that children can take full advantage of this unique opportunity.
Still, while scholarships are important, we were particularly impressed with Take Stock in Children’s long-term commitment to the students it serves.
Children are paired with mentors in the 6th grade and the program stays involved in their lives through their second year in college.
We like that model. A lot.
Take Stock mentors enter a child’s life at the beginning of middle school, a time of adolescence that can be fraught with dangers. And they stay as a touchstone in that child’s life all through middle and high school and into the first two years of college, which can also be challenging to navigate.
Students receive one on one mentoring, monthly college prep coaching, monthly academic workshops and more. Those costs—totaling $1,500 per student or $1.237 million will be covered by the United Way of Palm Beach County. As the saying goes: it takes a village. Which is also why were pleased to see that Amazon co-founder Mackenzie Scott recently donated $1mm to Take Stock in Children-Palm Beach.
We’re sure that these partners—like us—were impressed by Take Stock’s stats.
Check this out:
- A graduation rate of 98% for program high school students vs. 80% for at-risk peers.
- 96% of program participants enroll in college compared to 30% of peers.
- 74% complete college compared to 29% of peers.
That’s impressive.
But the program also seeks to build good citizens. Personal development and the building of leadership skills is a goal of the program and our particular grant.
We at the Foundation and our partners at Take Stock in Children-Palm Beach want to help students grow more confident and more resilient. We also want to increase civic engagement.
Together, we will.
