TAKE STOCK IN CHILDREN NEEDS MENTORS

Take Stock in Children, the flagship college scholarship program of the Monroe County Education Foundation, stands ready to accept 55 new students – provided that enough mentors step forward. “We have a fantastic group of qualified candidates who are ready to join Take Stock in Children and work towards achieving their goal of a college education. However, if we do not have a volunteer mentor to match with the student, we cannot accept the student into our program,” said MCEF president Steve Pribramsky.

Judge Ruth Becker-Painter, one of the newest MCEF board members recently attended the high school graduation ceremony of her mentee, Sharon Rodriguez.  This fall, Sharon is attending Florida State University.  Judge Becker-Painter had this to say about her mentoring experience: “it was, and remains, a joy to have her in my life. The work I do is often not terribly full of joy. Sharon was my weekly bright spot.”

Who can be a mentor?  “Mentors are not tutors or counselors; they are compassionate, caring adults who volunteer their time to meet with a student on campus during the school day once a week for 30 to 45 minutes,” program coordinator Chuck Licis explained. “We screen, background check, and train all mentors before pairing them up our Take Stock scholars, and there is a college success coach in each area to assist the mentors and students.” Take Stock needs mentors to meet with Take Stock scholars in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys.

“Our mission is to accept all students from low-income families with the desire, motivation, and potential to go to college,” said Licis. “These students are given the ‘chance of a lifetime’ with mentoring in middle and high school followed by the scholarship that pays for four years college tuition and fees.”

A child is waiting for his or her chance of a lifetime, a college scholarship, but we need your help to make the dream a reality! If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please contact Chuck Licis at 305-293-1546 or at [email protected].

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