By Nicole Snider
Take Stock in Children is a program that combines college scholarships with mentoring and coaching, so students from low-income households have more opportunities to succeed and achieve their dreams. Our program selects students to begin the Take Stock program in high school where they agree to maintain good grades, behavior, and attendance, meet regularly with a mentor that we assign them, and attend regular college success coaching sessions and workshops. Upon successful completion of the program and high school graduation, students are awarded a 2-year Florida Prepaid scholarship they can use for the college of their choice. What makes our program so impactful is that we not only help to bridge the financial challenges families face when it comes to affording a post-secondary education, but we match the student with a mentor who can help guide them through the challenges of high school and everyday life. Mentors meet with their students on school property weekly or bi-weekly over a student’s elective class or lunch period.
As a program, we have found that while many students apply for our program over the promise of a scholarship, upon graduation, they find the value of their relationship with their mentor to be the most important thing they gained from their time with us. Mentors become someone that the students can go to with their questions, someone they can laugh with when they are stressed, and someone that can provide advice and guidance when they are unsure. We have seen mentors help push students to become better versions of themselves, and our mentors have found the process of watching their students grow and mature to be rewarding and fulfilling.
We are always looking for volunteer mentors for our program, but now more than ever we are recruiting dedicated community members to join us and become a part of the Take Stock family. Our student recruitment takes place in April and May, and we are required to have students matched with a mentor before the start of the summer. Those mentors would not officially begin until August of 2021 but would begin the screening and application process, so they are ready to meet their student when the school year begins.
Mentoring is a wonderful opportunity to share your knowledge and guidance with a student in the community. As a mentor, you would meet regularly with your matched student over an elective class or lunch period. Mentors provide stability for their students and become a student’s friend, guiding and advising them through their time in the Take Stock program.
If becoming a mentor sounds like a good fit for you, please contact our Student Services Coordinator at [email protected] . You can also find us on Facebook by searching ‘Take Stock Okaloosa’. We hope that you will join us so that you can see the impact you make on your community by focusing on one child!