An innovative program here—Take Stock In Children—helps disadvantaged kids win full scholarships to college. All they have to do is contract to stay drug-free, crime-free and graduate from high school. Monroe County leads the state in developing this program. "We are first to have every eligible seventh-grader we've identified sign up for a scholarship," said Tom Sawyer. Sawyer is president of the Monroe County Educational Foundation, which sponsors Take Stock In Children.
"We started the program here in 1996," he said, "and, in June, six of the eight students who originally signed up will graduate from high school—and their college educations will be paid in full because they lived up to their contracts. All of these kids will be the first in their families to go to college. And they understand that they have the opportunity to become a millionaire," Sawyer said. "That's the difference in income between a high school diploma and a college degree.
Students in the program meet weekly with volunteer mentors. The Foundation has converted an old school bus in a "Mentor Mobile" that visits various areas in the Keys to recruit volunteers.
"Over the past year, we've almost doubled the number of students participating in the program," Sawyer said "Fifty students are now `under contract.'
"Because we've been so successful, the state legislature has agreed to provide $186,000 for the program here, far more than in other counties," Sawyer said. "But this is a matching grant. We have to come up with another $186,000 locally—and the deadline is February 15."
On February 13, next Tuesday, the Woman's Club will host a daylong fundraiser for Take Stock.
"We're encouraging people to come by and donate money or time," Sawyer said. "Last year the Sheriff donated $30,000 from money his department had confiscated from the bad guys. Everything helps—and it comes right back here to benefit the community."