The Education Foundation of Sarasota County’s College, Career, Life Readiness initiative received a boost with a recent $15,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to help fund the Student Success Program.
The Student Success Program is designed to provide students with the tools and resources they need to prepare a plan for their lives after high school.
Jennifer Vigne, Education Foundation president and CEO, said providing access to college and high-quality degree certification to all students in Sarasota County has been the driving force for the Foundation’s growth over the past five years, and the grant would provide needed support to carry out timely, important initiatives.
At LaunchPad4U, the education innovation site housing the Education Foundation’s fourth Student Success Center, similar services are offered to those available on partnering high school campus Student Success Centers where Education Foundation college-career advisors guide students on planning for life after high school.
In addition, the Education Foundation two years ago launched a mentoring program whereby high school students are paired with caring adult volunteers who support a student’s pathway beyond high school to college graduation or certificate and entrance into the workforce.
Another prong of Student Success programming is through PLANit Sarasota, the Local College Access Network (LCAN) operated by the Education Foundation.
PLANit Sarasota’s goal is to provide students from low socio-economic backgrounds with an array of services to make college and high-value certifications more accessible.
Since 45.4% of students in Sarasota County Schools are economically disadvantaged, these programs are important to assure that students will have the support that they need.
“The Education Foundation’s mission of developing and implementing targeted programming aligns with the Bank of America’s commitment to driving economic growth and opportunity for Sarasota-Manatee residents,” said Mike McCoy, President, Bank of America Sarasota-Manatee. “We hope that by providing students with the resources they need to thrive outside of school, we are positioning the next generation for success and are in turn helping the community prosper for years to come.”
In total, Bank of America is granting $410,000 to 19 nonprofits across Sarasota-Manatee this quarter. Through direct action and investment in organizations like the Education Foundation, the bank is focused on creating opportunity in the areas of health, jobs, training and affordable housing, where systemic, long-term gaps have existed, and significant change is required to achieve sustainable progress.
More information about the Education Foundation and its programs that support student success is available at EdFoundationSRQ.org.