COLLEGE TOWN, FL — Take Stock in Children is launching a specialty license plate to fund scholarships and mentorships for first-generation students in Florida.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
As graduation season approaches, nonprofit Take Stock in Children works to ensure low-income and first-generation students get to college and graduate.
The organization is launching a new initiative to keep those opportunities growing: a specialty license plate designed to create long-term funding for scholarships and mentorship programs across Florida.
Take Stock in Children serves roughly 15,000 students across the state, starting in middle school and staying with them through college and into their careers. Each student is paired with a trained volunteer who helps guide them through school and life.
"This goes into production. This actually is a revenue source for us, and it allows us to raise more funds to ensure that more students get to participate in the program. More students get scholarships. More students are able to achieve their dream of going to college," Bethany Lacey said.
Lacey is the CEO of Take Stock in Children. The organization is looking for around 2,000 more vouchers for the plate by September 30. People can visit the group's website to help.
For many students, college is unfamiliar territory, especially for those who are the first in their families to go.
"I’m not entirely sure where my life would be if I weren’t a part of the Take Stock in Children’s program, but I know that not only with my mentor and all the resources that I’ve gotten, it’s gotten me a lot farther than I would’ve anticipated," Gia-Marie Tim said.
Tim is a Florida State University student participating in the program.
"The largest thing that I honestly am incredibly grateful for when it comes to Take Stock is my mentor. Not only has she been there for me professionally and personally, but I feel like she’s grown to be more of a mom to me, a second mom. She’s been there in times of struggle and times I felt like I dropped the ball," Tim said.
Mckenzie Simon, an FSU and Take Stock alum, says the program helped her break generational curses.
"It’s kind of something that really helped me, especially with my upbringing, kind of like showing me, like, you know what, I can definitely go into a higher place in life, especially with education and kind of you know being that person to kind of you know break the generational curses," McKenzie Simon said.
"With Take Stock also helping, they supported me throughout all of college, and also through nursing school they supported me too. I’m a nurse because of them. I’m able to help patients and take care of patients because of Take Stock," Simon said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
