St. Augustine Lions Club donates $10,000 to support St. Johns County “Take Stock in Children” program
The St. Augustine Lions Club recently donated $10,000 to St. Johns County’s “Investing in Kids” to support the “Take Stock in Children” program.
Formerly known as the St. Johns County Education Foundation, Investing in Kids administers the “Take Stock in Children” program, which aims to reduce the high school dropout rate and increase the number of local students who go on to complete college. In addition to pairing students with volunteer mentors, the program helps participants navigate the college application and selection process.
Funds donated to the program are matched by the State of Florida and are used to provide college scholarships to participating students. Since its inception, more than 24,000 students statewide have successfully completed the “Take Stock in Children” program, whose participants have a 65 percent higher high school graduation rate and 136 percent higher college graduation rate than their at-risk peers. With more than 1.3 million members in more than 200 countries and geographic areas, Lions Club International is the largest service organization in the world.
The St. Augustine Lions Club raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to support worthwhile community projects. Through fundraisers such as the club’s popular annual Lions Seafood Festival, the club provides more than 2,000 free vision screenings each year to local school children. The St. Augustine Lions Club also provides free eye exams and eyeglasses to those in need, college scholarships to local high school graduates and donations to numerous local charities and organizations.