TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Amscot Financial, a leading provider of convenient, consumer-oriented financial services, has made mini-grants of $100 to $250 to 16 non-profit service organizations in its 15-county service area. The grants went to:

• Paul R. Smith Middle School, Odyssey of the Mind program, Holiday. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten to college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to their interpreting literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competitions on local, state and world levels.

• LANES Teenage Girls, Orlando. LANES is an organization that mentors teenage girls who live in at-risk communities. LANES annually hosts a Christmas dinner and fashion show that the girls produce.

• Prevent Blindness Florida, Tampa. The Sight-Saver Campaign is accomplished by providing vision screenings for children, visual field screenings for at-risk adults and public education campaigns on eye health and safety.

• Academy for Autism, Orlando. The academy is a non-profit school and therapy clinic. Its educational and therapeutic program is individually designed to meet the needs of severely autistic children. The facility is a McKay Scholarship School, meaning that 95 percent of a child's tuition is covered by the Florida Department of Education and the balance is covered by fund-raising by the school and by parents.

• Science Center of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg. The organization is launching an after-school pilot program with Azalea Middle School aimed to help raise each student's grade by one letter. The center works with a program called STEM, (science, technology, engineering and math).

• Coalition for the Homeless, Orlando. The Coalition is the largest provider of homeless services in Central Florida. It provides a residential emergency shelter that accepts intact families and keeps them together. The Coalition receives less than 30 percent of its funding from government sources.

• Friends of St. Peter Claver School, Inc., Tampa. This non-profit organization supports one of the oldest African American Catholic schools in the state of Florida. St. Peter Claver School was established in 1984. The school provides students with programs that expose them to engineering, architecture and finance.

• Mental Health Care Foundation Home-Based Solutions, Tampa. Mental Health Care Foundation has been in operation since 1959. Home-Based Solutions is a program that serves children who receive Medicaid assistance.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, Sebring. Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast provides one-to-one mentoring of more than 400 children annually in Highlands and Hardee counties. Mentoring has proven to have a powerful impact on academic performance, self confidence and building healthy relationships.

• Pinellas County Urban League, St. Petersburg. The Youth Crime Prevention and Intervention Program serves as a deterrent to youth ages 10-18 who are at risk of embarking on a life of crime. Recognizing the importance of parental commitment, the program has linked parental/guardian involvement with youth participation.

• Shiloh Problem Solvers, Inc. Brooksville. This faith- and community-based organization mentors youth throughout Hernando County. It offers in-school and after-school tutoring and G.E.D. preparatory classes.

• Tom Lee Community Health Centers, Dover. This non-profit organization gives toys for Christmas to children ages 1 through 10. It serves a population that includes a large number of migrant workers.

• Hillcrest Elementary School's Project Learn, Learn, Learn, Lake Wales. This program provides educational materials and goodies (books, pencils, workbooks, crayons, socks, snacks and juice boxes) to low-income students on neighborhood visits. It also provides bags of groceries and bags of diapers and formula to families with infants and toddlers.

• Intervention Services, Inc., Maitland. This non-profit organization provides foster homes and other services for abused, neglected and abandoned children in Orange Seminole and Osceola counties. At any given time, it supervises more than 50 children in more than 40 foster homes.

• Tarpon Springs High School Leadership Conservatory for the Arts, Tarpon Springs. This nationally recognized program provides an integrated seamless curriculum in academics, instrumental music, technology and leadership skills.

• Magnolia Manor Park, Inc., Wauchula. This non-profit program was formed with the purpose of restoring a community park so that youth, families and citizens of Hardee County could enjoy a safe place to socialize and play.

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About Amscot Financial

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., Amscot Financial is the Money Superstore(TM), a leading provider of income tax preparation and electronic filing services, refund anticipation loans, prepaid debit cards, check cashing services, cash advance services, bill payment services, money transfer services and money orders through its wholly owned division, Amscot International Money Order Company. Amscot Financial currently operates 174 tax preparation offices and 174 retail financial service centers throughout Florida and employs more than 2,000 people. Amscot Financial was recognized by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as one of Tampa Bay's Best Places to Work for three consecutive years. For additional information, please visit the company's Web site at www.amscotfinancial.com.

SOURCE Amscot Financial

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