Former Miami Heat Star Shane Battier Motivates New Miami Class Of Take Stock In Children Scholars To Excel

MIAMI, Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former NBA basketball player Shane Battier spoke to more than 300 people during Take Stock in Children's annual Contract Signing Celebration for its newest Miami class of 103 low-income, at-risk students. Battier spoke to the students about taking ownership of their futures and being captains of their destinies.

"Your future starts with your signature on this contract today," said Shane Battier, former Miami Heat star and founder of Battier's Take Charge Foundation. "To succeed you need to practice championship professionalism – be on time, stay focused and have the insatiable desire to excel."

Once inducted into the program, Take Stock in Children scholars are guaranteed a college scholarship if they remain drug and crime free, maintain a 2.5 GPA and stay in school.  Once in the TSIC program, students are also assigned a mentor, whom they meet with on a regular basis.

With 103 students signing these contracts, the sum of the scholarships will amount to over one million dollars. Since 1995, Take Stock in Children has served more than 24,000 students across Florida with a 96% high school graduation rate. That success rate is 21% better than Florida's average and 65% higher than the comparable low-income youth peer group. 

One of the speakers was David Francis, who graduated from the Miami program with the Class of 2014. Francis attends Miami Dade College North Campus and plans to be an engineer and play collegiate sports.  

"It changed my life and now it's changing the lives of my brothers and sisters who have been accepted into the program," said Francis, who says he is proud to be a role model for his siblings.

Gabriela Caballero, a mother of a Take Stock in Children alumni and one of the new inductees to the Miami program said, "This program is truly amazing. It has not only given my children a scholarship to college but has created a college bound culture in my home."

Also in attendance were representatives from the Miami-Dade County School System, the City of North Miami, the Children's Trust, Career Source South Florida and the City of Hialeah.  

"This is truly a transformational moment for our incoming scholars and their families," said Sandy Grossman, Chair of the Take Stock in Children Miami-Dade Leadership Council and Chief Integration Office for Greenberg Traurig. "Becoming part of the Take Stock in Children family means that a college education is attainable – something that these families could only dream of without this incredible organization. We are excited to partner with Shane Battier and his wife Heidi through their Take Charge Foundation to provide even more resources for the development and education of underserved youth and teens."

Madeline Pumariega, Take Stock in Children President and CEO said, "The contract signing event celebrates the beginning of the academic journey that these students will take with their new mentors. The message we share with the students is that it is no longer about dreaming about going to college, but working hard and going to college."

About Take Stock in Children
Take Stock in Children, a Florida 501(c)3 non-profit organization has been providing volunteer mentors, scholarships and hope to more than 24,000 of Florida's deserving at-risk, low-income students since 1995. Reporting an unparalleled 96 percent annual high school graduation rate and an 87% college enrollment rate, TSIC is Florida's flagship and most successful mentoring and scholarship program. In every Florida county, TSIC scholars in middle and high school pledge to meet regularly with their mentor, maintain academic standards, and remain drug and crime-free on the way to achieving a high school diploma. The reward for fulfilling these commitments is a scholarship to a Florida state college, university or vocational school. To donate, volunteer or learn more about Take Stock in Children, please call 888-322-4673 or visit www.takestockinchildren.org.

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SOURCE Take Stock in Children