Former Miami Heat Star Shane Battier to Address Newest Class of Take Stock In Children Scholars

MIAMI, Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Take Stock in Children (TSIC), a scholarship and mentoring program will host a Contract Signing Celebration on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 for its newest Miami class of 103 low-income, at-risk students. These scholars will be 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 weekly basis. 

Former NBA basketball star Shane Battier will welcome incoming TSIC scholars and their families, mentors and current students during the event at 6:30 p.m. in the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, Wolfson Auditorium, Room 1261. Also in attendance will be 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.  

Students who fulfill this contract will, upon their high school graduation, receive a scholarship. 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. 

"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. With the needed guidance and resources, these students will be able to successfully navigate through middle and high school to college and into the workforce."

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