Education Foundation honors mentors

The St. Johns County Education Foundation informed local Historic City News reporters that they honored the community’s mentors at the annual Take Stock in Children mentor appreciation luncheon on Wednesday, January 12th.

Education Foundation board members and staff and the St. Johns County district staff joined these mentors to pay tribute to the importance of programs such as these.

Dr. Joseph Joyner, the Superintendent of the St. Johns County School District spoke of the values of mentoring a child and how it positively affects the school system and its community.

During Bill Leary’s keynote address he said, “The thing I’d like to most explore with my mentee is his curiosity. Curiosity is another word for hope.”

Leary, who is a St. Augustine City Commissioner and a Take Stock Children Mentor, expressed the positive impact his childhood mentor had on his youth, and how those experiences motivated him to become a mentor today.

“It only takes an hour a week to make a difference in a child’s life,” said Dr. Margaret Nicholson, a local mentor.

Take Stock in Children is a program that purchases scholarships each year through the Florida Pre-paid College Foundation to help low-income students earn a diploma and attend college. The program offers each student an opportunity for a college tuition scholarship, a manager to support the student’s educational achievements, college and career counseling and, above all, a mentor to provide motivation, support and friendship.