Tampa, FL – (August 20, 2014) – Amscot Financial, a leading provider of convenient, consumer-oriented financial services, recently gave mini-grants of $150 to $5,000 to 24 non-profit service organizations in the Florida communities it serves. Mini-grants went to:
- Beyond the Spectrum, Sarasota. Beyond the Spectrum is an education center for autism that services children in grades K-8 . Their goal is to assist children with emotional and social development using computer technology to empower children with autism to communicate and effectively participate in classroom activities. For more information, please visit: www.beyondthespectrum.org
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Citrus County. The Boys and Girls Club enables all young people who need to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Clay Tech animation program introduces youth to a variety of career options in the film production. For more information, please visit: www.bgccitrus.org
- Boys and Girls Club of Highlands County. The Boys and Girls Club enables all young people who need to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Project Learn helps students with Homework and stay in touch with teachers, Smart Moves Programs teach personal responsibility regarding sex, drugs etc., and Passport to Manhood teaches students to be responsible. For more information, please visit: www.highlandsbgc.com
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County. The Boys and Girls Club enables all young people who need to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizen. Academic Success increases school attendance and academic success, Good Character & Citizenship increases positive community engagement and decreases juvenile delinquency, & Healthy Lifestyles increases healthy life choices in nutrition and fitness while decreasing substance abuse and teen pregnancy. For more information, please visit: www.bgcmanatee.org
- Bradenton Christian School, Bradenton. More than 25% of students enrolled in the BCS upper school have special needs and/or require enrichment studies. The Robotics Lab will provide teens opportunities, through technology, to learn to build and program robots to address specific challenges and obstacle courses. Many teens have no prior experience with mechanics, electronics, or programming. The Robotics Lab is designed to slowly develop these skills and demonstrate how they apply to everyday life. The robotics curriculum transforms students regardless of their cultural background, socioeconomic status, gender or current grades. For more information, please visit: www.bcspanthers.org
- Community Involvement Targeting Youth Inc., Orlando. Community Involvement Targeting Youth Inc. (CITY Inc.) provides a structured based curriculum with the expectations that their youth realize their highest level of abilities. Their goal is to foster confidence, teamwork, and academic development so that their kids can ultimately become a positive influence in their communities. The program is designed to offer alternatives for children as they progress through their formative years (ages 4-19) of a life-long character building experience. For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/CITYInc
- Covenant Children’s Home, Dunnellon. Covenant Children’s Home was established in 2010 as a safe refuge for children who are in need of long term shelter and a place to call home where they receive adequate protection, affection, and guidance free from neglect and abandonment. Covenant Children’s Home keeps children safe, healthy and better prepared for the future. For more information, please visit: www.cchfl.org
- Early Learning Coalition of the Nature Coast, Crystal River, Chiefland, & Sumterville. The Early Learning Coalition of the Nature Coast promotes health and wellness in Citrus County, Florida by creating awareness for the Child Passenger Safety program throughout the region and by providing safe, new car seats and booster seats at a fraction of the retail cost or no cost for families in need along with the education necessary for the proper installation and operation of the seat. For more information, please visit: www.elc-naturecoast.org
- Forward Paths Foundation Inc., Leesburg. Forward Paths helps homeless unaccompanied youth, as well as those aging out of foster care, improve their education and job skills to increase their chances to succeed as contributors to their community as independent successful adults. They assist the area’s most vulnerable youth by providing help finding safe housing, transportation, job skills, and meeting other needs to help them reach their full potential. For more information, please visit: www.forwardpaths.org
- Fraternal Order Of Police, Pinellas Park. For over 50 years the Fraternal Order has been working in the community sponsoring programs that make a difference, like Youth & Sporting Activities aimed at keeping kids off the streets and away from drugs. For more information, please visit: www.FOPSBD.com
- Grace Landing, St. Cloud. Grace Landing works with aged out foster care, extended foster care and homeless boys, ages 18-23, to help them finish high school or get their GED, move onto college, Tech School or a work/study program. They also work with companies to hire these young men to help them to find a career, not a job. Their goal is to start a similar home for girls next April. For more information, please visit: www.gracelanding.com
- Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, Clearwater. Their Woman to Woman program serves pregnant teens and teen mothers and their babies. The program goals are to have teen mothers complete their education and obtain employment that allows them to be self sufficient and meet their babies basic needs. By working with these teens, they strive to break the cycle of poverty and incarceration that plagues children of teen parents. For more information, please visit: www.Gulfcoastjewishfamilyandcommunityservices.org
- High Risk Hope, Tampa. HRH is a 501(c)(3) dynamic and innovative nonprofit organization formed in 2011 to provide support, encouragement, information and resources to women and families who are experiencing a high risk pregnancy resulting in hospital bed rest, potential premature birth and neonatal intensive care after delivery. They currently provide two patient outreach programs that directly support patients by providing items that will make their long-term hospital stay more comfortable. For more information, please visit: www.highriskhope.org
- Human Animal Life Foundation, Brooksville. The Human Animal Life Foundation’s (HALF) Miracle Ranch is a therapeutic care program for at risk youth which operates in conjunction with our therapeutic program for animals. Their programs help children with emotional, psychological and behavioral issues to development and increase self-esteem, self-worth, self-respect and most importantly develop a far more vibrant empathetic nerve. HALF has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of children, their families and care teams, as well as hundreds of horses and other animals. For more information, please visit: www.HumanAnimalLife.org
- Kids House Children’s Advocacy Center, Sanford. Kids House’s mission is to prevent child abuse and to aid child abuse victims and families by providing coordinated services in a safe, child-friendly environment from report and investigation through treatment and resolution. Kids House provides expert child-focused interviews, specialized forensic medical exams, comprehensive advocacy services for the victim’s family, and trauma-focused mental health therapy. For more information, please visit: www.kidshouse.org
- Lakes Cares, Inc., Mount Dora. Lake Cares offers direct services to more than 6,000 individuals (including more than 2,500 youth) living in Lake County, Florida who are hungry. Mothers, fathers, and caregivers visit Lake Cares to participate in an interview with skilled volunteers and navigators who assist them in determining immediate, short term and ongoing needs. Clients can choose from a menu of healthy food options (meats, breads, fresh produce, and non-perishables to feed their families for at least 3 days (3 meals per day). Counselors assist clients as they navigate the SNAP (food stamp program), health care, and other governmental applications. Clients are encouraged to enroll in on-site GED classes, smoking cessation workshops, and budgeting courses developed to promote self-sufficiency. For more information, please visit: www.lakecares.org
- Marine Discovery Center Inc., New Smyrna Beach. MDC offers a variety of educational programming to encourage thousands of local youth to become environmental stewards. Activities include island and laboratory investigations, arts and crafts, kayaking, fishing, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, surfing and more. For more information, please visit: www.marinediscoverycenter.org
- Oasis Network, Tampa. OASIS (Outreach Assisting Students in Schools) Network provides clothing and basic necessities to low-income students in Hillsborough County schools. They supply clothing (new school uniform items and gently used school clothes), new socks and underwear, toiletries, books and shoes for school social workers to distribute to students in need. For more information, please visit: www.oasis-network.org
- One Heart Orphanage Home, Coral Springs. Through their various outreach efforts, One Heart Orphanage Home, Inc. provides Haitian youth with a thorough foundation for future success. Their mission is accomplished by addressing the critical issues of poverty, education, and leadership through local initiatives and targeted outreach programming that exercises high standards of ethics, coupled with best practices in management and accountability. They are dedicated to breaking the cycle of abuse, while meeting the emotional, medical, educational and social needs of children. For more information, please visit: www.ohohinc.org
- Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Wimauma. RCMA Leadership Academy is a charter middle school that caters to the families of low-income Latino immigrants in Wimauma, a poor, farming community south of Tampa, Florida. The academic focus is the improvement of language and math using a thematic and integrative approach, which immerses students in an enriched environment that reflects the complexities of life. RCMA's mission is to open doors to opportunities through quality child care and education from crib to high school and beyond. For more information, please visit: www.rcma.org
- Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy, Bradenton. Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy (SMART) provides youth with special needs an opportunity to exercise their bodies, minds and spirits through a quality therapeutic horseback riding and carriage driving program. Individuals participate in group therapeutic riding lessons and/or private lessons, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information, please visit: www.smartriders.org
- Share your Hair Corporation, Kissimmee. Share Your Hair is dedicated to providing custom made prosthetic hair pieces, restoring confidence & creating a positive self-image for multi-ethnic children living with long-term hair loss due to pediatric cancer. For more information, please visit: www.syhkids.org
- Wheelchairs 4 Kids Inc., Tarpon Springs. Wheelchairs 4 Kids provides wheelchairs, home and vehicle modifications, and other assistive and therapeutic devices to children with physical disabilities at no charge to the families. For more information, please visit: www.Wheelchairs4kids.org
- YMCA of Central Florida-Teen Achievers, Orlando. The YMCA Teen Achievers will expose and prepare high school students to college, career and technical education. They target students in under-served communities and high school with a high concentration of students on free and reduced lunch. For more information, please visit: www.ymcacentralflorida.com