By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

For 25 years, the Education Foundation-Osceola County has awarded college scholarships for graduating seniors, funded teachers' higher education or classroom projects and provided school supplies for low-income school children.

The two buildings are remodeled portables from St. Cloud High School. One building will house offices and a separate building will contain the teachers' free store, a teacher studio and storage space. The project will cost nearly $250,000, including $150,000 from the Osceola County School District, with the remaining material and labor donated from seven local companies.

Pete Pace, vice president of Clancy and Theys Construction Company Florida Division – a company that is donating labor and some material for the building project – said his goal is to complete the project before Oct.1.

“I was born and raised in Osceola County so this is near and dear to me. We try to give back where we can,” Pace said.

The new facility also will house an art gallery of Tommy Tompkins' photographs of children from around the world. He founded the organization in 1985.

In the beginning, Tompkins just wanted to fund teachers and solicited a local orchid farm to sell the flowering plants to raise money. Teachers were given $25 “mini-grants” in the 1980s to fund small classroom projects. Now, teachers can qualify for up to $3,000 in grant money to create projects, such as greenhouses or planetariums.

“Scholarships were our bread and butter but as time went on, everything we do either helps students or teachers,” Kathy Carr, executive director of the foundation, said.

Since 1995, the foundation has awarded more than $2,267,000 to graduating Osceola County high school students for college scholarships, connected students with more than $1 million in available scholarships and reached $3.5 million in its endowment fund for college scholarships. The organization receives funding through federal, state and local grants as well as from corporations and through community efforts.

“Nearly 95 percent of the organizations, clubs, businesses and families who provide scholarships work with the foundation because we can match funding,” Carr said. “We tap our local resources but it’s really nice to know these other resources are coming in too.”

With tenure incentives and free supplies for teachers to backpack giveaways and education assistance for students, the foundation keeps its hands in all facets of education.

The organization in July added to its roster a new program designed to provide new school uniforms and accessories to low-income and homeless students. Kids Closet, a partnership with Osceola County School Board member Cindy Hartig and the foundation, will be housed in the current foundation building and will allow social workers to “shop” for underprivileged children in need of clothing, belts, coats and undergarments.

In addition to Kids Closet, the foundation offers other student programs as well, such as Bookmark Buddies, where mentors tutor third-graders in reading, and Take Stock in Children, a scholarship/mentoring program for low-income middle-schoolers who receive a four-year college scholarship upon completion of the program.

Since 1995, the foundation has contributed more than $350,000 to provide 59 two-year and 171 four-year scholarships for middle school students in the Take Stock in Children Program.

“The parents are always very grateful,” Diane Parker, program administrator for the local Take Stock in Children, said. “The students don't initially understand the cost of a college scholarship but they’re grateful to get a mentor.”

The program has a 92-percent success rate and currently has 92 students enrolled, foundation officials said.

“From start to finish, it's always been about our educators and our children. We have worked hard to develop programs that would benefit and support them both,” Ken Smith, president of the foundation since 1994, said.

To retain and assist teachers, several programs were implemented to help educators save money, time and continue their education.

The foundation offers scholarships to teachers wanting to pursue a master’s degree in education and scholarships for teacher's aides who want to become teachers to obtain bachelor's degrees.

Additionally, within the Foundation Select Program, which recruits science and math teachers, if the teacher stays with the district for a year, the teacher can qualify for a $1,000 bonus, money that was raised by foundation board members exclusively.

“Incentives are a good thing,” Kathy Pierson, a foundation board member since 2000, said. “There's nothing better than a seasoned teacher and what they can bring to the table.”

The organization also offers a free store for teachers to shop for school and classroom supplies as well as the Design And Go Studio, a low-cost space where teachers can cut out colorful letters for a bulletin board or shapes for a kindergarten art project.

A Gift for Teaching store offers free school supplies and materials for classroom projects for educators who teach at the 38 schools in the district with high-need students. Teachers can shop monthly and often stock up on up to $400 worth of products. Products are either donated through school supply drives or store closings or obtained with monetary donations.

“All the money we raise goes back to the kids,” Marcie Hill, program coordinator for the store and the studio, said. “We touch children in all levels of their lives.”