Scholarships, Mentors and Hope

Take Stock In Children of Bradford County

Invest in the future of Bradford County by taking stock in a child today!

Take Stock in Children of Bradford County is a non-profit organization that provides Bradford County’s low-income students with Scholarships, Mentors, and Hope.  Our mission is to support at-risk students by instilling dignity and hope. We do so by setting high expectations regarding academic success, appropriate school behavior and abstinence of criminal/drug behavior. Additionally, we reinforce their standards by positive mentoring and a guaranteed educational opportunity with a two or four year scholarship. Based on various risk factors, students are selected in the sixth grade and are matched with a mentor who meets with them once a week at their school.  Upon entering the program, students sign an agreement stating they will remain drug and crime free, attend school regularly, maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, follow the Code of Student Conduct, and meet with their mentor weekly.  In addition to the mentor, we provide character education, life skills training, and employability skills workshops for our students during the program.  When the student has met the requirements and graduates from high school, they will have full tuition paid to two years of Community College and two years of a four-year university.

The Take Stock in Children program is a multi-systemic approach that targets disadvantaged youth with academic and behavioral success. This academic success expects abstinence of criminal/drug behavior, high school graduation, and hopes and plans for post-secondary education. We provide two research-driven factors for the prevention of crime a positive relationship with an adult from outside the family (our mentors) and hope.  By keeping the doors of opportunity open to our students, they have fewer reasons to give up on their future.  We are helping to end the poverty cycle by providing our students with more opportunities than their parents had, thus their children will have more opportunities they otherwise wouldn't’t have … helping to reverse generations of poverty into an “upward spiral” of success and achievement.

Take Stock in Children of Bradford County believes that communities with residents experiencing a lack of empowerment to change their lives results in higher rates of drug problems, crime and violence. Our district is challenged with absenteeism, high teen birth rate, dropout rate, suspensions (both in-school and out-of-school), youth alcohol use, youth drug use, and youth violent and non-violent crimes.  Because the youth who cease to see the role of student as a positive one are at higher risk for a variety of problem behaviors, our mentors help ensure our students stay focused on their academics and on staying away from negative influences.  Youth who feel recognized and are rewarded by their communities have higher self-esteem, feelings of attachment to that community, and are less likely to engage in negative behaviors. Those who feel appreciated and are rewarded for their involvement at school have higher academic achievement, feelings of attachment to that school and are less likely to be involved in drug use and other problem behaviors.  Lastly, Take Stock in Children of Bradford County recognizes that the “positive adult contact” by a mentor reduces risk factors and enhances protective factors for problem behavior. 

The Take Stock in Children of Bradford County has already sent nine (9) students to college … students that would not have normally had the opportunity for higher education, and thereby equipping them with a way to dramatically improve their lives.   TSIC of Bradford County has a goal of enrolling six (6) more students into the program in 2007.  However, there are approximately 120 students that economically qualify … each and every year.  The ultimate goal of Take Stock in Children of Bradford County, with adequate community support, is to provide college scholarships to every qualified, deserving student in Bradford County. 

To learn more about how you can support our mission as a volunteer, mentor, or financial supporter, please contact us at 904-964-7776. We can work together to make Bradford County an exemplary community by positively changing hundreds of lives … including our own.