- April 18, 2024
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Five students earned full college scholarships. A $200,000 donation will give many more the same chance.
When one of Ramon Vega’s teachers recommended him in seventh grade for the Take Stock in Children program, he wasn’t sure what to think.
He’d heard that, upon graduation of the program, he would get a full ride to any state university he wanted. But college was eight years away, barely real. And plus, keeping his grade point average over 3.0 felt “annoying.” He didn’t care much for going to the Take Stock dinner events and standing onstage.
But when he got to high school, things changed. That’s when the weight of what Take Stock could do for him really sunk in.
“My sophomore year, I was kind of slacking off a bit,” he said. “But my mentor talked to me and told me, ‘This is really important.’ He got my head back on track.”
In May, Vega will graduate from Take Stock along with three fellow Flagler Palm Coast High School students: Calixte LeBlanc-Ancion, Nicole Goldberg and Ashley Pelose; and one student from Matanzas: Nicole Petro.
Each of the five graduates earned a GPA of 3.4 or higher and will have their choice of attending any state college for four years, for free.
According to Flagler County Education Foundation Director Deborah Williams, many future students will be given the same opportunity, thanks to a recent $200,000 donation from the Bernard L. Axelrod Trust.
The donation was made in January, in memory of Bernard L. Axelrod, a former Education Foundation board member who died May 19, 2011. The newly created Bernard L. Axelrod Education Endowment Fund marks the foundation’s first endowment in its 21-year history.
“The Axelrod Endowment, like most endowments, is designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income from dividends for charitable efforts,” Williams said. “This ensures a gift that keeps on giving forever!”
While the endowment stays intact, its accumulated interest will be transferred into Take Stock, the foundation’s core scholarship initiative, which includes a dollar-for-dollar match from the state.
“Endowments bring regular income that you can count on every year to support the core mission,” Williams added. “We hope Mr. Axelrod’s gift will inspire others to include us in their after-life gift plans.”
The Take Stock in Children program, founded in 1995, mentors at-risk and low-income students beginning in middle school, with the promise of college scholarships following graduation.
Since its inception, it has granted 106 scholarships to Flagler students.
“It made me keep my head up, with all my grades,” Vega said. “A lot of my friends let their grades slip. … (But) it’s just always in the back of (my) mind. You know you have to keep your grades up for something.”
Williams estimates that the foundation’s current endowment investment will yield a payout of $3,000 annually. Since the cost of a four-year Florida prepaid scholarship is $8,000, she plans to award one scholarship per year in the name of a donor in partnership with the Axelrod Endowment. If no private donations of $5,000 are received, excess funds would come from different program-sponsored events.
“The foundation always looks for ways to leverage donor gifts through dollar-for-dollar match programs,” she added. “It makes sense for us to direct Axelrod funds to purchase Take Stock scholarships. I believe he would be pleased to see how we’re managing his gift.”
This spring, 11 Take Stock students will be selected from eighth grade to join 37 currently enrolled in the program.
Vega will enroll in Daytona State College, until he can figure out what he wants to study. LeBlanc-Ancion and Pelose dual-enrolled at DSC while in high school. Goldberg plans to enter a pre-law program. And Petro will attend Florida State University.
For more, or to donate, call 437-7526.
