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Seminole State and United Way team up to keep students in school
Seminole State and the Heart of Florida United Way (HFUW) are teaming up to help students cross the finish line and improve their lives. The college and charity are creating a help center for students and the public called the Raider C.A.R.E. Village, where students and residents can visit the office for assistance with financial counseling, food support, mental health, and more.
HFUW President and CEO Jeff Hayward oversees the effort to ensure people struggling to make ends meet can stay in school and finish their jobs. “It all does lead to one thing, and that is trying to get families onto the financial escalator for them so that they can become financially stable.”
The charity has partnered with Seminole State for years through a project called “Destination Graduation” and is pledging a million dollars to that effort. “We can help those families financially to overcome that emergent unforeseen need, like your car broke down or something else happened, a medical bill that was unexpected,” Hayward tells Pulp City Magazine. “We can help you get through that so you don’t have to drop out of school.”
The stories came over and over from professors at the school. So many who were dropping out of SSC had the grades to continue, but something in their personal lives derailed them. Most never came back. “We look at it as an investment in people, an investment in the community,” Hayward says, making the United Way and Seminole State good partners. “We thought our missions aligned”.
Families that are working but aren’t above water and can’t meet their needs can go to the C.A.R.E. Center during regular weekday business hours to get that help. Getting a car back on the road to stay in school, or keeping the power on so that a parent can also make it to class at night is the kind of help Hayward describes as generational.
“We have heard story after story of Moms and Dads sitting at the kitchen table at night doing their homework next to their own kids, who might be in 3rd or 4th grade doing homework together. The children see their Mom or Dad doing their homework and working hard to get their education, and that becomes the first generation of college graduates. Think of the impact on that child, and I say there’s no question that second generation is going to college.”
More than a thousand students have been kept in school, and HFUW says it spends an average of $700 per person it helps, calling that investment well worth it. Not just students, but any Seminole resident can get help at the C.A.R.E. center. The Heart of Florida United Way also points out they are standing by to offer aid to any family in Central Florida at their website www.hfuw.org, by dialing 2-1-1, or calling the nationwide suicide hotline at 9-8-8
Mike Synan
News | Sports | Politics
- After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
