A Strong Foundation

Name: Chelsea Williams

Neighborhood: Newtown

High School: Booker High School

College: Smith College

Major: Sociology, Applied Statistics Minor

Post-Grad Plans: Graduate work Statistics or Public Policy

I can recall writing my essay for the TSIC scholarship when I was in the third grade. I had many dreams at that age. Though my path has changed, and will continue to do so, I have the staff at TSIC, in partnership with Big Brother Big Sisters, for providing me a foundation for my future possibilities. 

When was awarded the TSIC scholarship, I knew for certain that I was going to college. The support provided from then to now has been a constant reminder of how much I am loved by my community. My mentor, Susan High, has been one of the best educators and friends I've ever known. Through college, I have been able to teach in New York City, study abroad in England, and complete academic work without financial difficultly. 

I'd like to thank TSIC for reminding me to fill out my Florida Prepaid surveys and never leaving my side. From holiday parties to wishing me well as graduation approaches, they have been an extended part of my family. We have had a bond for 12 years and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.  

I plan to work for two years before attending Grad School for Public Policy or Statistics. I have received emails from Duke, Carnegie Mellon, and John Hopkins for graduate school admission, so I am optimistic about my future impact in my neighborhood and the world-at-large. I am proud to be a Smithie, Sarasota native, and future TSIC alumna.

- Chelsea Williams



Thank you Chelsea for continuing to strive for greatness. We're so proud of you! - TSIC Staff

The Reason We're Here

Earlier this week I received a stack of donor thank you notes from our 2011-2012 Seniors. After reading through just a few, I had to share. Sometimes we get too caught up in the details, events, fundraising, grants, etc. and need to just reflect on the students we serve. 

We give Sarasota County students a reason to believe in their dreams of higher education. 

It's really that simple. 

Dana Bakich

Director of Marketing & Development  A Dream Creator

Senior Tips! Guest Blogger - Student Advocate, Jonni

 

Senior Tips

It is the beginning of your senior year and the rest of your life is creeping up fast. While it may seem like you have all year, the deadlines are fast approaching. You may be focused on having fun and enjoying the last of you high school career, but there are decisions to be made and applications to be filled out.  With all this in mind, here are some tips to getting this year off to a good start.

1. Choosing the right college for you is very important, but is hard when there is very little you can truly learn from just websites.  By the end of the first quarter you should have your list down to 5 colleges you will actually apply to. To come up with your list check out websites, talk to friends who are off at college, ask teachers and mentors about their alma maters, and ask the questions that are important to you.  
2. Ask about the programs you are interested in. Ask about the undergrad course you will have to take. Ask about professors and homework. Ask about student life, sports, and clubs.  Ask about the area surrounding the school, restaurants, night life, movie theaters, and other forms of entertainment. These are all things that will matter to you in the long run.
3. There will also be opportunities to tour college campuses with TSIC and other organizations. Even if you have gone before, go again. Things at colleges change constantly. New buildings, educational programs, and new students can make for an environment that you didn’t experience last time. Also take advantage of the college representatives that come speak at your school. Listen to watch they say and ask questions (Hey, even if you don’t end up liking the school you can get out of class for a bit).
4. After you have made you list of 5 schools start looking into their admissions requirements. Make sure your GPA and SAT/ ACT scores are where they need to be, and if they aren’t figure out how to bring them up. Make sure your academic resume is diverse enough to grab the attention of the admissions board and if it is not figure out what needs to change. 
5. Your applications to the colleges or universities that you choose need to be filled out and turned in before the first semester of school is over. They will be accepted for a short time after Christmas break, but turning them in early gives you an entire semester to focus on getting extra scholarships. These will be important because TSIC will only cover your tuition. We do not cover books, materials, room and board, or transportation.  These will all be costs that you will have at college.

Most importantly, I want you all to know that you will not be alone in this process. I will be there every step of the way, guiding you and keeping you on track. You will also have your parents, mentors, guidance counselors, and teachers to help anytime you need them. This is a big step and it can weigh heavily on you, but if you take it one step at a time and don’t put things off it will fly by and you will have plenty of time to enjoy your senior year.

- Jonni Kitchell

Student Advocate Coordinator

Cell Phone: (941) 961-3365

Fax: (941) 358-4410

Email: jonni@takestocksarasota.org

Website: www.takestocksarasota.org

Available Monday- Friday 8am- 5pm

Great article from NPR. Wanted to share how crucial education is to helping stop the cycle of poverty.

How America's Losing The War On Poverty

by NPR Staff

 

Enlarge Spencer Platt/Getty Images Members of the Dolan family walk home with bags of food from the Southern Tier Mobile Food Pantry in Oswego, N.Y., in June. Food banks across the nation are reporting giant spikes in demand.

August 4, 2012

 

While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing.
According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964.

Close to 16 percent of Americans now live at or below the poverty line. For a family of four, that's $23,000 a year. On top of that, 100 million of us — 1 out of 3 Americans — manage to survive on a household income barely twice that amount. How is this poverty crisis happening?

'I've Never Seen Anything As Bad As Now'
Across the nation, food banks are reporting giant spikes in demand. The food pantry in Webster Springs, W.Va., used to serve 30 families a month just three years ago. Today, 150 families in that county — of just 9,000 people — depend on the food pantry run by Catholic Charities.

This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this Congress and all Americans to join with me in that effort.

 - President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964 State of the Union address

Webster Springs is a hard-hit area. Two coal mines have closed down there in the past year. The median income is around $20,000. Yet the crisis is also taking place right in our nation's capital.

At the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., forklifts move huge pallets of food around this giant warehouse. This year, they expect to give out 33 million pounds of food — a record. Close to 700,000 people in the region are now at risk of going hungry.

"In my lifetime, I've never seen anything as bad as now," says Lynn Brantley, who runs the facility. She's been working with food pantries for four decades and describes what's happening today as a hunger crisis. "It's growing into the middle class."

Who Is Poor?
There is increasing overlap between those who used to be firmly in the middle class and those who are poor. Most Americans who are poor are still white, but that's also changing, says Angela Blackwell, who runs PolicyLink, a research and advocacy organization that focuses on poverty.

"The face of poverty for the nation has changed from being white to being black and Latino," she tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz. "That's made a difference, too, because when people thought of poverty as being white and elderly there was more general sympathy in the country and more commitment to do something about it."

It's estimated that the percentage of Americans living in poverty will increase to 15.7 percent this year, the highest in 50 years. "That shocking statistic really only represents the people who live below the official poverty level," Blackwell says. "But you have twice that number [of] people who are living near poverty."

Low-Wage Jobs Keep Incomes Low
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan delivered a State of the Union address in which he declared that the war on poverty had failed. Now, with the poverty rate in America expected to reach its highest rate since 1965, it looks like Reagan may have been right.

My friends, some years ago, the federal government declared war on poverty, and poverty won. Today, the federal government has 59 major welfare programs and spends more than $100 billion a year on them. What has all this money done?

 - President Ronald Reagan, 1988 State of the Union address

Not so, says Peter Edelman, a professor at Georgetown University and an expert on poverty, but, he tells Raz, there is a lot to worry about.

"One reason is we're still in a recession," Edelman says. "We've had a change in our economy over the last 40 years that has produced a flood of low-wage jobs."

One half of all jobs in the U.S. today now pay less than $35,000 a year. Adjusted for inflation, that's one of the lowest rates for American workers in five decades.

There's a common perception that somebody who's poor or living below the poverty level is lazy or simply living off government handouts. Edelman says the actual average poor person is working.

"And working as hard as she or he possibly can," he says. "And particularly in the recession, not able to get work or steady work. There are certainly people who make bad choices, but the fundamental question in our economy is the number of people who are doing absolutely everything they can to support their families — and they just can't make it."

Some Battles Won, But Threats Loom
Back when LBJ declared his war on poverty, being poor looked very different than it does today. Traveling in Mississippi with Robert Kennedy in 1967, Edelman saw children with bloated bellies and sores that wouldn't heal. There was real hunger and real malnutrition.

"The food stamp program is a tremendous success," he says. "But since that time, it turns out that children are the poorest age group in our country because their families — typically single moms trying to make it — can't do so because of this flood of low-wage work that we have."

Many economists say that when the economy does recover, a lot of the jobs that were lost won't be coming back. That suggests the possibility of significantly high unemployment for a long time — maybe even a permanently large class of Americans who live in poverty. Blackwell says we can act to prevent that future. "And it's not rocket science."

"We know now that by 2018, 45 percent of all jobs in this nation will require at least an associate's degree," she says. "We could invest in the system of training — particularly focusing on community colleges and preparing people to go to four-year institutions and improving our high school education."

"We actually have extraordinary infrastructure in this country, from the manufacturing base we once had," she continues. "We need to retool it, we need to refit it, we need to make sure that it's ready for the kind of advanced manufacturing that we're seeing develop in other countries."

The Flash Mob that Keeps on Giving!

Check out the article written about our Flash Mob in the NPT! 

Advocacy In A Flash - 04/16/2012 Non-Profit Times

By Samuel J Fanburg

 

Armed with cowboy hats, towels around their hips and questionable dance moves, Take Stock in Children of Sarasota County’s (TSIC) flash mob might have been able to spur conversation about the organization’s mission, but did little in terms of raising money.

Once unique to Europe, flash mobs have grown into a global craze. YouTube has been able to broadcast these routines around the world, while still giving a local population a thrilling experience.
Using flash mobs to raise awareness about a specific fund­raising campaign or about an organization’s mission, nonprofit flash mobs have begun popping up around the country.

And even though these flash mobs might bring more traffic to a group’s website or account for a number of people “liking” an organization’s Facebook page, it remains to be seen how these quirky, brief dances translate into actual money raised.

Even though TSIC’s flash mob did not translate to dollars, “It was what I had envisioned,” said Dana Bakich, director of marketing and development. “The whole audience was standing up taking photographs and pictures of our dance. People started getting into the dancing. Our dance group began to grow exponentially with people joining in.”

Bakich’s group performed at the Van Wezel Friday Fest in Sarasota, Fla., this past Aug. 12. With assistance from a local dance studio, the group performed “I Believe” by Yolanda Adams.
“We chose ‘I Believe’ because we thought it would completely represent our audience,” said Bakich. “We even got towels printed that had our organization’s name on it to throw out to the crowd. We did not want to wear T-shirts running the risk of people figuring out what we were doing.”

For Bakich, the flash mob was not intended to be a fundraising campaign, but simply a way to raise awareness about the organization. Four videos showcasing the dance were then uploaded to YouTube, which collectively have been viewed 1,500 times.

“It was great for a small company like us,” said Bakich. “It also really built up morale for our organization. After the dance we went out to dinner as a group and talked about how we thought the event went.” Conroe Brooks, co-founder of Flash Mob America in Los Angeles, Calif., said that nonprofits using flash mobs are tied to the rise in accessing Internet videos. “YouTube has been huge,” he said. “Before, people could only really see flash mobs in person. It’s definitely a way to get your cause out to the public.”

Brooks said he’s been assisting nonprofits perform flash mobs since the company’s inception two-and-one-half years ago. Similar to TSCS, Brooks said that nonprofits “rarely” want to fundraise when they come to him. Instead, nonprofits are looking to flash mobs as a way to illustrate their organizations’ mission or highlight a specific campaign or program underway.

For Claudia Perrone, marketing specialist at Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) in Kanab, Utah, the latter option provided the fuel for adapting a flash mob to their “Invisible Dog” campaign.
The Invisible Dog is a social awareness campaign started in 2011 by BFAS intended to bring sheltered dogs into the spotlight. Perrone said the idea for a flash mob came into play when “we wanted to approach a younger audience.”

After convening with Flash Mob America, both parties agreed Central Park in New York City would make an ideal location. Participants took the iconic “invisible” dog leashes popular during the 1970s and performed dances with them.

“We wanted to keep the tone lighthearted,” said Perrone. “We ended up having 50 invisible dogs walkers by Bethesda Fountain (within Central Park), casually walking around. People were being very theatrical by pretending to have an actual dog on their leash.” BFAS used the song “Friday is Forever” by the group We The Kings. As ambassadors for BFAS, We The Kings allowed the organization to use the song.
BFAS did not dispense T-shirts or blankets, but had dancers give away posters and bumper stickers. “We really wanted to capture the crowd’s interest and have them visit the website,” said Perrone. “You have to be really quick in and out. Some people were wearing T-shirts, but it was more about the leash than the T-shirts.”
Even though the flash mob occurred on Nov. 7, 2011, BFAS had uploaded the video to YouTube this past January. Perrone said the delay was because professional videographers were putting together a comprehensive version of the dance.

The delay in posting the video goes against the advice offered by Bakich for a successful flash mob. “Plan, plan, plan,” said Bakich. “If you can’t wear something that shows who your organization is, give them a takeaway. Also, have the YouTube posted as soon as possible. Tag as many people in the video as you can.
When the video is on 40 different Facebook pages, you will have a lot of people looking at it.”

Flash mobs don’t just have to be dancing. In Harwich Port, Mass., the Harwich Ecumenical Council for the Homeless (HECH) held a flash mob where people simply held up signs displaying “Free Hugs.”
“I saw a flash mob in Stockholm where someone walked around with a sign that displayed ‘Free Hugs’,” said Pam Parmakian, executive director. “I made up 500 signs and handed them out to people with the instructions ‘at exactly 7 pm, hold up your sign and greet people.’”

Parmakian estimated that about 200-300 people participated in the event. The event was timed to take place during the annual Hariwchport Music Stroll.

Similar to the other flash mobs, Parmakian organized the event to raise awareness about what the organization was accomplishing and received $1,000 in donations from onlookers.

“Flash mobs don’t have to be about dancing,” said Brooks. “It’s usually always in public. It’s important to ask yourself, ‘How do we still make an impact with people and make the event a moving experience?’”

A video of the flash mob was uploaded to YouTube by a local news channel. “I would definitely do another one,” said Parmakian. “People were asking me ‘When is the next one going to be?’ It was so spontaneous. Make sure you make the event fun, involve as many people as you can and the press the day before.” NPT

STEM SMART - The Sign of Thinks to Come

"To make a big impact, you must take a big risk." - Salim Ismail

 

Today I was blown away. Not by the stormy weather Sarasota is having today, but by the astounding facts and knowledge Salim Ismail made during the Gulf Coast Community Foundation's Better Together luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton. 

The invitation mentioned it would be "mind-expanding." I couldn't agree more. 

You can't venture into a good magazine, newspaper or online news journal without finding information about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

There was so much to takeaway from today's presentation, but I've chosen a few "mind-expanders" that I wanted to share with you.

"Mind- Expanders"

- In 2011, at Singularity University, they received 2,200 applications from 109 countries for their student graduate program. (A 10-week interdisciplinary program for top students and entrepreneurial leaders worldwide, aimed at solving some of our most pressing challenges) After more than 300 hours of lectures from 160 different professors, students are sent out on their own project. Would you like to know the guidelines? 

• 3 weeks
• Effect a billion people in 10 years 
• Global Issue

If I would have received those requirements - I would have probably said, "Sayonara!"

- One of the brilliant ideas that came from these students was Matternet. Matternet is a roadless production of carrying goods from one place to another via electric planes in Africa...check this video out.

- As if that wasn't enough awesomeness for a speech, how about a car that has driven 200,000 miles without any accidents?! Oh...and let me add one thing, no one is driving it either. It's called the Google Car*. And the state of Nevada has just made them legal on the road. (Woah...)

- Other Cool facts: 

• Did you know Algae can produce 10,000 gallons of fuel?
• 80% of Apples revenue comes from products that weren't around 5-years-ago.
• We have no idea why we sleep for 1/3 of our lives. 

What Next?

The core question on everyone's minds is: How to engage the next generation in science, technology, engineering and math. Easy. Give them the tools, let the creativity flourish in the classroom and watch the results.

Take Stock in Children is partnering with STEM and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation on something BIG. Announcement is soon to follow.

Salim Ismail's Bio:

Salim Ismail is a sought-after speaker, strategist and entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. He travels extensively addressing topics including breakthrough technologies and their impact on a variety of industries.

Salim spent the last three years building Singularity University as its founding Executive Director and current Global Ambassador.  SU is based at NASA Ames and is training a new generation of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies. Before that he built and ran Brickhouse, Yahoo’s internal incubator. His last company, Angstro, was sold to Google in August 2010. He has founded or operated seven early-stage companies including PubSub Concepts, which laid some of the foundation for the real-time web.  Salim also serves on the board of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization.

* Foul Language, please advise. 

- Dana Bakich
@TSIChildrenSRQ
@dbakich17

Article from the Herald Tribune

Our Contract Signing touched our hearts. And now Sarasota can read about it too. :)

2/7/12 TSIC Herald Tribune Article

2011-2012 Contract Signing

What a wonderful and moving evening!

It was great to see all of our incoming students accepting their responsibility of maintaining a 2.5 GPA, staying crime and drug free and meeting with their assigned mentor weekly. 

I believe one highlight of the night was seeing the emotion on T.J. Mill's family as Lisa Bechtold, Take Stock in Children executive director announced all 14 of our Emma E. Booker students would be receiving the T.J. Mills Memorial Scholarship. The testimonies from T.J.'s mentor, Eric Dunn and childhood friend, Terrance Gillam brought tears to many eyes.

Another TSIC first was the tradition of signing a class pledge. After the students received their certificates, they all agreed to sign a pledge in honor of the three main principles of Take Stock in Children. This pledge will be hung in the TSIC office and presented again at Celebration of Hope when the students graduate from high school.

View 2011-2012 Contract Signing Photos

Flash Mob Continues...

Do you remember our Flash Mob in August at the Van Wezel Friday Fest?

It has done more brand awareness for Take Stock then we could have ever imagined! 

Check out the series of events since:

1. TSIC was asked by the Cat Depot to perform at their event in October. (Unfortunately we were just too busy at that time to participate)

2. In December, TSIC joined the Observer and performed our Flash Mob with numerous students and supporters at the Sarasota Christmas Parade.

3. Just this past month, I received a phone call from the Non-Profit Times in New Jersey about our Flash Mob!!

4. AND now we've been asked to do our Flash Mob for a wedding on Anna Maria Island in June. (Thoughts!?)

WOW!

* To join us for our next flash mob, please click HERE.