Tampa, FL – (July 8, 2013) – Amscot Financial, a leading provider of convenient, consumer-oriented financial services, recently gave mini-grants to 25 non-profit service organizations in the Florida communities it serves. Mini-grants went to:
- Academy for Autism, Inc., Orlando. The agency is raising funds to purchase communications devices for children whose families cannot afford them. The use of iPads and iPods during therapy sessions has been demonstrated to increase an autistic child's ability to community with teachers and other students. iPad technology has been shown to decrease the amount of frustration that autistic children experience when trying to communicate their needs. For more information, please visit: http://academyforautism.org.
- Lake Wales Family YMCA, Lake Wales. The Lake Wales Family YMCA strengthens the foundations of the community through well-being and fitness, family time, swim, sports and play, and other activities for people of all ages, incomes and abilities. The Y helps build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all with values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. With a commitment to nurturing youth development, promoting healthy living, and fostering a sense of social responsibility, the Y ensures that every individual has access to the essentials needed to learn, grow and thrive. For more information, please visit: www.lakewalesymca.org.
- Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County, Clearwater. This non-profit organization works on behalf of children of low-income families to increase access to child care services. The organization estimates that there is a waiting list of more than 3,000 children in Pinellas County who cannot obtain services due to a lack of funding. For more information, please visit www.elcpinellas.net.
- Dress for Success, Tampa. The mission of Dress for Success Tampa is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and career development tools to help them thrive in work and in life. The group encourages women to embrace fitness as a lifestyle. For more information, please visit: www.dressforsuccess.org/tampabay.
- Here We Grow Foundation, Inc., Dunedin. The Here We Grow Foundation is dedicated to meeting the needs of children and families residing in disadvantaged communities. The group's special areas of concern include safety, health and wellness; youth leadership and education and economic opportunity. Among the foundation's initiatives are a "diaper bank," that provides needy families with free diapering supplies necessary to decrease illness associated with infrequent diaper use. For more information, please visit: www.herewegrowfoundation.com.
- TPAW, Rockledge. This organization assists in raising funds to support the operation of Assurance Christian Academy, a private school in Brevard County. The group seeks to raise money to help pay for school buses to transport students. For more information, please visit: http://www.greaterblessedassurance.org.
- Central Daytona Police Athletic League, Daytona Beach. The 1st annual BEAT THE HEAT Olympic and Sprint Triathlon sponsored by the Central Daytona Beach Police Athletic League and the Daytona Beach Police Department will be held on Nov. 10, 2013. The event will benefit children residing in Daytona Beach who would like to participate in safe, structured and supervised after-school and sports programs; however, their families lack the financial means. The Central Daytona Beach Police Athletic League provides these programs and 100 percent of the net proceeds will be donated to them. For more information, please visit: http://daytonabeachpolicefoundation.org.
- High Point Neighborhood Family Center, Clearwater. For more than a decade, the High Point Neighborhood Family Center (HPNFC), has served an ethnically diverse and economically challenged neighborhood by providing financial assistance, education, a free after-school care program and numerous other services. With a focus on children, the High Point Neighborhood Family Center enhances the quality of lives in the community. For more information, please visit: http://www.highpointfamilycenter.org.
- The Salvation Army, Orlando. Among its many missions, the Salvation Army operates Camp Keystone, located near Starke, Florida, where underprivileged kids can just be kids. For many children who attend the summer camp, this may be the only time of the year where they receive three square meals a day while having the opportunity ride horses, play tennis and enjoy swimming and boating. For more information, please visit: http://salvationarmyorlando.org.
- Lake Wales Charter Schools, Lake Wales. The K-12 network of charter schools offers a "Students in Transition" program that, among other services, provides children with free physical examinations prior to entering school. The program also offers free, short-term medical assistance when a student is not covered by insurance and free medication when prescribed by a physician. For more information, please visit: http://lwcharterschools.com.
- Grace Landing, St. Cloud. Grace Landing began as a home for youth who had "aged out" of the foster care system in Osceola County. It has expanded its services to including mentoring for foster youth and recruiting families to serve as foster parents. Its major fundraiser each year is called "The Paddle Challenge," a team-building canoe ride on Lake Tohopekaliga. For more information, please visit: www.gracelanding.com.
- Bakas Horses for Handicapped, Tampa. The Bakas Equestrian Center has been a highly successful program since 1987. It offers horseback riding to children and adults and specializes in those with disabilities. Operated by the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, the program provides group riding lessons, trail rides, carriage riding, parties and special events. Physically impaired and developmentally delayed riders have the opportunity to compete in horse shows and Special Olympics. Riding horses provides those with disabilities increased self esteem, balance, coordination and improved attention span. For more information, please visit: http://www.bakasridingcenter.com.
- 1CommUNITY Resource Center of Marion Oaks, Ocala. The 1CommUNITY Resource Center of Marion Oaks was created in 2010 to help residents of Marion Oaks to obtain needed resources to improve the quality of their lives, create mutual support networks and build a more cohesive community. Many social service resources can be accessed through the 1CommUNITY Resource Center. The Resource Center was created through Devereux Kids, which is financially supported by Kids Central, Inc. For more information, please visit: http://1community-marionoaks.webs.com.
- Kids With a Call, Inc., Tampa. This organization provides year-round, after-school and out-of-school programs that engage children and youth aged five to 15 in the Tampa Bay area with enrichment activities in music, chorus, art, readers' theater and martial arts. Curriculum lessons are designed to promote literacy and critical thinking skills, teach discipline, promote teamwork, camaraderie, responsibility, and patriotism as well as enhance racial and cultural understanding. For more information, please visit: http:kidswithacall.com.
- Dream Young Arts & Media, Brandon. The group's goal is to educate people with special needs by providing a place where they can learn computer skills, explore talents in media creation, music, video, reading, math and more. The mission is Dream Young is to become an art institute for people with special needs. For more information, please visit: http://dreamyoung.org.
- West Leesburg Community Development, Leesburg. This organization will hold a "Back to School" event on Aug. 17 and hopes to provide 300 book bags for returning students.
- St. Petersburg College Foundation, St. Petersburg. The Leepa-Rattna Museum of Art opened January 22, 2002 on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College. The Museum's 20th century collection is made up of art from Abraham Rattner's estate donated by Allen and Isabelle Leepa and a large donation made by the Tampa Museum of Art in 1997. The Museum is filled with Rattner's retrospective works: lithographs, tapestries, sculptures, paintings and stained glass. For more information, please visit: http://www.spcollege.edu/central/museum/index.htm.
- Project Link, Tampa. Project LINK is a community-based, non-profit organization dedicated to providing support for children and their families who live in Hillsborough County. Project LINK's mission is to help children become healthy, safe, educated and contributing members of society. Since April 1989, Project Link has served more than 9,000 families by fostering connections with support agencies and service programs from community, local, state, and national human services, targeting at-risk, low income families in early childhood to students in high school who have been identified as at-risk of suspension, expulsion, truancy, academic failure because they lack parental involvement. For more information, please visit: http://project-link.org.
- BIG SIS, Inc., Orlando. This agency is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create opportunities for positive change in the lives of women and young girls. BIG SIS, Inc. is dedicated to the reintegration and empowerment of these women in becoming independent, goal-oriented and self-sufficient in society. For more information, please visit: http://www.bigsis.org.
- Pediatric Sponsorship Foundation, Orlando. This organization raises funds to assist families whose special needs children require occupational, speech and/or physical therapy. For more information, please visit: http://www.therapywish.org
- Florida A&M University Alumni Association, Sarasota & Manatee chapter, Sarasota. This group raises scholarship funds for students in Sarasota and Manatee counties who wish to attend Florida A&M University. For more information, please visit: http://www.saramanarattlers.com.
- Apopka Family Learning Center, Apopka. Over a 35-year history, the Apopka Family Learning Center has empowered low-income individuals and families of Central Florida to build better lives through educational programs and support services. The organization's founding purpose was to create a center for advocacy and educational opportunities that would advance individuals' level of self-sufficiency and expand their prospects for a brighter future. For more information, please visit: http://www.apopkafamilylearningcenter.com.
- Saving Young Hearts, Ocoee. While the prevailing perception is that heart disease primarily affects adults, thousands of seemingly healthy youth are suddenly and unexpectedly suffering fatal or severely debilitating consequences of heart disease. The Saving Young Hearts organization focuses on preventing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in children and young athletes by providing heart screenings for early detection of conditions that can lead to SCA. For more information, please visit: http://savingyounghearts.org.
- PACE Center for Girls, Tampa. The PACE Center for Girls is a year-round day-treatment program for at-risk girls aged 11 to 17. Its mission is to provide girls with a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy. Approximately 60 girls attend the center Monday through Friday for academics and counseling. Among the goals are to help girls recover lost school credits and return to their mainstream schools. For more information, please visit http://pacecenter.org/hillsborough.
- Sickle Cell Association of Hillsborough County. The mission of the Sickle Cell Association of Hillsborough County, Inc. is to help individuals with sickle cell conditions live lives that are, to the maximum extent possible, unhampered and uncompromised by their sickle cell conditions. For more information, please visit: http://scahillsborough.org.