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Polk Education Foundation
1530 Shumate Drive
Bartow, FL 33830
Phone: 
863-534-0434
Fax: 
863-519-3791



Mission Statement:  The mission of the Polk Education Foundation is to establish a proactive partnership between the community and the public school system to link community resources with the educational needs of its students through reading and mentoring programs, scholarships, school grants and other educational endeavors.

 

 

Board of Directors: 

 

President – Richard Stephens, Attorney – Holland & Knight LLP

Vice President – Hunt Berryman, Community Representative - Sunco Carriers, retired

Secretary/Treasurer – David Ullman, Partner – Bunting, Tripp & Ingley LLP

        

Board Members

Carol Barnett – President, Publix Super Market Charities, Inc.

Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts – President/CEO, Blackmon Roberts Group, Inc.

John Burns – Claim Section Manager, State Farm Insurance Companies

Tracy Bryant – Community Relations Manager, CEMEX

Jeff Cox – President, Linder Industrial Machinery Company

Paula Dockery – State Senator, Florida Senate-District 15

Ebbie Sue Doherty – W.S. Badcock & More

Al Dorsett – Community Activist, Magnify Credit Union

Regis Foster – Director of Construction (South East Region), Verizon

Mimi Hardman – Community Activitist, Lake Wales Arts Council

Hollis Hooks – Senior Vice President, Citi Smith Barney

Kevin Jones – President, MIDLFLORIDA Federal Credit Union

Kathryn Koch-O’Malley – Assistant Vice President, Lanier Upshaw Insurance Company

Margaret Lofton – School Board Member, Polk County School District

Carey MacConnell – Facility Manager, Mosaic

Gail McKinzie – Superintendent of Schools, Polk County School District

Jan Mercer-Hyman – Community Representative, Bright House Networks

Jerry Miller – Manager, Community Relations, Progress Energy

Deborah Misch – Community Activist

Steve Petrie – Principal, Polk County School District

Cindy Price – Community Relations Director, TECO

Blinda Pullen – Division Manager & Property & Casualty, Bank of America

Bill Reid – Director of External Affairs, Verizon

Michael Sales – Unit Sales Manager, Pepsi Bottling Group

John Santarpia – President/CEO, Magnify Credit Union

Sherrin Smyers – Community Activitist, Eventrics

John Stargel – Circuit Judge, 10th Judicial Court of Florida

Mary Ruth Wilson – President, Central Ridge, Inc.

 

Highlights of Foundation Programs:

 

AmeriCorps Polk Reads – In a one-on-one reading tutoring program, AmeriCorps members tutored 638 Kindergarten through third grade students in 10 elementary school sites in the 08-09 school year, providing almost 50,000 hours of tutoring.  In addition to the tutoring program, 30 literacy-based community service projects were completed by membersduring the year.

 

Take Stock in Children – During the past school year,  our TSIC program served 124 students.  Mentoring hours associated with these students totaled over 3,000.  The program hosted 2 golf tournaments raising $40,000 to purchase Florida PrePaid Scholarships which will be matched by the state to purchase scholarships for future TSIC recipients.

 

Teacher to Teacher Connection – Over $25,000 in supply grants was awarded to teachers for use in their classrooms.  The program hosts an annual Idea Expo where teachers share teaching methods and ideas.  Visitiros can thn apply for grants to purchase the supplies to implement a program they saw at the expo.

 

Other Services

  • Administered and provided $551,250 in annual scholarships to 337 graduating Polk County seniors.
  • Awarded $25,000 in matching grants to schools around the county
  • Administered $70,000 in grants for donor sponsored and driven initiatives
  • Filled 512 buckets for Project Fill A Bucket, distributing just under $18,000 worth of toiletries, bath towels, gifts, and more to needy students during the holidays 
  • Recognized 169 students as Superintendent’s Scholars; these were the top 1% of all students graduating from Polk County High Schools.
  • Secured over $111,000 in non-cash donations for various Foundation programs 
  • Hosted the Teacher / School Related Employee of the Year Banquet for over 900 guests
  • Hosted the Superintendent Partnership Awards; a vehicle for schools to recognize a an outstanding school partner

      and

  • To help needy families get their students started in school, we provided grants for free school physicals for and school uniforms

 

Updated: 9/02/09
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