The Immokalee Foundation announced today it has received a $15,000 grant from The New York Life Foundation and the Afterschool Alliance. The grant will support middle school students in the Foundation’s award-winning Career Pathways program.
During middle school, Immokalee Foundation Career Pathways students, alongside their parents, explore the wide variety of career options available to them, including a significant rotation in business management and entrepreneurship, which includes after-school and summer programs.
The curriculum focuses on entrepreneurship, problem-solving skills, persistence, and a growth mindset. Students receive homework help, English and reading assistance, career field trips, leadership/communication training, financial literacy education, and postsecondary experience.
The Foundation’s 7th and 8th-grade students also participate in a Summer STEM Camp at Florida Gulf Coast University led by faculty members. The camp curriculum includes computer coding, mathematics, engineering, and environmental sciences, with hands-on activities for each component.
The summer following their 8th-grade year, middle school students attend the Business Management & Entrepreneurship Pathway Summer Camp at Florida Gulf Coast University. This four-week program prepares students for the high school Career Pathways curriculum by teaching them how to develop solutions and create business models. In the spirit of TV’s “Shark Tank, the program culminates in a pitch day where middle school students pitch their businesses to a panel of judges.
“We are so proud to support students from elementary through postsecondary education, including the impressionable and often vulnerable middle school years,” said Noemi Y. Perez, The Immokalee Foundation’s president and CEO. “New York Life Foundation is helping our middle school students discover exceptional business management and entrepreneurship alternatives before they ever step foot in a high school classroom.”
Immokalee’s families suffer intergenerational poverty and very low educational attainment. Immokalee’s per capita income is $17,927, ranking it 477th out of 485 communities in Florida.
“Students today face significant academic, social, and emotional challenges, and out-of-school time programs provide much-needed support,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders of bereavement support, and Afterschool Alliance board member. “These programs have a proven track record of helping students do better in school and build the skills they need for their future success.”
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About the Afterschool Alliance: The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. More information is available at www.AfterschoolAlliance.org.
About the New York Life Foundation: Inspired by New York Life’s tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided over $440 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement, childhood bereavement and social justice. The Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its Volunteers for Good program and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative. To learn more, please visit www.newyorklifefoundation.org.
