The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra is embarking on a fundraising effort, “Save Our Students (S.O.S.),” to assist local students in need. This initiative will partner with the St. Augustine-based 501(c)3, Mission to End Student Homelessness (MESH).
According to the New York Times, child poverty more than doubled in the United States last year, the largest single-year increase on record. At local Valley Ridge Academy, school Principal Angie Fuller said students in need have increased from about 30 to more than 100 this year — and that number will likely keep growing.
“In the past, our staff and area residents have helped students in need with ‘one-off’ expenses like rent, field trips, school supplies, prescription eyeglasses, extended day costs, transportation to doctor appointments and other needs,” said Fuller. “But now the need is too great. With the inclusion of affordable housing in Valley Ridge Academy’s enrollment area, the population of poverty-hampered students in our school is beyond our capacity to help financially.”
That’s where the S.O.S. effort comes in, with two primary objectives:
Rotary set a goal of raising $20,000 for this initiative by March 1. The club solicited Rotarians, individuals and small businesses in northern St Johns County to raise funds.
Donations were processed through the Ponte Vedra Rotary Foundation and then transferred to MESH, which will distribute the funds as follows:
“MESH is the only local charity that devotes its entire mission to raising funds and granting direct financial support to help these students on short notice,” said MESH’s Chair and Ponte Vedra Rotarian Dr. Tony Kazlauskas. “Just last August, we provided over $1,000 to help a single mother of seven (two children attending Nease High School, five at Valley Ridge) cover back rent and legal fees to save them from eviction. The family remained in their home and Mom obtained a new job that should allow her to meet future financial obligations.”
“Ponte Vedra Rotary recognized that poverty — and even homelessness — among many of our students in Nocatee has been on the increase since the pandemic,” S.O.S. Co-Chair Denny Baldwin wrote in an email. “Partnering with Valley Ridge Academy … and St. Augustine-based 501(c)3, Mission to End Student Homelessness, last fall we embarked on an ambitious effort to assist local students in need, which we call Save Our Students or SOS for short.
“I’m delighted to report that, thanks to the generosity of many, we’re closing in on our goal of raising $20,000, of which $12,000 will be granted to (Valley Ridge Academy) for its exclusive use to help address the effects of student poverty, and the remaining $8,000 will assist MESH in its legacy mission of supporting homeless students throughout St. Johns County. Anyone wishing to donate to SOS may still do so by sending a check to the Ponte Vedra Rotary Foundation, 101 Marketside Ave., Ponte Vedra, FL 32081, contributing online at pontevedrarotary.org or utilizing Venmo @PonteVedra-Rotary.”
