Schulze Family Foundation – College Scholarship NOW OPEN!
The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation College Scholarship Program is accepting applications from Jan 2, 2019 to Mar 1, 2019.
New Year Resolution? Participate in a Parent Cafe
New Year, New YOU! Have you gotten started on your New Year Resolutions? The Future Ready Collier network suggests making one of those resolutions to build a strong network of support by participating in a Parent Cafe!
Bringing Parent Cafes to Collier County
A common refrain throughout our Future Ready Collier conversations has been: if parents only knew about… If they only knew the timing of their 4-year old’s physical would impact Kindergarten registration when the child turned five. If only they knew that completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), was the key for accessing all financial aid and scholarships- regardless of family income. If only…
We have identified parent engagement as the common link- regardless of the age of the child. And then, after learning about Strengthening Families, a nationally recognized framework that builds on the strengths in families, rather than the gaps, we have realized that building parent-to-parent relationships and information-sharing will significantly impact their children.
As a result, we are working with Be Strong Families in Illinois to bring the tools of this framework to Collier County. Thanks to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, we will have this opportunity for a one-time investment in our capacity as a community.
Starting soon: Future Ready Collier Parent Cafes!
2018 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday
The 2018 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Rick Scott. This sales tax holiday begins Friday, August 3, 2018, and runs through Sunday, August 5, 2018.
During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax including: certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; and clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item.
For more information and a list of qualifying items, please review the Department of Revenue’s Tax Information Publication (TIP) on the 2018 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, as well as the Frequently Asked Questions document. For your convenience, the digital downloads and social media posts below are provided for individuals and businesses interested in sharing information about the sales tax holiday.
Click the link for more information and a complete list of eligible items: http://floridarevenue.com/backtoschool/Pages/default.aspx
Report to the Community
Future Ready Collier released its inaugural report on the story of Future Ready Collier to-date, along with examples of impact, and baseline indicators that will show progress for the long-term.
To view the Future Ready Collier Report to the Community, click here.
For the print spread version, click here.
Increasing home libraries for children
A goal of the Family Engagement and Literacy priority team has been to increase home libraries for children 0-4. This has been made possible through support of Books for Collier Kids. Through the partners and volunteers, they recently started to distribute books to Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) offices, expecting to hand out 1,000 books per month.
FRC accepts Unsung Heroes of Community Resilience Award
Last week, #FutureReadyCollier accepted the Unsung Heroes of Community Resilience Award along with many other great heros within Florida! Congratulations to all for a well-deserved recognition! #FCAN2018 #CreateTheFuture #FCANHero
Special thanks to the organizational support of Champions For Learning and the amazing FRC network partners. Photo Credit: Florida College Access Network
Collier County Community Assessment Online Link is LIVE!
Whether you call Collier County home seasonally or year-round, your voice matters! Help us determine Collier County’s challenges by participating in this community needs study. #yourvoicecollier
In an attempt to better understand the needs of residents of Collier County , as well as the assets in Collier County, The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, along with a group of strong community partners including: The Community Foundation of Collier County, The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, Collier County Public Schools, The Conservancy of SWFL, Arthrex, and city and county government offices, has contracted Q-Q Research Consultants to design and implement a community assessment for Collier County, Florida.
The goals of this assessment are to:
1) identify probable unmet service needs and gaps within Collier County,
2) identify possible community assets and resources, and
3) provide findings that will allow stakeholders to develop priorities and strategies to address the identified needs and gaps and to utilize and mobilize existing community resources.
The link to the Collier County Community Assessment survey can be found here. The deadline to complete the survey is December 15, 2017.
For more detailed information regarding the community assessment, go to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation website, by clicking here.
FAFSA now open
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Completing the FAFSA is the first step toward getting financial aid for college, career school, or graduate school. The FAFSA gives students access to the largest source of federal and state grants, federal work-study funds, and student loans. Completing the FAFSA is also a requirement by most colleges who offer intuitional scholarships as well as community based and private scholarships. Financial Aid from the FAFSA may be used to pursue a variety of degree and programs including Associate and Bachelor degrees as well as Career, Technical, and Vocational Certifications.
In Collier County, community-based organizations with an education focus have partnered together to help our students gain access to financial aid opportunities by completing their FAFSA. Trained volunteers partner with local high schools to help students navigate through the FAFSA process in one-on-one sessions. Check out these various opportunities for help in completing the FAFSA.
Together we have learned that for every 10% a school increases it’s FAFSA completion rate, it’s college going rate increases by 3%.
The Future Ready College & Career Readiness workgroup is continuing to work on increasing FAFSA completion with a goal of 46 % completion in the county.
We want to ensure that our young people graduate high school on track to obtain a degree or credential – – and to be Future Ready.
Future Ready Collier – Editorial in Naples Daily News
On July 20, 2017 Future Ready partners Champions For Learning, Collier County Public School District, Community Foundation of Collier County, Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, Florida SouthWestern State College, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, Guadalupe Center, Naples Children & Education Foundation – Naples Winter Wine Festival and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. met with the Editorial Board of the Naples Daily News to share about the work we’ve all been doing together to get Collier – Future Ready.
Click here to read more.