(August 29, 2025 – Naples, FL) For the seventh consecutive year, The Education Foundation of Collier County – Champions For Learning has received the Luminary Award from Take Stock in Children, Inc. By providing weekly workshops—four times the number required—Champions For Learning ensures that every student has consistent guidance on navigating college admissions, scholarships, and financial aid. As a result, more students are not only applying to college but are securing the resources they need to enroll and persist. Additionally, students in the program are required to meet with their volunteer mentor 16 times per school year, and our student and mentor pairs exceeded the number of required mentor sessions by over 98% throughout the 2025-2026 school year.
Take Stock in Children is a statewide, academically focused mentoring program that guides students towards successful completion of high school and college enrollment. Take Stock in Children empowers students from households with low incomes to overcome barriers to higher education. Champions For Learning has offered our Take Stock in Children program to Collier County students since 2000, providing them with the opportunities and skills needed to achieve educational, career, and life success.
“Receiving the Luminary Award for the sixth year in a row is really about what our students are achieving,” said Eric Williams, President and CEO of Champions For Learning. “Because of the dedication of our Student Programs team, volunteer mentors, and generous donors, more Collier County students are building the confidence, skills, and support networks they need to succeed in college and beyond.”
The program incorporates college and career access programming; however, the key component of Take Stock in Children involves matching newly enrolled eighth grade students with their Champions For Learning volunteer mentor, with whom they will meet with regularly during the school year through their high school graduation. Our mentors are often the first non-authority, adult relationship that students form. They provide guidance, motivation, support, and role-modeling to grow our students’ life skills and help them prepare for postsecondary success. This Luminary Award also reflects the dedication our mentors have when it comes to serving as a catalyst for educational success for the students in Collier County.