Page 106 - Life_In_Naples_Magazine_January_2015
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continues its educational mission and successes
T he Guadalupe Center in Immokalee is a symbol of hope. line. Currently, 350 children
For more than 30 years, the nonprofit organization has are on the Early Childhood
Education Program’s waiting
guided pre-kindergarten through high school-aged
students toward a better future, one focused on education list, the center has identified
as an answer to breaking the cycle of poverty.
a
additional
after
The success stories – 79 college graduates, thousands of need school for elementary
kindergarten-ready students and first-generation children speaking enrichment sites, and Tutor
English – are many. Corps receives more student
In 2014, the center served 1,065 children through its three core applications than the program
programs, graduating nearly 100 from the Early Childhood Education can accommodate.
Center; expanding its after-school mentoring to four Immokalee Tutor Corps students
elementary schools and 650 children; and helping 14 college-bound know all too well the chance
high school seniors in its Tutor Corps Program secure $1.1 million they’ve been given, the TUTOR CORPS GRADUATES
in scholarship and financial aid, including up to $16,000 they each difference their participation
earned tutoring younger students. To date, 101 Tutor Corps graduates makes in their lives and the
are attending college, 70 students are enrolled in the program and a students they tutor.
record 27 seniors are among the class of 2015. “A favorite moment for
With costs ranging from $1,700 to $9,500 per pupil, Guadalupe me at the center was the day that I graduated college and came back
Center relies on the generosity of its many community benefactors as a teacher,” said Esmeralda Sanchez. “Seeing that moment when
who provide precious funding and volunteer hours. these children discover they’re capable of doing something that they
Also supporting the center is its annual signature fundraising thought they couldn’t do before is indescribable.”
event, which raised $780,000 during the 2014 sold out soiree. Each day, employees, tutors like Sanchez, and volunteer Tutor
Organizers of January 14’s “Fire & Ice: Igniting the Flame of
Corps mentors David and Rebecca Shopay see the excitement for
Learning” at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, are hoping
learning flickering in the eyes of a child.
patrons will once again pledge to help more children and make on Former teachers and first generation college graduates in
the spot scholarship matches for Tutor Corps seniors. their families, the Shopays have mentored several students since
“We are proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved volunteering in 2006.
over the past 30 years, but we are far from finished,” said Roger Vasey, Rebecca recalls a Dartmouth graduate sharing her experience
development committee chairman. being so far from home.
The needs are great. Parents work hard but live below the poverty “She was enormously homesick those first few years away from
her family, so she tacked a picture of her mother out in a field picking
tomatoes to her bulletin board,” Rebecca said. “It helped her stick to
her goal.”
“These kids have found their way into our life and our hearts, and
we have been richer for the experience,” added David.
Attendees of Fire & Ice, featuring live music, exciting auction lots
and a fantastical world of flames and frost, will have an opportunity to
meet the Tutor Corps class of 2015. They’ll also be able to contribute
to students’ college funding during “Scholarship Raises.”
The event, from 6 to 10 p.m., also features auction prizes that will
whisk winners to New York City, Napa Valley and France or allow
them to host the party of the year. William Boyajian of Port Royal
Jewelers in Naples, has created the diamond, sapphire and platinum
Orchid Bee ring inspired by a Tutor Corps student essay and photo.
For more information about Guadalupe Center and Fire & Ice,
TUTOR CORPS MENTOR REBECCA SHOPAY WITH STUDENTS visit www.GuadalupeCenter.org or call 239.657.7124.
106 Life in Naples | January 2015
T he Guadalupe Center in Immokalee is a symbol of hope. line. Currently, 350 children
For more than 30 years, the nonprofit organization has are on the Early Childhood
Education Program’s waiting
guided pre-kindergarten through high school-aged
students toward a better future, one focused on education list, the center has identified
as an answer to breaking the cycle of poverty.
a
additional
after
The success stories – 79 college graduates, thousands of need school for elementary
kindergarten-ready students and first-generation children speaking enrichment sites, and Tutor
English – are many. Corps receives more student
In 2014, the center served 1,065 children through its three core applications than the program
programs, graduating nearly 100 from the Early Childhood Education can accommodate.
Center; expanding its after-school mentoring to four Immokalee Tutor Corps students
elementary schools and 650 children; and helping 14 college-bound know all too well the chance
high school seniors in its Tutor Corps Program secure $1.1 million they’ve been given, the TUTOR CORPS GRADUATES
in scholarship and financial aid, including up to $16,000 they each difference their participation
earned tutoring younger students. To date, 101 Tutor Corps graduates makes in their lives and the
are attending college, 70 students are enrolled in the program and a students they tutor.
record 27 seniors are among the class of 2015. “A favorite moment for
With costs ranging from $1,700 to $9,500 per pupil, Guadalupe me at the center was the day that I graduated college and came back
Center relies on the generosity of its many community benefactors as a teacher,” said Esmeralda Sanchez. “Seeing that moment when
who provide precious funding and volunteer hours. these children discover they’re capable of doing something that they
Also supporting the center is its annual signature fundraising thought they couldn’t do before is indescribable.”
event, which raised $780,000 during the 2014 sold out soiree. Each day, employees, tutors like Sanchez, and volunteer Tutor
Organizers of January 14’s “Fire & Ice: Igniting the Flame of
Corps mentors David and Rebecca Shopay see the excitement for
Learning” at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, are hoping
learning flickering in the eyes of a child.
patrons will once again pledge to help more children and make on Former teachers and first generation college graduates in
the spot scholarship matches for Tutor Corps seniors. their families, the Shopays have mentored several students since
“We are proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved volunteering in 2006.
over the past 30 years, but we are far from finished,” said Roger Vasey, Rebecca recalls a Dartmouth graduate sharing her experience
development committee chairman. being so far from home.
The needs are great. Parents work hard but live below the poverty “She was enormously homesick those first few years away from
her family, so she tacked a picture of her mother out in a field picking
tomatoes to her bulletin board,” Rebecca said. “It helped her stick to
her goal.”
“These kids have found their way into our life and our hearts, and
we have been richer for the experience,” added David.
Attendees of Fire & Ice, featuring live music, exciting auction lots
and a fantastical world of flames and frost, will have an opportunity to
meet the Tutor Corps class of 2015. They’ll also be able to contribute
to students’ college funding during “Scholarship Raises.”
The event, from 6 to 10 p.m., also features auction prizes that will
whisk winners to New York City, Napa Valley and France or allow
them to host the party of the year. William Boyajian of Port Royal
Jewelers in Naples, has created the diamond, sapphire and platinum
Orchid Bee ring inspired by a Tutor Corps student essay and photo.
For more information about Guadalupe Center and Fire & Ice,
TUTOR CORPS MENTOR REBECCA SHOPAY WITH STUDENTS visit www.GuadalupeCenter.org or call 239.657.7124.
106 Life in Naples | January 2015
