Pictured: Take Stock in Children secured all 3,000 pre-sale vouchers the state requires to manufacture its Mentoring Changes Lives plate by its September 30 deadline. Provided photo.

A new license plate is set to hit the roads very soon.

Founded in 1995, Take Stock in Children, a Florida nonprofit that mentors low-income students and provides college readiness support and scholarships, has hit 3,000 pre-sale vouchers for its new "Mentoring Changes Lives" specialty license plate—clearing the threshold to put the plate into production and onto the region’s roads. The plates, which will be available in a few short months, will send $25 of every annual plate fee directly to Take Stock in Children, creating a sustainable funding source for the organization’s mentoring services. The proceeds will be used to help connect students with volunteer mentors across all 67 Florida counties. That means more low-income students will be paired with a mentor, more will graduate from high school ready for college and more will have the support they need to earn a degree. Graduates receive a Florida Prepaid Project STARS scholarship and continued support through Take Stock in College and Career. Today, the program serves approximately 15,000 students annually and has supported more than 46,000 students statewide.

“We asked Floridians to show our students that a whole state is cheering them on, and 3,000 people said yes,” said Bethany Lacey, chief executive officer of Take Stock in Children. “Every one of those vouchers is a promise to a young person who might be the first in their family to go to college. Soon those promises will be on the road across Florida, and they’ll help fund student mentoring for years to come."

Lacey explains that reaching this milestone is especially meaningful in local Take Stock programs, including Sarasota and Bradenton. “It boosts mentoring services across Sarasota and Manatee Counties led by local Take Stock leaders Lisa Bechtold and Anne LeBaron, providing another resource to support local students and help ensure they have the guidance and encouragement they need to reach their goals,” she said.

“My mentor was the person I called when I didn’t know how to apply for financial aid or whether I was good enough to apply to my dream school,” said Alexis Vu, a freshman at the University of Florida and Take Stock in Children alum. “Seeing this plate on the road means another student out there is going to get that same kind of support.”

To learn more about becoming a mentor or supporting the program, visit takestockinchildren.org.

Pictured: Take Stock in Children secured all 3,000 pre-sale vouchers the state requires to manufacture its Mentoring Changes Lives plate by its September 30 deadline. Provided photo.