The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools held its 10th Annual Strides for Education 5K Run on Saturday, February 6, 2021.  The event, hosted at Florida SouthWestern State College’s Lee Campus, raised money for The Foundation’s Take Stock in Children program.

1,100 business leaders, community partners, teachers, and local runners participated in the race this year in-person and virtually. The race was COVID safe and friendly as CDC Guidelines were followed to ensure the safety of all participants and spectators.  The Foundation raised 37,000 for the purchase of scholarships for the students in our Take Stok in Children Program.

Schools and businesses throughout Lee County were challenged to create the largest team by creating friendly competition.

This year’s winners are as follows:

• School Challenge: Team Heights (Heights Elementary)
• Corporate Challenge: Boy Agnew Potanovic Miller, PLLC
• Community Partner Challenge: Miles in Memory of Erik Babatz

“We are so thankful for such outstanding support from the community in our quest to provide the gift of education to very deserving students, ”, says Marshall T. Bower, President & CEO of The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools. “These students are the future employees and leaders of our community.”

The Strides for Education 5k raises money for college scholarships to benefit students entering the Take Stock in Children program. Take Stock in Children was established in 1995 as a statewide scholarship program that provides a unique opportunity for deserving low-income youth to escape the cycle of poverty through education.

The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools administers the program here in Lee County. Students enter the program in 6^th or 9^th grade and commit to remaining crime- and drug-free, maintaining a 2.5 GPA or higher, and meeting with a mentor regularly. Upon high school graduation, having kept this commitment, students are awarded a four-year college tuition scholarship.