HELIOS EDUCATION FOUNDATION OPENS FLORIDA OFFICE
Education Impact Areas Unveiled to Statewide Leaders
(Tampa, FL) – At an evening event on September 20, 2007, Helios Education Foundation welcomed nearly 100 business and education leaders to celebrate the opening of its Florida office. The new site, located in Tampa at 100 N. Tampa Street, Suite 1625, will be the hub of the Foundation’s efforts to impact education issues across the state of Florida. Helios Education Foundation’s chief communications officer and Florida-focused program staff will work out of the space. The office is anticipated to be fully staffed with five professionals by the beginning of 2008.
“The opening of the Tampa office is a significant milestone in the history of our organization,” commented Paul J. Luna, president of the Helios Education Foundation. “Although we have made investments in Florida over the past few years, this truly launches our active engagement in Florida’s education arena.”
During a short program, chairman/CEO and founder of the Helios Education Foundation, Vince Roig recognized the Foundation’s Board of Directors and staff, most of whom traveled from the Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona area, the location of Helios’ headquarters. Roig also expressed appreciation for the support the Foundation had received from the statewide community since its inception in 2004.
“We are extremely fortunate to have the beginnings of strong partnerships and collaborative opportunities in the state,” stated Roig. “We are eager to get our staff of experts in place so that we can increase our involvement and strategically invest our resources to help improve student success and strengthen key aspects of Florida’s education system.”
The Foundation has made more than $25 million in investments into Postsecondary Scholarship and other education focused programs in Arizona and Florida over the past three years, including nearly $11 million in Florida. Recipients of the investments include the University of Florida Foundation, Florida Board of Governor’s Foundation, University of South Florida, The Foundation for Florida’s Community Colleges, and the Florida League of Middle Schools.
The open house attendees were also introduced to the Foundation’s three impact areas: Early Childhood Education, the Transition Years (grades 5-12), and Postsecondary Scholarships. Within Early Childhood Education, the Foundation’s emphasis is on improving teacher quality through the development and retention of quality educators. The Transition Years focus is on helping youth successfully transition between the various stages of education – elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, and high school to postsecondary opportunities. Areas of emphasis include improving teacher quality, increasing curriculum rigor and student readiness, student support as well as parent and community involvement. Postsecondary Scholarships are to provide higher education and vocational training opportunities to economically disadvantaged, at-risk and first generation college students through financial scholarships and ongoing support.
The Foundation’s long-term goals are to have more children, ages 0-5, enter school ready to succeed; increase the number of youth, grades 5-12, staying in school, transitioning between the stages of education and graduating academically prepared; and expand access to higher education and vocational training for young adults while providing them with the support they need to successfully complete a postsecondary program.
Although the Foundation’s greatest area of emphasis will be on the Transition Years, it views its work as reaching across the entire education continuum from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary education. Its vision is for every individual in Florida and Arizona to have the opportunity to attend and be prepared to succeed in postsecondary education. The three impact areas were developed through extensive research, including discussions with education experts and key stakeholders with a vested interest in improving education such as representatives from the business, government and nonprofit sectors.
Helios Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization serving Arizona and Florida with an endowment exceeding $600 million. The Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals by creating opportunities for success in postsecondary education. Since its inception in 2004, Helios has invested more than $25 million into education-related programs and initiatives. For more information about the Helios Education Foundation, visit www.helios.org.