Community partnership unveils Vehicle Scholarship Program

December 27, 2018

Community partnership unveils Vehicle Scholarship Program

Stuart -

Communities Connected for Kids, in partnership with Infiniti of Stuart and the St. Lucie County Roundtable, will unveil a vehicle scholarship program during a special cocktail reception January 18 at Infiniti of Stuart.

The scholarship program, created to improve education outcomes for teens and young adults in the foster-care system, will award a car each year to a young person in CCK’s Road to Success program.

Road to Success, which prepares teens and young adults for life after foster care, has had a significant impact on the lives of young people in the community, said Chris Martinez, program supervisor. For example, he said, more teens in foster care are graduating from high school and pursuing post-secondary education.

“We hope to further our efforts by making vehicle ownership more accessible to this same group of young people,” Martinez said. “We know that our young people who have reliable transportation are the ones who stay in college and receive a degree.”

The idea for the program grew from discussions earlier this year among members of the St. Lucie County Roundtable, which addresses and responds to key risk factors that lead to delinquency, crime and other problem behaviors in children.

“We looked at all the young people in foster care who successfully graduated high school or college and realized they all had reliable transportation in common,” said Paul Nigro, Circuit 19 director for the Guardian ad Litem program and Roundtable member. “We knew we needed to make vehicle ownership more accessible to that population.”

The program is off to a great start.

Infiniti of Stuart donated the first vehicle - a 2013 Nissan Altima - and secured commitments from its partners in the community to provide painting, detailing and mechanical assistance if needed.

The car will be awarded during next month’s reception, which is invitation-only and made possible by the generous support of Caliber Home Loans, Rothenthal, Levy, Simon and Ryles, and Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd and Lloyd.