- September 7, 2024
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These students earned bonuses through community service and saving their funds. Photo courtesy of Flagler Habitat for Humanity
The Flagler Habitat for Humanity Prep Club students. Photo courtesy of Flagler Habitat for Humanity
Graduating FPC seniors Aun’Yale Howard and Richard Sligh were each awarded several thousand dollars in scholarships. Photo courtesy of Flagler Habitat for Humanity
Gerod Tolbert, a Prep Club alum, won the club's Alumni Scholarship of $500. Photo courtesy of Flagler Habitat for Humanity
Flagler Habitat for Humanity gave out over $9,000 in scholarships to its Prep Club students at its June 11 awards ceremony.
The Prep Club has been around since 2019 but has had its largest group of participating students this past school year, Community Outreach Coordinator Maureen Crompton said. In total, 48 children participated in the program in the 2023-2204 school year.
These students, she said, are the children of Flagler's 131 Habitat for Humanity homes. The club, in conjunction with Intracoastal Bank, provides the students with bank accounts and the students earn money based on their academic performance throughout the year.
"The program was started to teach [kids] financial responsibility, getting good grades, and then giving back to the community," Crompton said.
At the end of the year, Flagler Habitat for Humanity hosts an award ceremony celebrating the students' success and awarding scholarship to Prep Club seniors.
Three students won the Prep Club's scholarships: Flagler Palm Coast High School seniors Aun’Yale Howard and Richard Sligh, and Prep Club alum Gerod Tolbert. Howard and Sligh each won a $500 Coast Title Insurance book scholarship, plus Howard won the $5,000 Nancy Katz Scholarship and Slight the $3,000 Hildegard Lash Foundation Scholarship.
Tolbert, who received the Coast Title Scholarship in 2023, received the $500 Prep Club Alumni Scholarship for continuing his education.
The awards ceremony recognized the students who earned the most over the year for their grades and bonuses and the top earners in each grade. Some students also received Community Services Awards, these students earned bonuses for both community service work they've performed and for saving at least some of their Prep Club funds throughout the year.
The goal of this program is to set the students up for success and encourage them to continue their education. Some Habitat homeowners, Crompton said, were not able to graduate high school or attend college themselves.
"So we're trying to break that cycle, so that the children see the value in school," she said.
