Would you partner with us to turn hopelessness into hope and turn pain into victory? Will you help us? Your gift of $25, $100, $1,000, $2,500 or more will be doubled - but only in the month of May!
Do you Believe in Girls?
Dear Friend of PACE,
PACE Center for Girls is a state-wide agency with the goal of preventing drop-outs. It was started in 1985 with $100 and a borrowed room in a church. Today, PACE has 17 centers in the State of Florida and has served more than 23,000 girls in the past 25 years. Your local PACE Center, PACE Center for Girls of Marion County, opened in 2001 and has served more than 500 girls right here in our community. We serve 54 at-risk girls ages 12 to 18, a large number of which are victims of abuse. We see girls with bright futures and dreams on the brink of dropping out of school and giving up on life and themselves.
While the girls' outlook is often bleak, PACE provides hope! While over 50% of our students are 2 to 8 years behind in both Reading and Math, 100% of PACE Marion students increased their academic functioning, and 96% did not commit crimes six months after leaving PACE despite being at-risk for criminal activity, in 2008-2009. PACE is impacting lives! But we're not done yet.
In the next 12 to 24, months PACE is starting a new journey. We want to be part of the solution to unemployment in our community. We are embarking on a new initiative of workforce readiness. According to a 2004 workforce needs assessment done by CLM Workforce Connection, two of the top five concerns of employers in our community are attracting well-educated professionals and developing internship/vocational programs to assist transitioning high school students from academics to the work environment.
Our goal: the girls in our program will begin to work toward becoming professional, employable members of our community by the time they finish our program. We want to provide them with financial training, leadership development, assist with resume writing and perform mock interviews. We want them to leave PACE with a resume in hand and an understanding of how to find and maintain employment!
This is an exciting time to partner with PACE! Currently, members of our community have generously donated $10,000 with one challenge - that with your help, we match their donation in the month of May.
Will you help us? Your gift of $25, $100, $1,000, $2,500 or more will be doubled - but only in the month of May!
Would you partner with us to turn hopelessness into hope and turn pain into victory? Please click on the 'donate now' button on the left-hand side of this email or visit our website at www.believingingirls.org where you can view more information about PACE.
Please plan to join us on Wednesday, June 9th (details below) as we celebrate the girls' success and the success of the campaign. We hope that you will join in us in changing lives.
Chair, PACE Marion Board of Directors
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Challenge Grant Partners: PACE Marion Board of Directors, Scott D. Bruce, Fakhoury Medical & Chiropractic Center, DEX Imaging, & First Presbyterian Church. Special thanks to Phillips Printing.
25th Anniversary Open House
The Board of Directors and PACE staff invite you to join us for an anniversary celebration on Thursday, May 13th at 3:30 p.m. There will be a ribbon cutting hosted by the Ocala/Marion Chamber of Commerce. You will have the opportunity to meet a PACE student and take a quick tour of the center. Cake and refreshments will be provided.
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PACE Graduation & Transition Ceremony - Save the Date!
Guest Speaker : City Councilwoman Mary Sue Rich
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
5:30 p.m.
Association of Relators Building
3105 NE 14th Street
Ocala, FL 34470
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