Phone: 941-782-8374
Toll Free: 877-300-7255
DOSH Management & Project Heart Join Forces
to help the homeless students in Manatee County Florida.
We are proud to announce our new partnership with Project Heart. Dosh Management has designed this mentoring program to help empower youth with additional resources that can help them in their futures. Our program provides guidance and support to students who are homeless, or in danger of becoming homeless, and provides them with the tools and they need to live a brighter future.
Empowered students are more equipped to identify and remove obstacles that prevent them from moving forward. Students who are empowered are more likely to have happier and successful futures because they have developed tools that help them feel more in control of their journey. A mentor plays an important role in the empowerment process for youth, we have made it our mission to find dedicated mentors who are passionate about contributing to this amazing cause.
Project HEART is a program that helps students who are homeless, or in danger of becoming homeless, by providing them with the support and assistance they need to keep them on track to a brighter future. You can make a difference in the life of vulnerable high school students and help them improve grades, prepare for college, plan for a career, and develop essential life management skills.
There are two ways you can make a difference:
- Become a Project Heart Mentor
- Offer support and guidance
- Help build a solid foundation of values
- Help establish goals for the future
- Improve academic and life skills
- Develop self-esteem and confidence
- Become a Project Heart Sponsor
- Textbooks
- Uniforms
- Tools/kits
- Other course materials
If you are interested in making a difference for youth who could benefit from additional guidance or support, please contact us today for information on how to get started.
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- What it Means to Be A Mentor – A Project HEART mentor is a caring, compassionate adult who chooses to devote time to a homeless high school student, offering support, guidance, and encouragement. If you can be available one hour per week, you can change a life by helping a student who lacks fixed, regular and adequate housing to build a solid foundation of values, establish goals, improve academic and life skills, while developing self-esteem and confidence. Think about the adults who paid attention to you; who believed in you; and who guided you during your childhood! Mentoring sessions range from 45-60 minutes and occur at a high school, or another public place, near your home or workplace. The days and times of mentoring sessions are arranged between the mentor and mentee depending on their schedules. The Project HEART mentor will be asked to stay with the student through at least the first year of post-secondary education/career preparation, to ensure a successful transition. Often, these homeless students are the first in their family to go beyond high school and need continued support in order to reach their career goals.
- The Significance of A Sponsor – If you would like to help a homeless high school student achieve academic and personal success, but are unable to mentor, perhaps you would like to sponsor educational expenses. Manatee Technical Institute offers dual-enrollment programs for high school students to earn their regular diploma while also completing training for a marketable job skill such as Auto Mechanics, Cosmetology, Culinary, Nursing Assistant and Welding. While there is no tuition for high school students, they are required to purchase uniforms, tools/kits, text books and other course materials. Costs vary by program and have ranged from $135 to $417 per student. While Project HEART is currently able to cover these expenses for homeless students, many low income students find these expenses prohibitive. High school counselors report that a significant number of high school students who would like to learn a job skill at MTI are unable to do so because of the costs. It is our hope that individuals and/or members of professional organizations would like to sponsor homeless or needy high school students who want to dual-enroll but cannot afford the expenses. For example, members of a restaurant association might sponsor a culinary arts student, or members of a nurse’s union might sponsor a nursing assistant student. Hair stylists might sponsor cosmetology students, etc.
You could make a difference for students like these:
- Derek is a 17 ½ year old senior. He has already earned 27 high school credits, with a GPA of 4.24. He is ranked 17/297 in his graduating class. Derek has been homeless all of the 2012-2013 school year, and is still homeless at the start of this school year. Derek receives food stamps.
- Ashley is a High School senior with 25 credits and a 4.24 GPA. She was identified as a homeless unaccompanied youth in her junior year.
- Kristina will be 19 in October. She is a senior. She was homeless during the 2012-2013 school year and is now on her own, staying with a friend. She works part time. She is pregnant, but she intends to graduate high school and attend MTI for cosmetology. The baby’s father is involved and supportive.
- Noel will be 18 in November. She is a senior with 18 credits and a 2.02 GPA. She was identified as a homeless unaccompanied youth last year, and is on her own this year, living with a friend. She is taking on-line courses in addition to her regular course work. She plans to attend USF.
- Ryan is a 17 ½ year old senior. He has 23 credits and a 2.93 GPA. He and his parents are in conflict and he had left home, sleeping in his car. He is back home for now, but not sure how long he will stay. He needs guidance to stay on track.