INDIAN RIVER -- Inland Lakes Schools Helping Kids Grow Strong program is focused on creating a future, providing safe places after school, and empathic adults to students in grades 7-10. Generous families from Columbus Beach fund the program with donations approaching $70,000 over the last two years.

The Program Coordinator for the creating future component Mrs. Susan Whitener ensures that students are given an aptitude test in 7th grade, helps coordinator job shadowing for middle school students, and organizes the schools annual career fair. Susan said, "We are helping kids create better and brighter futures."

The High School Principal Don Killingbeck said, "The Helping Kids Grow Strong program has created a tremendous amount of synergy as we have collaborated with many outside organizations to improve our programming to students." For example the career fair was enriched by a learn and serve grant which promotes community service tied to academics.

Inland Lakes Schools was fortunate to have over two-dozen speakers with relevant real life experiences share with students on Tuesday February 24th. The students were able to listen and ask pertinent questions of professionals in areas of their own interest.

If you would like more information about this or other positive happenings at Inland Lakes Schools contact us at (231) 238-6868 or via the web at www.inlandlakes.org.

This article submitted as part of upnorthlive.com's Citizen Journalist program.