Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 8-9-16 Online Edition

Feature
South Tampa Business Owner Praises Youth Program
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Ms. Facunda Arenas op- erates a child care center in South Tampa, but she’s well aware of what’s going on in other parts of the city.
Growing up in the West Tampa area as a child, Ms. Arenas is fully aware of what a community needs to do to make sure its young people stay focused on a positive fu- ture.
“I’ve known Horace Drew for a long time, and when he founded his organization, Rays of Hope, I knew it was some- thing good for the children, and something I wanted to be involved with.
“This year, Horace again successfully completed a sum- mer of mentoring young chil- dren and youths in the East Tampa community.
“On July 16th, the children had a wonderful day of games, food and entertainment at Middleton High School. I’m happy to have been a partici- pant in that event.”
Among others attending the event were Hillsborough County Property Appraiser, Bob Henriquez, Orson Charles of the Detroit Lions, Tristan Cooper from Tulane University, and other college players.
“I think through research and evaluation, mentoring has been shown to be an effective
From left to right: Mrs. Hope Drew, Horace Drew, Janice Martin, and Facunda Arenas.
approach to reducing some of the complex problems facing our youth today,” said Ms. Arenas.
“I believe Rays of Hope mentoring can help keep kids in school, and help improve their academic performance,
as well as helping to reduce teen pregnancy. We need more Horace Drew type people in our community.”
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