About the Jim Fischer - Skip Carr Scholarship Fund

The Fischer-Carr Scholarship Fund is a project of the St. Petersburg Kiwanis Club's Youth Investment Shares, a 501(c)(3) Corporation. The fund was established in 2004 to honor deceased Kiwanians Jim Fisher and (later) Skip Carr to honor their rich legacy of service to the community and to the Kiwanis Club.

What better way to do that than by providing the opportunity for young, at-risk students to have hope that their lives will have a better outcome than they could have ever imagined without these scholarships?

Since 2004, the Fund has awarded 397 college scholarships to needy students in grades 6 to 9. We receive thank-you letters from them where they describe their dreams, their inspirations, their plans, their hopes, and... their futures. Some tell us about the colleges they plan to attend; others describe their careers they plan to pursue. And we get updates from those who are already in college.

It makes a difference to them and to their families to know that a college education is going to happen for them. In most cases, they may be the first in their family to attend college, or... maybe even the first to graduate from high school. Studies show that 6th grade students from low-income families have a high school graduation rate of less than 50%. Those with scholarships have a 98% graduation rate.

We also do this for ourselves. We know that by helping worthy students who come from financially -strapped families earn a college degree will make the world a better place for all of us. It's no secret that a college education is a great way for students to begin the path toward responsible citizenship, becoming productive members of society rather than being dependent on it.