Empowering Students, Teachers, and Our Community with INK! (Investing in Kids)

This past fall, Davidson Realty hosted their eighth annual sport shooting fundraiser, the Jim Davidson’s Annual Clay Day. Named Davidson Cares Clay Day in years past, the fundraising event was renamed in 2023 to honor the recent passing of the Davidson family’s patriarch, Jim Davidson. Clay Day includes two sport shooting events, beginner skeet and sporting clay, and individuals and teams participate. Money raised from the event goes directly to local nonprofits, specifically youth-based organizations throughout Northeast Florida. This past Clay Day was held on October 19, 2023, and raised $150,000 that was awarded to eight local charities. Since 2012, Davidson Cares, the corporate giving program of Davidson Realty, has donated more than $577,785!

One of organizations Davidson Cares lends support to is Investing in Kids! (INK!), an education nonprofit that supports St. Johns County School District, working to improve access to education for every child. Since 1994, INK! has provided the tools and resources that both students and teachers need to be successful. INK! supports more than 3,200 teachers and 50,000 students countywide – and all their services, programs, and resources are available to students and teachers at no cost – thanks to partners like Davidson Realty.

INK! has three student programs that help kids thrive: Take Stock in Children, FLY! (Five Learning Years), and PIVOT. Established in 1995, Take Stock in Children provides mentorship and college scholarships to deserving, low-incoming youth, in order to help them escape the cycle of poverty through education. INK! helps students graduate high school with individualized support, volunteer mentors, college and career coaching, and tuition scholarships. Since 1995, over 39,000 students have received this life-changing support. FLY! (Five Learning Years) provides early literacy intervention to children entering VPK, kindergarten, and first grade. Since 2014, FLY! has successfully helped students improve their literacy by 78-100%! Each year, the literacy gap has been reduced to 6% or lower, and 98% of FLY! students have demonstrated significant growth after the completion of the program. The PIVOT program offers coaching and tutoring to students at the Gaines Alternative School in St. Johns County. Coaches help at-risk youth with issues like interpersonal conflict, poor school performance, and gang violence, and teaches students to use healthy tactics and techniques to inspire them to thrive both at school and in their community.

INK! supports teachers through their Cash for Classrooms, Tools 4 Schools, and Teacher of the Year programs. INK! partners with corporate sponsors to fund innovative classroom projects for St. Johns County students in the Cash for Classrooms program. Thanks to these donors, grants are awarded for innovative classroom and school-wide academic programs. Projects include STEAM resources, math and science supplies and teaching tools, and classroom libraries. $25,000 was pledged to support teacher-inspired projects in 2023! Every year, teachers spend $860 of their own money on school supplies – with Tools 4 Schools, teachers can get the resources they need without dipping into their own pockets. Throughout the year with INK!, teachers can order the supplies they need for their classrooms and orders are delivered right to their schools. Each year, INK! honors extraordinary educators with the annual countywide Teacher of the Year program, and celebrates and honors these dedicated professionals with an annual gala.

“INK! is the only direct support organization to the St. Johns County School District, and they’re making a huge difference bringing together our community and providing programs with impact,” shares Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Cares and Davidson Realty. “We’re honored to be able to support them and the wonderful work they do.”

To learn more about INK!, visit ink-stjohns.org, and to help make a difference today, donate here.