Every Tuesday, the Jason Taylor Foundation dedicates the day to spotlighting one of our partners, volunteers, or celebrity friends that have supported our tireless efforts toward building a brighter future for the youth of the South Florida community.
This week we would like to spotlight our longtime friend and board member, Steve Sadaka, and his “Read to Succeed Initiative.”
For the seventh consecutive year, the Jason Taylor Foundation is partnering with Steven Douglas Associates in their “Read to Succeed Initiative” in hopes of gathering contributions from South Florida’s business society and community members to support the Jason Taylor Reading Room.
The “Read to Succeed Initiative” was launched in 2010 by Sadaka, Steven Douglass Associates Chairman and CEO, and has raised more than $1,000,000 to help deserving children succeed in the Jason Taylor Reading Room. Included in this total is $140,000 that has contributed to college scholarships, student advocacy, and mentorship programs.
Each year, Mr. Sadaka assembles a team of committee members who serve as ambassadors for the Jason Taylor Reading Room. The Reading Room is an after school program provided to deserving middle school and high school students. Mr. Sadaka’s committee seeks $1,000 donations, which is equivalent to the cost for one child to participate in the program for an entire year.
In 2015, the committee team raised over $200,000, which helped enable the Jason Taylor Foundation to launch a second location, the Jason Taylor Learning Center, at New Renaissance Middle School. The new location initially began with twenty students, however, after partnering with the school’s administration the student base quickly doubled. To keep up with the growth, the Learning Center brought on additional teachers so that each student is able to receive personal communication and assistance. Currently, more than 125 students attend the two centers four days a week for two hours per day.
The Jason Taylor Foundation truly appreciates all of the time and dedication that Mr. Sadaka and his committee members have committed towards its mission.
“What Steve has created with the ‘Read to Success Initiative’ and the effort that the committee members put forth to make it successful, has become vital to the level of success and amount of programs that we are able to provide,” stated Seth Levit, Executive Director of the Jason Taylor Foundation.
Seth went on to say that the Foundation would not have a second Reading Room location, and perhaps never would have created the bluapple Poetry Network were it not for the support of Mr. Sadaka and the committee members.
“It’s not about reaching a financial goal or showing up to a couple of events,” Levit explained. “The committee has always been about this group of people who believe in change and who help us transform the lives of so many deserving children in South Florida.”
The Jason Taylor Foundation is forever grateful for the work that Steve Sadaka, the committee members, and the “Read to Succeed Initiative” have provided.
