TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Changing the world, one student at a time – that’s the goal of the Esther Funds Foundation.

The Christian nonprofit organization is dedicated to supporting and assisting students so they can stay in school by providing emergency aid and financial aid to students in need.

The Esther Funds Foundation was founded by Shayna Vincent in early 2023 and has already helped hundreds of students overcome economic hardship and mental health issues to help them stay in school. These are challenges Shayna says she knows well.

“As a university student, I myself have dropped out of studies several times for mental health reasons and also for financial reasons,” she said.

Building on her unwavering faith and a solid foundation of hard work and determination, Shayna was able to return to school and earn her associate’s degree in 2023. Now a fourth-year student at FAMU, she says she recognized his own difficulties in fellow students. Students love Samara Taplin.

Samara connected with the Esther Funds Foundation through Instagram in 2023. She says she was dealing with the ups and downs of life as a first-generation college student when tragedy struck.

“In January my sister passed away and the support the Esther Funds Foundation has given me has been the best,” she said.

Drawing inspiration from the biblical figure Esther, known for her courage, faith and determination to bring about positive change, Shayna said she found her calling. She named her nonprofit foundation Esther Funds and got to work. The work of the Lord.

“Esther was a woman who walked with God in the Bible and she is my inspiration. I aspire to do the same. I long to walk with God and give back to these students like she did. She saw a need in her community and she went for it,” she said.

The Esther Funds Foundation has experienced rapid growth in one year. There are now three collegiate chapters, including one at Florida State College in Jacksonville, one at FAMU and a chapter in Tallahassee that works with students at FSU and TSC. The organization hosts donation drives, hosts workshops and fundraisers to provide supplies and scholarships to students in need. Shayna said they had their first back to school party on September 7th.

“We were able to distribute thousands of school supplies, clothing and groceries. We asked different organizations from different campuses to come and distribute physical and mental health resources,” she said.

Shayna’s fight, now transformed into a calling much bigger than herself.

“We envision a world in which minority students are represented in the workforce at more than 40 percent and we increase the graduation rate in the Southeast by more than 50 percent,” he said. -she declared.

Like Esther, Shayna Vincent uses her position to defend the interests of the people. Empower and support students at crossroads to overcome obstacles, stay in school and realize their full potential.

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