FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 8, 2005

Media Contact:
Rhonda Carpenter
Corporate Communications Specialist
727-461-1236, ext. 336
rhondac@eckerd.org

Publix Super Markets Charities Pledge $75,000 to Eckerd Youth

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Publix Super Markets Charities have pledged $75,000 over three years to the youth at Eckerd Youth Challenge Program (EYCP), a juvenile justice residential program operated by Eckerd Youth Alternatives (EYA) for boys ages 12-17. The Eckerd Youth Challenge Program in Brooksville, Fla. will use the funds to build a new community center at its campus. The multi-purpose building will serve as the program’s main building and provide an optimal setting for educational, cultural and therapeutic services for the young men in the program.

“We are elated and very grateful of Publix Super Markets Charities for their generous contribution,” said Chris Samuel, the program’s director. “It’s exciting because these funds will help replace our existing facility that under serves our current population. The new community center will be a wonderful place for our young men to eat and learn together, and hold their regular programs.”

“We are excited to be partnering once again with our friends at Eckerd Youth Alternatives. We consider them ‘experts’ when it comes to creating a solid learning environment for boys who need comprehensive programs in order to maximize their individual achievement and long-term success,” said Carol Jenkins Barnett, president/CEO, Publix Super Markets Charities. “We applaud the efforts of both students and instructors alike as they work toward strong, positive outcomes.”

The Eckerd Youth Challenge Program provides boys with the skills necessary to overcome the challenges they will face in their communities and in life upon graduation. One year after exiting, nearly 80 percent of graduates are working or attending school — or both. More than three-fourths of our youth raise their reading and math scores more than a grade level during their stay.

About the Eckerd Youth Challenge Program
Established in 1989 in Brooksville, Fla., the Eckerd Youth Challenge Program offers boys ages 12-17 a structured, caring environment that emphasizes positive change to break the cycle of delinquency. The Eckerd Youth Challenge Program helps approximately 117 troubled boys and their families each year.

About Eckerd Youth Alternatives
Eckerd Youth Alternatives is a private non-profit organization that serves more than 9,900 at-risk and troubled youth each year. Since 1968, more than 63,000 young people have been helped through a range of 40 residential and community-based Eckerd youth programs: outdoor therapeutic treatment programs, juvenile justice programs, follow-up ReEntry programs and Hi-Five early intervention and prevention services. Headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., Eckerd Youth Alternatives provides youth programs in eight states: Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. For more information, call 727-461-2990 or visit our Web site at www.eckerd.org.