2023 - End of Year Impact Report
SOAR’s Achievements
Students read a combined total of 668,702 minutes in 2023.
Last year, we served a total of 917 students.
We served 372 students in Hillsborough county in 2023.
We served 545 students in Pinellas County in 2023.
In 2023, we raised $325,889.
We started 37 different cohorts over the course of 2023.
We worked with 30 foundations over the course of the year.
There were 31 unlocking celebrations last year.
We worked with 8 new businesses in 2023.
FLiP Coach Manager – John Lopez
This year, we added a new position to the Sing Out and READ staff! Introducing: John Lopez, our new FLiP Coach Manager.John is a seasoned leader in Operations with the passion for making a difference in people's lives. With over 20 years of experience leading customer experience programs, John brings a unique combination of strategic vision, decisive leadership, and empathy to the table.
He is a purpose-driven, passionate leader who prioritizes people and consistently strives for results. His strengths lie in business and leadership development, B2C support strategies, customer experience enhancement, call center optimization and process improvement.
John has consistently demonstrated the ability to elevate team performances, nurture customer loyalty, and forge productive partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders.
Chairman of the Board – Jeff Hearn
We are thrilled to introduce Jeff Hearn as our new Chairman of the Board.With a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Florida Southern College and over three decades of experience in the financial services industry, Jeff’s commitment to community service is exemplified by his extensive involvement in various foundations and endowments. Jeff brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of philanthropy to our mission.
Jeff Hearn has a bachelor's in business administration from Florida Southern College and has been in the financial services industry since 1984.
Jeff has been with Raymond James since 1991 and served as Regional Vice President before resuming his career as branch manager of the downtown St. Petersburg office. To better serve his clients, Jeff partnered with Bill Hoyt in 2003 to form Hearn Hoyt Wealth Management. In 2006, Jeff retired from management at Raymond James to focus his time on the needs of his clients, their families, various endowments, and several foundations that rely on his advice.
Jeff has lived in St. Petersburg for 49 years. Active in his community, Jeff was involved with Bayfront Health Foundation, where he served as its Chairman. Jeff served on the Board of Trustees of Bayfront Health Systems and as Vice-Chairman of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg - until 2015. He also served on the City of St. Petersburg’s Investment Oversight Committee. Jeff served on the boards of Academy Prep St. Petersburg and Florida Southern College and is the past Chairman of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. Additionally, he is the past president of the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg and volunteers as a mission coordinator at First United Methodist Church.
Jeff is a member of the Kenya Mission Team at his church and has been to Africa three times in the past several years to help plan and build a medical clinic. Jeff also served as the founding President of the board of Bahamas Habitat and has led more than 20 mission teams to work in the out islands of the Bahamas.
Success Story – Dahlya B.
Join us in congratulating Dahlya on her outstanding reading performance! Dahlya B. joined the FLiP program as a newly home-schooled student in Hillsborough County. She had just started the 3rd grade but was reading at a 2nd grade level; her mother Adive, knew it was vital to expose her to as many literacy programs as possible and was immediately drawn to the independence SOAR provided.
“I’m very busy throughout the day and it was so nice to find a program that I didn’t have to hover over her to make sure she was doing it, she could pick up the tablet and go at her own pace, she loved the control it gave her over her learning.”
One of the first improvements Adive began to notice was how animated Dahlya would become during reading lessons, “She used to be very monotoned when reading, but now she reads the dialogue with different little voices and more energy, and I realized its because she now understands what she’s reading.” Dahlya was the top reader of her cohort with 2,516 minutes read on the program and passed an amazing 3.5 levels!
