On Thursday, May 30, The Lakeside Learning Center H.O.M.E. – LSF on SE Stetson Rd in Belleview, right near Lake Lillian, had its Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and officially became a dream come true for local girls at risk.
Hands Of Mercy Everywhere, a local non- profit that operates under Lutheran Services Florida, took on the huge endeavor, which started to come to fruition in 2017 when the President of the Belleview Historical Society, Dorothy Brown, donated the building to Hands Of Mercy Everywhere, Inc., for teen mothers and their babies.
In 2020, it was re-imagined by founder Diane Schofield as a vocational prep school and financed by the Marion County Board of Commissioners through a Community Development Block Grant. It was a complete makeover for the building that dates back to 1873 when it was “The Grange,” where people sold goods and exchanged feed. In 1915, the building became the Civic League, a non-profit neighborhood organization. Then, in 1960, the building became part of the Belleview Historical Society, with Gene Scroggie as the first president.
The building renovation was a massive job, and Diane Schofield had her work cut out for her, but with a lot of help, she made this school, which will teach these girls a trade so they can thrive, a beautiful and comfortable place to learn. Lakeside Learning Center offers classes in hospitality, culinary arts, CNA, daycare, GED, and mortuary cosmetology. There are three homes in the surrounding neighborhood where the teen girls live. With 70% of the girls being approximately 17 and in the 7th-8th grade, this school will give them valuable tools to complete their high school education and learn a trade so they can make a way for themselves in the world. Diane Schofield thanked everyone who took part in making this dream come to life. She also explained that Phase 2 will include an outdoor deck with an outdoor kitchen, built and paid for by the Florida Board Of Realtors.
Mary O’Brien, a local volunteer, who teaches crafts to the girls at Lakeside Learning Center, near Lake Lillian in Belleview, shows off the sandwiches that she and other volunteers made for the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
Diane Schofield, center, The founder of Hands Of Mercy Everywhere, thanks Dot Brown, the last President of Belleview Historical Society, along with Dorothy’s husband Charlie, on Thursday, May 30, 2024 for donating the house on SE Stetson Rd in Belleview, so the non profit organization could revamp the building into The Lakeside Learning Center to assure the girls learn a trade.
Diane Schofield, far right, founder of Hands Of Mercy Everywhere thanks the Marion County Community Services Board for their help with her vision.
