The MIKE Endowment, with support from Joe Ziler, Kevco Builders and the Mount Dora Community Foundation Trust, provides $2,000 to Education Foundation of Lake County to underwrite specialized suicide prevention training.

Four Lake County Schools Mental Health Liaisons each will receive a $500 scholarship toward completion of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) School Suicide Prevention Accreditation, thanks to a $2,000 grant from the MIKE Endowment (Mental Illness and Kindness Endowment).

The endowment, created by Joe Ziler and Kevco Builders, through the Mount Dora Community Trust, is dedicated to bringing awareness to mental illness and to provide funding to organizations and programs in the local community that support education and help for mental health.

The AAS’s School Suicide Prevention Accreditation teaches the best evidence-based prevention practices with a focus on identifying and dealing with at risk youths.

The grant, which is being facilitated by the Education Foundation of Lake County, is the first disbursement from the MIKE Endowment, which was developed in October 2019.