TROY — Members of the Troy City Schools’ The Future Begins Today Club (TFBT) held their annual orientation and fall family event at Lost Creek Reserve on Monday, Oct. 17.

The Future Begins Today is a non-profit organization that supports nurturing, mentoring and scholarship programs for students in Troy. It was established more than 25 years ago, by local philanthropists, business leaders and educators.

“This was our family event that kicked-off The Future Begins Today Club for the year,” TFBT Executive Director Katie Clevenger said. “We also had our fourth-grade orientation and new student orientation, for students who are new members to the Future Begins Today Club.”

“We typically have a bonfire,” she said, “but unfortunately we couldn’t have a bonfire this year, due to the draught and the high winds today.”

Approximately 50 students and their families attended the event, which also featured free hayrides and access to the Lost Creek Reserve Corn Maze. The event also featured free donuts and hot chocolate provided by Tim Horton’s.

“This event is made possible by the Miami County Park District, the Paul G. Duke Foundation and TFBT donors,” Clevenger said. “They support us each year.”

“The Future Begins Today is heavily supported by Troy City Schools,” she said. “We also have a very strong board that is supportive and volunteers in the community, and donor support.”

“We support approximately 1,500 students and their families annually through our different programs,” Clevenger said. ”We do field trips, family events, our Homework Helper and Lunch Buddy programs, Last Dollar Grant Scholarships, and our newly-added program at Troy High School, Trojan Futures.”

Donations can be made online through the organization’s website. The organization is also seeking mentors for its popular Lunch Buddy program, which pairs students with community partners for lunch meetings each month.

“We’re looking for mentors for our Lunch Buddy program,” Clevenger said. “We’ve had police officers, school officials; people from Honda, ITW and Collins Aerospace.”

“Students really look forward to it, and the community partners also really enjoy that,” she said.

TFBT also raises funds through sales of strawberry salsa during the Troy Strawberry Festival and at several stores throughout the area year-round. “We have our strawberry salsa, which is our main fundraiser that we sell at many shops downtown,” Clevenger said.

More information can be found online at www.thefuturebeginstoday.org.