A new education initiative is getting a boost to aid students in St. Petersburg.

St. Pete’s Promise is a partnership made up of The City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Schools and The Pinellas Education Foundation.

To kick off the initiative, Mayor Bill Foster presented a check to the Foundation for more than $41,000 from city employees who have elected to voluntarily support the program.

The new, multi-faceted initiative expands upon the former Mayor's Mentors and More program that in the past 12 years has given 1,150 St. Pete students Take Stock in Children scholarships totaling $13.5 million.

"St. Pete's Promise will include recruiting and training mentors from our city, our citizens, and our businesses; raising funds for college scholarships for low-income students; advocating for more legislative and community support of our schools and teachers; providing grants for our outstanding teachers; and building close working relationships with Pinellas County Schools and our community partners like the Pinellas Education Foundation to ensure that education in St. Petersburg is the best it can be," Mayor Foster said.

As part of the new strategy, programs such as the Foundation's Take Stock in Children Scholarship program, teacher classroom grants and other career education initiatives will be used. In addition, the Mayor's Top Apple Award and Corporate Partner program will also be included under the St. Pete's Promise umbrella.