Around 115 Horry County elementary and middle school students and 115 Coastal Carolina University student mentors will have their annual fall trip to Brookgreeen Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 18, from 9:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. to celebrate the Dalton and Linda Floyd Family Mentoring Program. CCU student mentors spend the day with their mentees and learn about the history of the gardens and the wildlife and plants of South Carolina. It is an integral part of the development of the mentor/mentee relationship.

During the morning outing, students and their young mentees will walk through the gardens and the Lowcountry Zoo and enjoy stories of the Gullah people shared by Ronald Daise, Brookgreen Garden's vice president for creative education.

CCU initiated the mentoring program in 2004, which was strengthened through the support of the Dalton and Linda Floyd Family in 2006. The program, which pairs university students with children from area public schools, aims to improve South Carolina's high school graduation rate by focusing on children who may benefit from some extra encouragement.

Schools participating in this event include Aynor, Carolina Forest, Ocean Bay, Pee Dee, South Conway and Waccamaw Elementary; Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach Intermediate; and North Myrtle Beach, Ocean Bay and Whittemore Park Middle Schools. This fall the Dalton and Linda Floyd Family Mentoring Program includes nearly 240 mentors and tutors who serve nearly 260 children and youth in 34 elementary, middle and high schools in Horry and Georgetown counties.

For more information, contact Zan Wiggins at 843-349-2745.