Every child deserves a quality education
At Roots and Wings, we’re passionate about learning. Of all the education charities, ours inspires teachers and uplifts students to ensure everyone has access to knowledge. As a local charity, we build up the community and provide valuable resources that make education more attainable. Our mission is to support and encourage children’s reading skills and inspire teachers to make learning fun and accessible.
Illiteracy rates are higher than they need to be, making it essential that the community supports local organizations that give children and teachers the resources needed to encourage reading and literacy. Roots and Wings works with our local schools and teachers to build literacy programs to benefit children from all backgrounds. In addition, we reward teachers for their hard work with our Above and Beyond Awards. We developed the Project UpLift tutoring program and other solutions to improve the literacy rate among children and give them a good start in life.
Roots and Wings focuses on promoting grade-level reading skills for young students and excellence in teaching to support teachers as they prepare children for the future. Local non-profits are often the best solution to address issues that impact the community. Roots and Wings is laser-focused on improving literacy rates in our local schools. Children are our future and deserve the best education. We invite you to support our cause and help us build something greater. We’re making a difference, and you can help!
Our Story
Strategic Plan
Founder’s Report
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
Members of the Board
Theodore (Ted) Hoskinson has been a lifelong champion of education. After attending St. Albans School for Boys and Tulane University, he taught 2nd grade in New Orleans and 4th and 6th grades in Washington D.C. With a decade of teaching to his credit, Ted was asked to move into an administrative role, and from there began a successful career in private business. When his wife Anne passed away suddenly in 2016, he established Roots and Wings, Inc., a dream both he and Anne had shared. Today, Ted is honoring Anne’s memory through the charity’s two programs: Project Uplift, a reading and reading comprehension program for elementary school students in need; and the Above & Beyond Teacher and Staff Recognition Awards, honoring public school teachers in 18 public schools in South Palm Beach County.
A seasoned business leader who applies the “art of caring leadership” to all the projects he manages, Don most recently served as President of MD Solar Sciences where he saved the small doctor-founded business from insolvency. He also recently served as an adjunct professor of leadership and management at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A career leader in the retail sector as Senior Vice President at Saks Fifth Avenue, Don’s outstanding results in improving sales associate productivity earned him the Chairman’s Award for Excellence. He was also responsible for developing a sales and service strategy that earned Saks the JD Power & Associates Award for Service. Don is also the recipient of Apparel Magazine’s Innovation Award for the development of a unique client development tool to support outstanding sales and service.
Don holds a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin and participated in the Leadership at the Peak program at the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs. As co-chair of Roots and Wings’ Education Committee, Don has taken a leadership role in developing a systematic process for standardizing the Above and Beyond Awards for Excellence recognizing teachers and staff at public schools in South Palm Beach County.
Mark Burns is the Chief Operating Officer at BlueIvy Communications, a Delray Beach-based boutique communications and public relations agency with offices in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Mark moved to Delray Beach in 2014 and was the operator of an Orangetheory Fitness Studio before joining BlueIvy in 2016. Mark is a member of the Impact 100 Men of Palm Beach County and Former Chair and current Advisory Committee member of WiseTribe. Mark is a co-founder of a Delray Beach-based running group, Pineapple Run Crew, and in 2022 served as the Volunteer Team Manager at the World Maccabi Games in Israel. He is also a member of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce. Combining his love of live music and the arts with a passion for improving the local community, Mark became a board member of the Arts Garage in 2023.
Susan Tolson graduated cum laude from Smith College in 1984 with a B.A. in Economics and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1988. She began her career as a corporate finance analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities in 1984 and then joined Aetna in 1988 as an Investment Officer managing private investments in media and entertainment companies. Ms. Tolson subsequently worked at The Capital Group, one of the world’s largest investment management organizations, and eventually served as Senior Vice President, specializing in the High Yield Bond Market.
Ms. Tolson has served on the Board of American Media; Groupe Lagardère; the Board of Trustees of the American University of Paris, and the Board of Trustees of the Franco-American Fulbright Foundation. She is currently a board member at Take-Two Interactive, Outfront Media, Groupe Lagardere, and Worldline E-Payment Services. From 2009 to 2014, she served in Paris with her husband Charles Rivkin during his posting as U.S. Ambassador to France. She currently resides with him in Washington, D.C.
Susan Tolson graduated cm laude from Smith College in 1984 with a B.A. in Economics and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 19888. She began her career as a corporate finance analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities in 1984, and then joined Aetna in 1988 as an Investment Officer, managing private investments in media and entertainment companies. Ms. Tolson subsequently worked at The Capital Group, one of the world’s largest investment management organizations, and eventually served as Senior Vice President, specializing in the High Yield Bond Market. Ms.Tolson has served on the Board of American Media, Groupe Lagardère, the Board of Trustees of The American University of Paris, and the Board of Trustees of the Franco-American Fulbright Foundation. She is currently a board member at Take-Two Interactive, Outfront Media, and Worldline E-Payment Services. From 2009 to 2014, she served in Paris with her husband Charles Rivkinduring his posting as the U.S. Ambassador to France. She currently resides with him in Washington, DC.
Tony was born in New York City in 1941. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1966. For over 40 years, Tony practiced corporate law, including 25 years as the General Counsel of several New York Stock Exchange-listed companies. Over the years, he has served on the board of a number of not-for-profit entities, including the Town of Gulf Stream Civic Association, Inc., an organization where he served as Secretary from 2015 to 2017 and President from 2017 to 2019.
In the early 1990s, he also discovered an interesting niche in a little known area called the Internet. Sid built and operated the first Accounting and Tax web site on the Internet through Prodigy Services Inc. and worked with the IRS to establish their first web presence.
In 1998, Sid was retained by Florida Atlantic University, the fastest growing university in the United States, to organize the financial foundation of the FAU Corporation and the FAU Research Authority. In 1999, he was one of a two-person team selected to start the Division of Research at FAU where a base of research existed but lacked centralized organization. Before Sid left the Division in 2004, research dollars at FAU had doubled to $50 million.
Sid is a Palladium Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard Certified Graduate in the Execution Premium Process (XPP)©; and he recently added to his professional credentials by completing the Advanced Coaching Program at Coach U, earning the designation, CUG (Coach U Graduate). He is a graduate of the Katz School of Business of the University of Pittsburgh (’72) and received his Certificate of Public Accounting from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (’64) from Gettysburg College.
Joycelyn Patrick has lived in Delray Beach all her life. She enjoyed a successful career in the fields of banking, insurance, and real estate and is now happily retired. Joycelyn’s deep devotion to her community and to volunteerism includes serving as president of the Delray Beach Women’s Club; as a member and past president of the Sunrise Rotary Club; as a lead volunteer for Delray Reads Day, and as a loyal member and past moderator of the leadership counsel at Church of the Palms.
Jocelyn’s entire family has attended S.D. Spady Elementary School in Delray Beach, and she is particularly pleased that the school is served by Roots and Wings programs.
Steve was born in 1952 and graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. degree in 1974. Following a 35-year career as a business sales executive, Steve is currently retired and serves on the board of the Childhood Language Center, the Library Foundation of Kanawha County, the Council on Philanthropy, Boys and Girls Club of Delray Beach, the Gulf Stream Civic Association, and Roots and Wings.
Tony has a significant background in education with headmaster posts at Nittany Christian School in State College, PA, and Geneva School of Manhattan. He also served as teacher, coach, and housemaster at the Lawrenceville School; associate headmaster and chief financial officer at St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, and the associate headmaster and CFO at the Lawrenceville School. Tony’s further work experience includes the position of managing director at J.P. Morgan in New York City and at Becker Paribas Asset Management in Chicago. Tony holds a B.A. Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.A. in History and Economics from Northwestern University.