The Van Wezel Foundation is proud to announce it has provided more than $540,000 this past year to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall to underwrite arts education and community engagement programs for students, educators, and families throughout the Suncoast. The Foundation continued its long tradition of partnering with the Van Wezel Hall on arts integration, which included funding for Schooltime Performances, a program that presents nationally renowned artists and performances for area students. Each Schooltime Performance connects to Florida Standards through engaging, awe-inspiring performing arts. Because of this partnership, and despite the challenges of COVID-19, 12,826 students were able to experience live theatre. Over 200 family members participated in Family Arts Night Activities, and more than 1,200 art kits were distributed to families via Sarasota and Manatee County libraries.

“The Van Wezel Foundation has been providing philanthropic support to the Hall and arts education for 35 years,” said Mary Bensel, Executive Director of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. “Engagement in the arts is essential to every student, teacher and community member. Our partnership allows us to provide programs that enrich the lives of children, educators, and families, and assures each teacher has the tools and resources to reach every student and that student receives a well-rounded education.”

The Foundation was also proud to sponsor opportunities to extend access to the arts through multi-cultural and educational performances with UnidosNow, West Coast Black Theater Troupe, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, and a master class led by Harry Connick, Jr. with students from Booker High School. “I am grateful to our donors for their genuine commitment to our mission to create and sustain a vibrant performing arts center, advance education, and enrich communities by inspiring minds through the power of the arts,” said Van Wezel Foundation CEO Cheryl Mendelson. 

Pictured: An Alta Vista student explores Language Arts Standards through Visual Arts, funded by the Van Wezel Foundation.

As the exclusive provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services for Sarasota County, Children First serves hundreds of children and their families living at or below the Federal Poverty Level ($23,030 for a family of three) across 15 locations each year. At a recent ribbon cutting ceremony, Children First unveiled the new nature activity center at its’ Venice campus. Another activity center has also been installed at its North Port location. The garden-based items include raised fences, hanging flowerpots, a dual chamber compost tumbler, soil and seeds, a worm farm, and hoses that will encourage a love of learning and nature among the children.

“When children play outdoors, it helps to foster their intellectual, emotional, social and physical development. Being surrounded by nature creates an ever-changing and free-flowing environment that stimulates the senses and truly makes learning fun,” says Vice President of Programs Kathleen Sullivan. “Nature also provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, and problem-solving. We are deeply grateful to FPL and Suncoast Charities for their critical support of those we serve, as our children are future stewards of the earth and environment around us.” “We’re proud to support Children First with this investment in its STEM and sustainability programming to help empower our next generation of leaders and innovators,” FPL External Affairs Manager Devaney Iglesias said. “Suncoast Charities for Children, FPL, and Children First share a common value of making the community we serve a better place to live, work, and raise a family. This project is a great example of that value we all share and will have such a positive impact on preschool students for years to come,” says Lucy Nicandri, Executive Director of Suncoast Charities. 

The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation’s Board of Directors has announced the retirement of its President and CEO, Carol Butera, effective in Spring 2023. Butera joined the Foundation in July 2017 as its Executive Director and was later promoted to President and CEO. Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as Vice President of Development at Children First for a decade and at the Sarasota YMCA for a decade prior to that. Her career service in the nonprofit sector goes deep - she came to Sarasota in 1996 after working in Haiti for the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer. Her goal has always been to bring lifelong change to children and families in the community. And, her leadership of the Foundation over the past five years has had a tremendous impact. Butera’s accomplishments include moving the Selby Foundation from a Trust to a Private Foundation in 2019 enabling the Foundation to better manage its corpus of $70 million dollars and to direct its programs in perpetuity. During her tenure, Butera expanded the traditional two-year grant cycle adding Small and Mighty Grants (SAM) quarterly which enable nonprofits with annual operating expenses of less than $300,000 to apply for grants outside of the traditional grant cycle. With the Board’s leadership, Butera recently commissioned two scholarship studies in the region which will lead to strengthening the Foundation’s current scholarship program, helping it to focus on critical gaps in the four-county region. The Selby Foundation is a private foundation founded by William G. and Marie Selby in 1955. The Foundation supports Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties through capital grants and scholarships. Since its establishment, the Selby Foundation has provided more than $120 million to the community. For more information on the Foundation’s grant and scholarship application process, including its Small and Mighty Grants program, visit www.selbyfdn.org. 

Manatee Memorial Hospital and Manatee Diagnostic Center have recently expanded their services to include a specialized test called PET/CT imaging. PET/CT imaging allows our physicians to detect and treat cancer, and neurologic conditions (such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease) early. The PET scan alone can detect metabolic changes within the body. The CT scan provides a detailed picture of the internal anatomy revealing the location, size, and shape of the abnormality. The results of the combined images provide a comprehensive scan that gives physicians detailed information for diagnosis and treatment. Our medical director and radiologist, Dr. Christian T. Schmitt, is one of the leading experts in PET/CT interpretation in the state of Florida. Dr. Schmitt is board-certified and was trained at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, one of the leading Nuclear Medicine training facilities. As with all imaging studies, a physician referral is required. For appointment scheduling contact Manatee Diagnostic Center at 941.747.3034. 

Want to learn more about the latest technologies and trends in sustainable home building? Join us at the IDS Environmental Design Conference: Green Building, Healthy Lives!, Sept. 22 and 23, at the Harry Sudakoff Conference Center, New College of Florida, 5845 General Dougher Place, Sarasota. Co-hosted by New College and the Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter, the public Conference will bring together local and national green building experts, and attendees can participate in three panel discussions. Sarah Boren will be the featured speaker, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).Boren has more than 25 years of professional experience in the environmental sustainability field, having served in numerous roles at the Smithsonian Institution and on Capitol Hill; in the green business consulting industry in California; as an executive director of two nonprofits; and in various positions with the USGBC Florida and the USGBC headquarters in Washington, D.C. New College of Florida will also host Day 2 sessions on careers in environmental design and on its New College Challenge initiative which will be launched later in the Fall. The Challenge will be a multi-year planning and community engagement initiative that promotes sustainability across a variety of community and campus life dimensions.

“We are proud to join New College Florida and the Interior Design Society Sarasota Chapter as an Environmental Champion sponsor of the 2022 Environmental Design Conference,” said Jon Thaxton Senior Vice President for Community Investment, Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “Our choices for our built environment, such as Green Buildings, can lead to healthier lives, and improve our quality of life, and protect our valuable natural resources.” Tickets are available now at greenbuildconference.com (the fee includes breakfast, coffee, lunch and an evening vendor/trade show reception). Key conference sponsors include the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Florida Design Works and Sarasota Architectural Salvage. Community sponsors include the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, the Sarasota County Green Business Partnership, the American Society of Interior Designers, the Interior
Design Society Sarasota Chapter and New College of Florida. Gulf Coast Community Foundation: gulfcoastcf.org. 

To register click here

ERES Companies (ERES), a full service, commercial real estate firm, announced today the opening of its new office in Sarasota, FL. The office, located in the Sarasota City Center building, will serve as a hub for ERES Capital, the organization’s private equity investment and development division. The Sarasota office marks ERES Companies’ 10th office location globally and will enable the organization to expand its services to the Gulf Coast and Southern U.S. regions. ERES Capital has already made its mark on the Sarasota market with its announcement in March of a new luxury condo development in the desirable Rosemary District. ERES Capital also has plans for a hotel project in downtown Ft. Myers, which will be announced in the coming weeks. The office is centrally located at 1819 Main Street in Suite 1000. 

To learn more, visit

The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) and the Aspen Music Festival and School (Aspen, Colorado) announce that Sofía Rocha, a composition student at AMFS, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Hermitage Prize in Composition. Rocha is the ninth recipient of this annual award, which includes a residency at the Hermitage, along with a $1,000 cash stipend. Rocha was selected by a jury that includes Robert Spano, Music Director of the AMFS and the Atlanta Symphony and a past member of the Hermitage Curatorial Council; Alan Fletcher, AMFS President and CEO; and the composition faculty of the AMFS, including Hermitage Fellow Christopher Theofanidis. The award was presented to Rocha at the Aspen Music Festival’s Benedict Tent on Saturday afternoon by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, alongside Hermitage alumnus and renowned composer Nico Muhly, in addition to the aforementioned jurors. 

Pictured: Sofia Rocha with Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat. Photo courtesy of the Hermitage Artist Retreat.