This Saturday, five pawsome dog rescue groups from our community will come together to offer abandoned and neglected dogs a second chance at finding their forever homes. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and interact with adorable, adoptable pups, and perhaps even find a new furry family member to take home. The highly anticipated Dog Days Summer event will be hosted by The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime which will be transformed into a canine haven for a day filled with tail-wagging fun.

Satchel’s Last Resort, a rescue group with a mission to Rescue-Rehab-Rehome dogs and cats with nowhere to go will have a table with volunteers available to discuss ways in which the community can help these vulnerable animals.

Tender Hearts Charities, a small home and foster based rescue (meaning they don't have a public facility for viewing and networking) will be present to help match families with a new furry friend.

Love for Paws exists to protect and advocate for dogs in our community through responsible adoption and the donation of supplies and veterinary care to those in need. Representatives will be at the event to discuss ways in which the community can assist in the effort to limit the overpopulation of animals and by promoting kindness and healthy opportunity for life.

Rescue Garage will also be attending. This group works to rescue, rehabilitate, retrain and rehome vulnerable and at risk dogs and provide educational tools and support, community outreach programs, and advocate on behalf of stable pet ownership and animal welfare issues.

And finally, Low Rider Dachshund Rescue of Florida, Inc. will be on hand to meet and greet attendees. This organization is an all volunteer group with an unyielding drive to save and improve the lives of dachshunds and dachshund mixes. With a network of foster homes and a dedicated team of volunteers, they rescue, provide medical care, and deliver dogs to forever homes all across the state. It is their goal to never turn away a dog that is within their capacity to help.

The highlight of the day will be the highly-anticipated dog costume contest, which will kick off at 11:30 am. Dog owners are invited to dress up their canine companions in the most creative, hilarious, or adorable costumes they can dream up. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners, who will not only walk away with bragging rights but also some fantastic doggie goodies and human prizes.

"Dog Days Summer is the ultimate celebration of our four-legged friends," said Kim Livengood, co-owner of The Bazaar. "We're excited to bring together the community, local rescues, and dog enthusiasts for a day filled with happiness, heartwarming stories, and, of course, a whole lot of wagging tails!"

Admission to this incredible event is free, but donations are strongly encouraged to support the participating dog rescues and their ongoing efforts to save and care for dogs in need.

Dog Days Summer takes place  Saturday, September 30 from 10 AM to 3 pm at The Bazaar On Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota, 941-445-1938.  

To learn more, visit.

The Education Foundation of Sarasota County has partnered with Sarasota County Libraries to make personalized advising and coaching more accessible to students who need help planning and preparing for college, career, and life. Starting September 5, Education Foundation Student Success Coaches will be available from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every other Tuesday at two area libraries—Shannon Staub, in North Port, and Betty J. Johnson, in Newtown—with plans to expand to other locations. One on one and in small groups, students will work with a Student Success Coach to identify their strengths and passions and map those to education and career pathways. Coaches will help students execute their plans so they can graduate more equipped to thrive after high school. In addition to one-on-one coaching, students can attend workshops on financial literacy, college essay writing, and related topics that will help them prepare. To learn more about student resources and to book a free appointment with a Student Success Coach, visit edfoundationsrq.org/students/ 

To learn more, visit

The Child Protection Center, Inc (CPC) has been awarded a $5,822 grant by the Venice Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation. This funding was awarded to continue the foundation’s support of the Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program (CFSVP), one of CPC’s core programs providing child abuse intervention services. CVSVP is the only non-profit program in Sarasota County providing on-site supervised visitation services. CFSVP provides a safe place for children to interact with parents without the stress of being in the middle of a family argument, observing a parent who is impaired by substance abuse, and without uncomfortable conversations that include adult topics. By accessing CFSVP, the risk of violence to children decreases as the program addresses the needs of both the child and parents to interrupt the cycle of abuse.  Over 50 Sarasota County citizens serve as CFSVP volunteers. The Child Protection Center’s mission is the Prevention, Intervention, & Treatment of Child Abuse, as the organization envisions a community where children are safe from abuse and free to thrive. For over 40 years, CPC has been serving Sarasota and DeSoto Counties in the State of Florida and is accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. For more information on CPC or to inquire about volunteering with the Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program, visit www.cpcsarasota.org or call 941-365-1277. 

Pictured: Children playing at Child Protection Center, Inc. Photo courtesy of CPC.

Sarasota Orchestra has received a $35,000 grant from The Exchange in support of the 2023-2024 Young Person’s Concerts (YPC). Sarasota Orchestra’s YPC are experienced by nearly 9,000 students annually and have been presented since 1953. This live orchestra concert experience for fourth and fifth grade students combines a year-long curriculum in schools with a field trip to see the professional Sarasota Orchestra in concert. The 2023-2024 Young Person’s Concerts will be held October 2 and 4-6, 2023 at the North Port Performing Arts Center and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, with eight daytime concerts over the four days. The curriculum guide was developed by a team of area music teachers and the Sarasota Orchestra Education Department; it includes detailed lesson plans with information on the featured composers, specific pieces, and general music vocabulary. The 2023-2024 YPC will feature the return of conductor Christopher Confessore, along with narrator Gregory Smith. This year, there will also be a free family concert at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 6 at the Van Wezel. To learn more about Sarasota Orchestra’s 2023-2024 season and programs, visit www.SarasotaOrchestra.org. 

Resilient Retreat received a $1,000 grant from the Michael Saunders and Company Foundation for training first responders and helping professionals during a time of critical need. Resilient Retreat is an innovative nonprofit with a mission to help those impacted by trauma and abuse. They provide free, evidence-based programs to survivors of trauma and abuse, first responders, and helping professionals, to heal the impacts of trauma on the mind, body, and spirit. The grant provided by the Michael Saunders Foundation Grant will partially fund a four-part educational series for first responders and helping professionals, focusing on compassion fatigue, well-being during a natural disaster, self-care, healing-centered engagement, peer support, and leadership training. According to data from their 2022 reports, over 80% of professionals are currently experiencing compassion fatigue and 75% are experiencing burnout and secondary traumatic stress (PTSD for helpers). After participating in programs at Resilient Retreat, over 75% of participants reported an improvement in emotional regulation, 85% reported a decrease in burnout symptoms, and over 70% reported an improvement in compassion satisfaction. In 2022 Resilient Retreat provided training to 1,891 community members in 38 local organizations. The grant from the Michael Saunders and Company Foundation will provide essential training in our community, ensuring that those who need these vital skills and support will receive them. 

Ev Bosque, chief financial officer of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, was selected to participate in the 2024 class of Leadership Sarasota County. Bosque is among 50 current and aspiring community leaders chosen by the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce for the latest class of its adult leadership program. Participants go through a rigorous interview process and are picked for their demonstrated commitment to community development and leadership excellence and their potential to contribute to the future growth and prosperity of Sarasota. Prior to joining Barancik Foundation in 2021, Bosque worked for nearly 30 years as an executive in finance and operations in the Tampa Bay region for distribution and manufacturing companies. He served in the U.S. Army, received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Florida, and is a Certified Public Accountant. Leadership Sarasota offers community members who are interested in the leadership and welfare of Sarasota the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see “how things work.” The program’s objectives include identifying and inspiring potential community leaders, developing their leadership skills and qualities, and stimulating communication among present and future leaders to advance Sarasota. To learn more, visit sarasotachamber.com/leadership. 

All Faiths Food Bank has served DeSoto County for over 25 years and, in the fall of 2019, celebrated the official opening of its new DeSoto Food and Resource Center (DeSoto FRC) in Arcadia. Funded by six visionary donors and initiated as a pilot program, the DeSoto FRC was created as a hub to provide services and strengthen partnerships with other programs. Building on their initial grant to support the opening of the DeSoto FRC, Elsa and Peter Soderberg have provided a three-year lead gift of $600,000 to help subsidize three new mobile pantries. These new mobile pantries will provide food to neighbors in remote areas of DeSoto County, as well as offer benefits assistance, nutrition education, wrap-around services on-site and compensation for a truck driver. The funding will be distributed on a payment schedule running through June 30, 2026. In addition to this gift, several other funders have also committed to funding the DeSoto FRC over the next three years. In 2021-2022, All Faiths conducted two new community assessments that examined DeSoto County issues facing residents such as, the impacts of Covid and hurricane disasters on available services and gaps in services and opportunities for the DeSoto FRC to provide additional assistance. Based on the findings of the assessments, it was determined there was a need for expansion of the facility and additional services including food distribution, outreach, and benefits assistance in remote, unserved areas. Paradoxically, in rural areas that grow most of our nation’s food, households face considerably deeper struggles with hunger than those in metropolitan areas. In DeSoto County, where agriculture is the dominant industry, the number of persons living in poverty is nearly 26% (the national average is 12.8%). With a population of just over 34,400 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), median household income in DeSoto County is just under $40,000 versus the median income in Sarasota County of nearly $72,000. The Food and Resource Center is unique in the nation and an innovative model for the Feeding America network. Not only is All Faiths addressing hunger but focusing on the root causes of hunger, which is essential to lifting families and communities out of poverty.