Each year, SRQ Media invites the community to nominate individuals with hearts of giving who have made a significant impact with local nonprofit organizations — from volunteers and board members to individual staff members and donors. Tuesday, December 5th, attendees happily joined together to recognize our annual Good Hero Philanthropic Award recipients at the SB2: Philanthropic Agenda and Good Hero Awards Luncheon at Michael’s on East in Sarasota. We are delighted to feature each of the twelve honorees in our Wednesday Philanthropic edition of SRQ Daily.

Today we are recognizing Pauline Wamsler, Board Member Gulf Coast Community Foundation, who is an aspirational leader in giving back. As a local environmental philanthropist, Wamsler is a role model for anyone wanting to leave the community better than they found it. She graciously shares her expertise, time, and sense of humor to support nature and our nonprofits. She conducts herself with style and humility and embodies the true spirit of philanthropy--the giving of time, talent, and treasure to uplift others. Wamsler moved here to raise her two daughters and has given generously to our community with a pioneering spirit in a similar vein as her great-great-grandmother, Bertha Palmer.  Her community service has contributed to the quality of life we all enjoy, particularly through her support of local nonprofits. She co-founded the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, and serves on their Board of Advisors helping to protect land and water across Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. To date, more than 19,200 acres across 56 properties are protected. This adds up to nearly 30 square miles of protected land for children, adults, wildlife and our waterways. Gulf Coast Community Foundation was the first to grant them funds to purchase property. In addition, she served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens as they expanded to two campuses and embarked on a Master Plan to improve the downtown campus, on the Board of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and on the Board of Advisors of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. The counsel she provided while serving on the Finance Committees at both Gulf Coast and Selby Gardens was transformational for both organizations. The growth they achieved under her leadership was exponential. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor, Pauline. 

Pictured: Pictured: Bart Lowther (left) of Mariash Lowther Wealth Management with Pauline Wamsler. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

Halo Arts Project has named acclaimed visual artist Gale Fulton Ross as its Creative Director. “Gale is regarded as a living modern master of artistic expression. We are thrilled to have Ms. Fulton Ross bring her vision and passion to the Halo Arts Project mission,” said Jackie Cutrone, Halo Arts Project Founder and Board Chair. The subject of a PBS documentary, Fulton Ross’s works hang in museums, universities and private collections across the United States and around the world. Her art reflects themes of diverse cultural experience. Fulton Ross succeeds conceptual artist John Sims in this role following his untimely passing late last year.  Halo Arts Project, founded in 2018, exists to provide financial resources and programming support to visual artists in Florida. The Halo Fellowship Program funds emerging and career artists $2500 - $5000. Our core values are to embrace diversity, support a diverse range of visual artists and their social concerns, applaud innovation and challenges, and strive to work with artists as they establish their roles as part of a larger community of artists, deriving a sense of purpose, aesthetic or social. Halo Arts Project’s community events help support the Halo Fellowship Program available to visual artists. The Angels for Artists Art Auctions are benefits designed to encourage artists to participate and donate and for the public to purchase. 

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Charitable Foundation, Inc., is pleased to announce the addition of Dennis B. Murphy, Jr. to the Board of Directors. Murphy is President and CEO of Gulfside Bank. Mr. Murphy has been active in the Sarasota and Bradenton communities since moving to the area in 2004. The mission of the independent Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Charitable Foundation, Inc. is to assist individual employees of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office who are experiencing unexpected, extraordinary personal or family crisis. The Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 organization, organized by a group of local citizens who recognized that despite the incalculable contribution law enforcement agents make to our quality of life, the economic protection they receive is often inadequate in the face of personal or family need. It was with these challenges in mind that the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Charitable Foundation was formed in 2014, to support our law enforcement through crisis grants during times of extraordinary hardship. Murphy joins Chair Michael Quillen, and current Board, Peter Abbott, Captain Debra Kaspar (SSO Retired), Captain John Walsh (SSO Retired), Anne Rollings, Jason Toale and Foundation Administrator, Kim Noyes on the SCSOCF Board. The Board proudly serves on a voluntary basis and is a confidential resource of community solidarity to SSO employees in times of crisis. For more information on the work of the Foundation, visit www.scsocharitablefoundation.org or contact Foundation Administrator, Kim Noyes at 941.925.2970 or scsocharitablefoundation@gmail.com. 

On December 15, All Faiths Food Bank (AFFB) hosted a retirement celebration event at Michael's On  East in honor of the organization's retiring CEO Sandra Frank. In attendance were food bank board members and staff, community leaders and funders, national food bank network leaders Stephanie Dragatisis, vice president of member engagement, and Mark Biewald, senior director of member engagement for Feeding America, and Robin Safley, executive director of Feeding Florida.  In her 12 years at All Faiths, Frank has led the organization to boldly rethink and re-envision the food bank to ensure that ending hunger extends beyond the traditional “food in, food out” model and targets underlying causes to end hunger before it begins. With guidance from Feeding America, Frank set All Faiths apart by being one of the early food banks in the nation to initiate program assessment and evaluation – activities that are crucial in better understanding hunger and supporting the communities served. Working alongside the board of directors and senior leadership team, she launched a new mission and rebranding of the organization in 2018. By building a strong leadership infrastructure, Frank spearheaded the expansion of the food bank to double the warehouse, refrigeration and community space in 2018, while bolstering AFFB’s future capacity by purchasing adjacent property for further expansion. In partnership with visionary funders, she helped create the foundation for All Faiths’ exemplary fundraising program, including the Campaign Against Summer Hunger – Frank’s self-proclaimed proudest achievement during her tenure – which provides food to students and their siblings during the summer months when schools are closed. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Campaign, which has raised over $16 million and feeds more than 35,000 children every summer. Together with donors, Frank oversaw the opening of the DeSoto County Food and Resource Center, a national model for addressing hunger and providing social services in rural communities; based on the pilot’s success and substantiated by assessments, the facility and services have expanded in 2023. Frank has directed All Faiths with intense focus and determination throughout a global pandemic, devastating hurricanes and record levels of need. Her leadership has earned All Faiths Food Bank national and local recognition – including recent honors from Florida Trend as one of Florida’s "Best Companies To Work For" – as a pioneer and model in the program areas of hunger and health, evaluation and rural hunger. Nelle S. Miller will assume leadership of the food bank on January 2, 2024. For more about AFFB’s work, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org. 

Pictured: In attendance at the retirement celebration were (l-r) Keith Monda, incoming President and CEO Nelle S. Miller, retiring CEO Sandra Frank, and Veronica Brady Photo by Nancy Guth.

In mid-December, representatives from the Sara DeSoto Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution dropped off backpacks and supplies that will be distributed to 50 homeless veterans by the team at Goodwill’s Veterans Services office (8490 Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota). The donation comes as part of the “Sue’s Backpacks” program of the DAR, spearheaded by member Rebecca Morgan in honor of her late mother, Sue Harris, who led a similar effort through her DAR chapter in another state. Morgan organized the first “Sue’s Backpacks” effort here locally in 2017. Items that were donated along with the backpacks included blankets, clothing items (such as fleeces, socks, underwear and T-shirts), baby wipes, razors, deodorant and body spray, toothbrushes and toothpaste, can openers, rain ponchos, gift cards for Walmart and McDonalds, and a wide variety of snacks. The Veterans Services team will tailor each backpack for the veterans’ individual needs and preferences. The mission of the DAR – whose members must be able to trace their genealogy back to an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary Way – is “God, Home and Country.” Morgan notes the chapter’s focus on historic preservation, education and patriotism, and says that helping veterans is an area of strong focus. Community members who would like to support the “Sue’s Backpacks” effort are invited to reach out to Morgan at fldarpatriot@aol.com. 

The Sarasota Ballet is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a $65,000 Arts Appreciation Grant by Gulf Coast Community Foundation for the 2023-2024 Season. The Sarasota Ballet is incredibly grateful to be amongst the organizations to receive this award. This Season, the Arts Appreciation Grant will provide support for many of The Sarasota Ballet’s productions, as well as events and education performances for the year. Funds from the Arts Appreciation Grant most recently supported The Sarasota Ballet School’s collaboration with the Venice Performing Arts Center for the production of The Nutcracker. The performances included over 100 dancers, ages 4-74, and featured orchestral accompaniment by the Venice Symphony. Later this Season, Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s generous grant will support The Sarasota Ballet’s Annual Gala. This year’s theme London Calling celebrates the Company’s first international tour to London in June 2024. Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Arts Appreciation Grant will also support the newest patron program for the Company, Relevé. Through Relevé, The Sarasota Ballet aims to make performance attendance and interaction more accessible to younger audiences. “Gulf Coast Community Foundation plays such an important role in strengthening the arts in Sarasota County and beyond”, explains Joseph Volpe, Executive Director of The Sarasota Ballet. “We are honored to be one of the recipients of the esteemed Arts Appreciation Grants. These funds will enable us to expand our reach in the greater Sarasota community, nurture emerging talent, and uphold our commitment to artistic excellence.” 

Senior Friendship Centers distributed over 250 "Holiday Healthy at Home Gift Bags" to homebound seniors in Charlotte and Desoto counties. The bags, containing necessities like shampoo, laundry detergent, blankets, and toothpaste, aim to address essential needs during the holiday season. Senior Friendship Centers’ Nutrition Program – which provides meal deliveries to homebound seniors – started the program in 2017 to address the overlooked challenges that older adults face.  “Many seniors live on fixed incomes, making essential items like laundry detergent a luxury,” says Debra Bragg, Nutritional Services Director. She adds, “This program was born out of the desire to bring comfort and joy to their lives, especially during the holiday season.” According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 1 in 4 seniors won't see family around the holidays and more than one in 10 report experiencing extreme loneliness this time of year.  Nutrition Services Regional Manager Dave Maselli notes, “For most clients, we are the only face that they see. Witnessing the joy on their faces when they receive these gifts is truly invaluable.” Antoinette S, a recipient shares, “If not for this holiday gift bag, I wouldn’t have any gift to open on Christmas morning. It warms my heart to know there are people who genuinely care.” Donations from local residents and community partners, including North Hillsborough Baptist Church, Catholic Charities of Desoto, Social Services of Desoto, Aetna, and St. Andrews Episcopal Church, were packed and delivered by Senior Friendship Centers staff and volunteers. The project was sponsored by Aetna Medicare Solutions and Millennium Physicians Group.  

Sunshine From Darkness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the funding of local mental health services and programs and mental health research, has announced its 2024 Inspiring Hope Dinner. The organization’s annual fundraising event will take place on Friday, January 12, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota (1111 Ritz Carlton Drive).

This year's keynote speaker will be American comedian, actor, producer and writer Tom Arnold, who will speak about his journey with anxiety and longtime battles with addiction.

The evening will feature “Faces Behind the Stories,” shining a spotlight on the personal, sometimes difficult journeys of four members of our community: Roger Capote, senior vice president, marketing & community relations and CCO, CAN Community Health; Kelvin Foster, chaplain, North River Fire District and American Red Cross Disaster spiritual care regional advisor for Central and SW Florida; Sydney Koffman, chemical engineer; and Linda Larsen, motivational speaker.

The event will also feature the bestowing of the 2024 Lee and Bob Peterson Legacy Award to Bunny Skirboll, founder of Compeer, Inc., a lively paddle raise, live music with Quintessence – featuring some very special guest vocalists, including Chris Eisenberg, Raleigh Mosely II and Ariel Blue – and dancing.

Co-chairs are Amie Austin, Ph.D., Sarah Karp Renkliyuz and Taylor Karp Teymuri. 

Tickets are $350; proceeds will benefit Sunshine From Darkness’s “blue door services,” which will focus on emotional literacy for youth, and youth mental health research. Visit sunshinefromdarkness.org. 

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2GEN ONE FAMILY | By working with the child and parent as a whole family unit, the 2Gen approach creates a legacy of educational success and economy prosperity that passes from one generation to the next, December 2023. 

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