State Street was rocking on April 4, when Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) presented its Better Together Block Party, a free, fun-for-all-ages party bringing together philanthropists, nonprofit partners, and the public to celebrate all the ways we transform our community together. The event featured live music from the gifted Florida Reggae Band Jah Movement and activity booths representing Gulf Coast’s Focus Areas: arts, education, environment, and health and human services.

Some special highlights of Better Together 2024 included an interactive activity to improve water quality with Oyster Boys Conservation and a science experiment with Suncoast Science Center’s Faulhaber Fab Lab. In keeping with the event’s theme of community transformation, there was also a beautiful butterfly release with Cathleen Strong and friends, butterfly gardeners/enthusiasts with the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club, and magical bubble acts with Bubble Artist Blaise Ryndes, who has broken world records and appeared on America’s Got Talent.

Event attendees were also given a hands-on opportunity to create love-inspired origami with Megan Howell, the the executive director and founder of Second Heart Homes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing permanent housing to those with mental illness who have experienced or are at-risk of homelessness. Howell started the nonprofit in 2019 after helping one gentleman get off the streets and into a home back in 2015. Today, Second Heart Homes has grown to include ten homes and 62 beds across Sarasota and Manatee Counties, ten full-time employees and about 35 volunteers, providing housing support and love for homeless single adults who have a mental illness. Working with Ringling students to design special folding paper for the event, Howell shared her personal mental health hobby, origami, with Better Together participants who created butterflies and hearts that ultimately came together on a canvas as a collage. “Origami is like storytelling,” explained Howell. “You have to share it with others for it to live on.” 

Pictured: Origami butterflies and hearts were created with the help of Megan Howell of Second Heart Homes as part of the 2024 Better Together. Photo by Barbie Heit.

ELECTRIFY THE NIGHT and see Grammy-Winning DJ Alan Walker at WONDERBALL, an electronic dance music concert fundraiser where we AMPLIFY THE IMPACT together for The Circus Arts Conservatory’s local youth education programs this Saturday, April 13th at 7pm at the Sailor Circus Arena, 20275 Bahia Vista, Sarasota, FL.  WONDERBALL, is the CAC’s newest fundraising evolution and is returning for a second year with another mega DJ following last year’s EPIC performance by Steve Aoki to an enthusiastic crowd of over 1,000 guests. The evening includes a keynote Sailor Circus student mission moment performance which showcases the age range and incredible skills of these young performers. The high-energy, immersive, all ages-welcome WODNERBALL dance party starts with opening DJ’s AU-GUST, PUSHMAN and Peter DiCaro. Exclusive, limited drop, Alan Walker + WONDERBALL merch, concessions and alcohol for guests 21+ will be available for purchase. The Official WONDERBALL After-Party continues the night, with all the right vibes courtesy of SRQ Beats and DJ’s AU-GUST and NATIPITCH at the transformed Michael’s on East ballroom from 11pm-1am.  WONDERBALL tickets start are $100 and dance floor tickets with discount code EPICWB50 are available on circusartswonderball.com. Tell your peeps, get your WONDERBALL tickets now and feel the ethereal neon vibes at the most EPIC dance party of the year in Sarasota! See you there! 

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Sisterhood For Good (SFG) invites nonprofits in Sarasota and Manatee Counties to apply for one of SFG’s Annual Community Grants. This is a reminder that the submission period, having been open since January 1st, has a deadline for submission of Friday, April 26, 2024, by 5:00 PM. In 2023, the dedicated all-volunteer group of local women successfully raised over $110,000 to support 32 local charities with programs supporting the local area. For the 2024 Grant cycle, SFG will exceed this amount and continue to help additional organizations with their programs. The success of SFG’s Annual Community Grant initiative highlights the impact of collective efforts in making a difference in the lives of those in need. The Grant funds are distributed through a strategic grant application process, ensuring each organization receiving support aligns with the group's mission of fostering positive change within the community. Qualifying non-profits selected to receive grants will be presented with the funds in June of this year. Grants have been awarded to various organizations, including those focused on education, healthcare, social services, veterans, and environmental conservation. The grant application process was designed to be transparent, fair, and inclusive. Charitable organizations are invited to apply for grants, detailing their projects and initiatives and how the funds would benefit the local community. The final decision on the grants is determined by a voting process conducted by the full membership of Sisterhood For Good after each project is meticulously reviewed and recommendations are made based on the potential impact and alignment with the group's goals. Nonprofits will find the application on the SFG website, www.sisterhoodforgood.org, under the heading Apply For Grants. 

Pictured: 2023 SFG grant recipients.

Goodwill Manasota is pleased to announce a new board chair for the 2024-2025 term: former Manatee County Commissioner and longtime planner Elizabeth “Betsy” Benac will lead the volunteer board for the next two years. The 2024-2025 directors are Xtavia Bailey, Steve Boone (immediate past chair), Rich Cautero, Rod Hollingsworth, Eric Kaplan, James McClure, Rob Morris, Laurie O’Loughlin, Laura Ritchey, Allen Weinstein, and Brad West (chair emeritus). Goodwill is grateful to longtime board member Debbie Douglas, who completed her term in December 2023, for her dedicated and expert leadership. Benac has extensive experience as a planner, working as a regional planner in East Central Michigan for several years before she and her husband, a school teacher, moved to Sarasota in 1983. She worked for 11 years for Manatee County, where she rose to assistant planning director before working in the private sector as planning manager for Wilson Miller – which became Stantec, a leader in planning, permitting, and designing most of the communities in the fast-growing area of Lakewood Ranch – for 18 years. After a stint as senior planning manager for Benderson Development, she ran for office and, in 2012, earned a seat on the Manatee County Commission. On the Commission, she served as one of two at-large commissioners representing the entirety of Manatee County. During her eight-year term of office, she was elected by her peers three times to serve as chair of the commission, most recently in 2020. She is now retired. Some of the volunteer positions she served in included: a Gubernatorial appointee for nine years on the Manasota Basin Board; an appointee on the Board of Zoning Appeals of Manatee County; a director on the Manatee Chamber of Commerce; Chair of the Government Review Committee for the Sarasota Chamber; and an officer and director on the Boards of the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton, the Kiwanis Foundation, and the Girl Scouts of Southwest Florida. In the coming year, some of the top priorities to be addressed with the board’s input and guidance will include: strengthening community collaborative efforts to maximize impact; upskilling its own workforce and the community; and solidifying its operations in its recently expanded footprint, as the organization added parts of Charlotte and Lee counties last spring. For more about Goodwill, visit experiencegoodwill.org or call (941) 355-2721. 

Bank of America has selected Academy at Bradenton, part of the Academy at Glengary, Inc., as it’s Neighborhood Champion® in Manatee County. The Academy will receive a $50,000 grant for its work supporting economic mobility among adults who live with a serious mental illness and face significant barriers to employment. Academy at Bradenton is an expansion into Manatee County, following the success of Academy at Glengary in Sarasota. The grant will support a long-term solution in workforce development for adults living with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression. Participants will receive vocational training in graphics arts and multimedia, culinary arts, , and business and technology to prepare for careers or further education. As part of the bank’s Neighborhood Builders program, one of the largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development in the nation, Neighborhood Champions provides funding to nonprofits that are advancing economic mobility and building up underserved neighborhoods. The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and nonprofits are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past awardees. The grant includes the opportunity to participate in virtual leadership training delivered by experts in the nonprofit sector on topics such as human capital management, increasing financial sustainability and storytelling.  Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $300 million in nearly 100 communities across the U.S., partnered with more than 1,600 nonprofits and helped more than 3,000 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills through the Neighborhood Builders and Champions program.  

 On April 20th, starting at 5:30pm, Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s proudly  presents "Cause 4 Hope - Kaleidoscope – A multifaceted gala celebration". Guided by the passionate  leadership of event chairs Aimee Chouinard and Terry McKee, this uplifting and joyful evening promises  to be an unforgettable event. Additionally, this year's gala holds special significance as Cause 4 Hope will  honor the founder of Neuro Challenge, Dr. Dean Sutherland.  The Cause 4 Hope is not just any other gala; it's a testament to the power of community and the  unwavering commitment to encourage a better quality of life to those living with Parkinson’s. Through a  kaleidoscope of artistry, immersive experiences, storytelling, and philanthropy, guests will embark on a  journey of empathy and inspiration, gaining insight into the diverse challenges faced by the Parkinson’s  community. Each year, Cause 4 Hope raises critically needed funds to provide personalized care advising, local  resource referrals, and ongoing education, therapeutic and support programs to people with  Parkinson's and their loved ones. The Cause 4 Hope Kaleidoscope Gala is presented by the Amicus Foundation with special guest  emcee and auctioneer, Ray Collins, award-winning TV newscaster turned top Realtor! The event starts at 5:30 p.m. on April 20th at Michael’s On East Ballroom, 1212 S. East Avenue, Sarasota. Individual tickets are $300. Get your ticket before they sell out! To purchase ticket – www.neurochallenge.org/events/cause4hope or call 941.926.6413.  

HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital will hold a special flag raising ceremony to help raise awareness and to honor organ donors and their families. National Donate Life Month is celebrated annually in April. The observance encourages people to learn about organ and tissue donation and how to register to help save lives. Hospital colleagues, nurses and physicians will be joined by Jill Rust. Rust, a Bradenton resident, received a kidney donation and transplant in 2010. She will speak about her transplant and how a donation from a deceased donor impacted her life. The Donate Life flag will be solemnly raised and will fly the entire month of April in front of the hospital. The hospital will also hold a blood drive, as part of the nationwide We Show Up for our Communities effort. Colleagues at HCA Healthcare hospitals across the United States partner with nonprofit organizations for acts of service in April. The blood drive will benefit Suncoast Blood Centers and the flag raising ceremony will be held in conjunction with LifeLink® of Florida, the local organ and tissue recovery organization.

Wednesday, April 10 at 9:15 a.m.- flag raising; 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.- blood drive, HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital, 5731 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. 

The TREE Foundation has named Vanessa Wassenar president of its board of directors; her three-year term began January 1, 2024. Wassenar will work closely with Executive Director Meg Lowman to guide the board in its day-to-day operations and long term strategic goals. Based in Sarasota, Florida, TREE is an international non-profit organization, dedicated to tree and forest research, exploration, education, and conservation across the globe.  Wassener has served on TREE’s board of directors for the past three years. Wassenar is a strategic consultant for schools and non-profits, with particular expertise in helping organizations manage change.  She previously served as Director of Resource Management for Proctor Academy in New Hampshire, and founded and served as Chief Operating Officer for Creating Resilient Schools (2001-2023), providing consulting services and executive coaching in matters of finance, governance, accreditation, and organizational analysis for educational and non-profit organizations. “There is so much work to be done to save our eighth continent, as Dr. Lowman calls tree canopies, and we need to move quickly and intentionally,” said Wassenar. “TREE Foundation is very involved in the local community and also values the opportunity to work globally in those countries experiencing devastating destruction of forests, biodiversity, and genetic libraries.” TREE Foundation is in its third decade of working to save local and global forests, as well as continuing to promote environmental education for youth. One of Wassenar's top priorities will be advancing the foundation's global canopy program which aims to build canopy walkways or "bridges" in the world's highest biodiversity forests where species of plants and animals are most at risk. Learn more at the TREE Foundation's website, treefoundation.org. 

All Faiths Food Bank (AFFB) has announced that this year’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger will be bolstered by a $1 million challenge match – the largest in the history of the fundraising effort – provided by Campaign investors. The Campaign provides food for students and their siblings in Sarasota and DeSoto counties over the course of the summer. The community campaign began on April 1 and runs through May 15, with donations of all amounts welcome – and all gifts to be doubled. Nearly 50% of Sarasota County and 100% of DeSoto County students rely on free and reduced-cost meals at school. The Campaign supports efforts to feed area children during the summer months when they no longer receive those meals – as well as school pantries, which also provide nutritional assistance throughout the school year. AFFB estimates that more than 40,000 local kids will need food this summer. On top of an already high cost of living and growing inflation, Florida has opted out of the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program, which would have provided $250 million in funding to help families in need buy food this summer.  AFFB is thankful for lead investors Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation for helping to fund the challenge match, as well as the more than 300 community partners – including schools, libraries, early learning centers, summer camps, community centers and numerous other organizations throughout Sarasota and DeSoto counties – that help the organization reach all who might be in need. In 2023, the Campaign raised over $2 million. With this support, nearly 38,000 local children received nutritious meals. Since its inception in 2014, donors have contributed more than $16 million to the Campaign. For more about All Faiths Food Bank or to learn more about the Campaign to End Summer Hunger, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org or call 941-379-6333. 

As local organization Project Pride SRQ settles into its cheerful new headquarters in the Rosemary District, it is now kicking things into high gear with two major special events to mark Pride Month in June. On June 1, it will present the Grand Carnival In Bloom; on June 8, it will be a partner in offering Silver Pride Sarasota. Event organizers are looking forward to launching Pride Month in grand style with the Grand Carnival In Bloom, an enchanting evening filled with flowers, a DJ spinning today's hits, cool country performances (artists to be named soon), and delightful surprises. Dive Bar Wine & Spirits will be on-site to craft specialty cocktails that will elevate the experience, and some of Sarasota's finest restaurants will tantalize guests’ taste buds with lite bites and desserts. The Grand Carnival takes place on Saturday, June 1, 8-11 p.m. at the Sailor Circus Arena (2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota). Tickets, which include open bar, food and entertainment, are $125/VIP (enables early entry at 7 p.m.), $85/general admission; door price is $150, subject to availability. Major sponsors include CAN Community Health, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, McCarver & Moser, and SRQ Beats. Proceeds from the event will support Project Pride’s programs and events. On June 8, Project Pride, Senior Friendship Centers and Golden Girls Solutions will present Silver Pride Sarasota, celebrating LGBTQ+ ages 50 and better. This free event celebrates our senior members of the LGBTQ+ community; the afternoon program will feature live music, vendors, food trucks, and more from community partners. Takes place on Saturday, June 8, 12-5 p.m. at Senior Friendship Center (1888 Brother Geenen Way, Sarasota). Valet and individual parking will be available on-site. Booth space is available to interested businesses and organizations; deadline to sign up is May 15, 2024. Sponsors of $500-$1,500 are also welcome. For more about Project Pride and its Pride Month events, visit www.ppsrq.org. 

Pictured: On June 1, Project Pride SRQ will present Grand Carnival In Bloom, with proceeds benefiting Project Pride's programs and events Provided photo/Project Pride.

2024 WOMEN WHO ROAR NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN | We invite our readers to nominate an individual who best exemplifies the attributes of professional acumen, philanthropic passion, personal integrity and community leadership. Nominations close Friday, April 26, 2024. 

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CARING FOR A COMMUNITY | With five branches throughout Sarasota, Venice and Bradenton, Liberty Savings Bank is committed to serving the local community, April 2024. 

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