SRQ DAILY May 4, 2024
Saturday Perspectives Edition
" It is vital that we elevate the value of teachers and the respect the community has for their remarkable work in and outside of their classrooms."
The Education Foundation this past Sunday hosted its first Ringling Bridge 5K/10K Run and Well-Being Expo. The event brought together over 1,200 race participants and many others. While people were drawn to this event for many reasons, we are so glad that they joined us to support students and teachers in Sarasota County Schools.
As we know, championing students and teachers doesn’t just happen at a one-time event. It happens throughout the year, in so many ways. It’s the daily interactions, both big and small, and it’s the way in which we demonstrate value, support, access, and opportunity to students and teachers.
Lasting change isn’t forged overnight, and championing students and teachers requires a steady, thoughtful, unified, responsive approach that accounts for an increasingly uncertain world and for the unexpected challenges that inevitably arise.
This year, for instance, the late rollout of the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has created uncertainty in the lives of many low-income students. While so many students are graduating with plans, ready to start their next adventure, others will leave high school adrift, uncertain about their future. These students still need support lest they fall through the cracks.
At the same time, we know that great teachers are essential to a thriving community. It is vital that we elevate the value of teachers and the respect the community has for their remarkable work in and outside of their classrooms. Exceptional teachers, after all, are key in developing the next generation of leaders.
Teacher Appreciation Week begins on Monday. All week, the Education Foundation will celebrate teachers who inspire their students to dream big and actively pursue those dreams. We will provide recognition and rewards through a daily chance drawing. Each day throughout the week, teachers will be winning gifts of all shapes and sizes, which will validate their contribution and symbolize the support of an entire community.
If you or your business would like to provide gifts or prizes to local teachers, please contact our Events and Volunteer Manager Kayla Bailey as soon as possible at kbailey@edfoundationsrq.edu.
Gifts and recognition can uplift teachers and validate their challenging work. Equally if not more important are kind words, notes, and hugs—which are free! I hope you will take time this week, however you’re comfortable, to celebrate teachers and make them feel valued.
The sustained support and recognition a community gives to students and teachers will carry us further and ensure Sarasota County remains the vibrant, thriving place that it is today. The Education Foundation is honored to be part of it.
We are honored to host a race across the iconic Ringling Bridge, a well-being expo, a teacher recognition campaign, and others because these events, while finite, ripple outward. They generate awareness and interest, which leads to action, and action ensures that students and teachers, no matter their experience, can find the relationships and resources that will help them succeed.
Jennifer Vigne is president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.
Photo courtesy Education Foundation: Education Foundation CEO Vigne and Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor at opening ceremony..
It is human nature to rush in to help in the aftermath of a crisis. We see it time and again after natural disasters or accidents, the immediate aid given to help restore normalcy.
While this is a beautiful response to life’s dark moments, there is something to be said for contributing to future well-being during a bright time.
That is what happened on April 9 and 10, when our community came together to support 724 nonprofit organizations during the 2024 Giving Challenge, raising the second-highest total in Giving Challenge history, $17.2 million. The only Giving Challenge that raised more money was in 2020, in the first terrifying weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a global societal shutdown and mass uncertainty.
There are clearly aspects of present-day society that are challenging; however, this year’s Giving Challenge came at a calmer time when we could celebrate our vital nonprofits in our community. How about 53,305 neighbors—another second-place record, only outdone by 2020—coming together, aligned in the purpose of strengthening the nonprofits that contribute so much to the quality of life we enjoy here? Bravo to all the donors who supported our community!
We are grateful to our partner The Patterson Foundation, for inspiring giving through a generous and unique unlimited dollar-for-dollar match, a hallmark of our Giving Challenge that has amplified impact since the first challenge in 2012. Over nine Giving Challenges, The Patterson Foundation’s matching dollars have contributed more than $37 million in funding to nonprofits.
Much more than money was raised during those 24 hours—the Giving Challenge was an event that affirmed our community’s belief in the value of the unique and vital role our nonprofits play. It bolstered hope for the future of our community and was a testament to the generous character of those who live here. It showed that we can and do unite for a good cause: safeguarding the rich social, historical, cultural, and environmental assets of our community.
A dive into the results for individual nonprofits shows that each has cultivated its own community of supporters and is considered worthy of support. This is true for all of them, whether their individual missions involve protecting animals, our environment, people living with disabilities, or religious freedoms.
The vast array of services and goods provided by our nonprofits is key to the tremendous quality of life we enjoy here. That much was clear from the Giving Challenge results.
Another key to our quality of life that became clear in those 24 hours is the deep connection we have to our community and one another, our belief in the greatness of this place we call home, and our commitment to ensuring a future full of possibility. This is all the more powerful because that commitment to tomorrow’s brightness was made on a perfectly sunny day.
Roxie Jerde is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
Image courtesy Pixabay.
In numerous Latin American nations, the word sancocho denotes a cherished traditional stew, boasting diverse interpretations across regions. Carolina Franco, producing artistic director of CreArte Latino, underscores its significance as emblematic of the rich fusion of cultures, rhythms, and flavors within Latino communities, symbolizing their ongoing adaptation and evolution. Franco characterizes their forthcoming presentation of Sancocho as the second venture by CreArte Latino into devised theater projects. Sancocho runs Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4, at 8 p.m., at the Manatee Performing Arts Center in the Bradenton Kiwanis Theater, 502 Third Avenue West, Bradenton. Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, visit CrearteLatino.org.
Check out The Petticoat Painters, an exhibition of female artists, at SPAACES. The exhibition runs from May 3 through June 1, with an opening reception on Friday, May 3 from 6-8pm. The Petticoat Painters is one of the oldest continuously exhibiting art groups of women in the U.S. This group was formed in 1953 to showcase the talents of female artists at a time when women had difficulty finding venues to show their work. Seven women participated in the first show held at a local Sarasota, Florida gallery. These original members selected the name Petticoat Painters, thinking it would be a one-time show of their work. The name continues to be used both in honor of the founders and to retain its historical signature. While we revere our history, each generation of members evolves its own identity framed by contemporary thinking. As we continue to engage new members, we actively move into the 21st Century in concert with the dynamic metamorphosis in art philosophy and aesthetics. Learn more at Petticoatpainters.com. SPAACES Art Gallery, 2051 Princeton Street, Sarasota.
Students from 18 elementary, 7 middle, and 6 high schools throughout Sarasota County will show off their creative talents at the North County K-12 Spring Art Show, April 30-May 13, at Art Center Sarasota. Nearly 50 teachers are part of the effort. The North County Art show is presented in conjunction with the South County Art Show at the Venice Art Center, April 29-May 9, to comprise the Sarasota County Schools Spring Art Show, serving all the public schools in the county. Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For information, visit www.artsarasota.org or call 941-365-2032.
The inaugural season of the Manatee Music Series continues with Trevor Bystrom and Zion Albert, who will perform at the Amphitheater on April 18. Paul Fournier is on the bill for the May 16 concert. In addition to the outdoor concerts in this beautiful tree-covered section of the park, located at 2811 51st St. W. in Bradenton, there will be family-friendly activities by local community partners and crafts sponsored by Bayside Church. Visit mymanatee.org to learn more.
All Angels Church is delighted to offer an exhibition of Byzantine-style icons by noted iconographer Christine Simoneau Hales. Since the beginning of Christianity, icons have been revered as aids to prayer and contemplation. They are visual reminders of the Saints and Gospel stories that have inspired all Christians throughout the ages. Ms. Hales has studied for many years and now teaches and produces icons for churches and private collectors. She is sought after for her modern, yet traditional icons for churches all over the world. She has won several grants and awards for her painting and is now a local Sarasota iconographer. She will share the icons she has crafted in the ancient Byzantine Tradition using egg tempera paints and gold leaf gilding on wood panels. There will be over twenty original icons on display, and all icons will be available for purchase by contacting the artist/iconographer. To learn more, visit allangelslbk.org/.
The Ringling unveils the newly restored Watermelon Regatta painting on view for a limited time only. Over seven years ago, conservators at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art began a comprehensive examination of the Watermelon Regatta, a fascinating early 18th-century Italian painting that had suffered significant damage. This extended study led to a painstaking conservation treatment that commenced in 2017 and has been carried out intermittently since that time. The painting conservators at The Ringling were assisted by several conservation Interns and Fellows, as well as contracted conservators. This oil painting on canvas has been attributed to The Master of the Fertility of the Egg, a name used by art historians for an as-yet unidentified painter active in northern Italy around 1700. His works typically represent the world reversed, with animals doing things that humans do. His absurd compositions satirize the madness, vanity, and ridiculous folly of human life, but in a spirit of comic levity and fun. To learn more, visit ringling.org.
SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email |
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