Terry Shen, a rising senior of Pine View School from Osprey loves serving the community. As a volunteer at Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab, a non-profit organization serving Sarasota/Manatee Counties, he has taught STEM and Robotics classes to many younger kids for the past few years. 

“Volunteering at the Fab Lab has been a fantastic experience. I love teaching younger students because I can really see a part of me inside them,” he says. “I used to be someone who wanted to learn more about science, technology, engineering, arts and math. And now that I have the ability to give back and teach those younger versions of me, it’s really amazing.”

In addition to his time spent volunteering, Terry has recently been named as "Governor" out of 500 Florida boys, the highest elected position for the 80th annual American Legion Boys State program, a premier youth leadership program. The program took place in Tallahassee and included a gathering of around 500 boys (rising seniors only) selected as delegates, representing the top talent of that age cohort, from all high schools in the state of Florida. Established in 1935, Boys State aims to foster leadership skills among young men. This program builds a mock government from the ground up and teaches the way our democracy functions at the city, county, and ultimately state level. Terry had the honor of being elected as city mayor, county commissioner, Senator, and finally Governor–the highest elected office–for Boys State 2024 among approx. 500 best of best boys in Florida. 

“I found out about Boys State through a documentary and I learned that it teaches civics, leadership and service--all things I'm really interested in,” explains Terry. “As one of 461 delegates chosen, I got the chance to go to FSU, the place where all the magic happens and I was extremely excited to go. As Governor, I began signing bills into law, I appointed nominees to the Florida Supreme Court and I assigned a cabinet where we could make all these things happen that real leaders in our state do. It was definitely an honor to be a part of this program.”

As the high school junior and senior year class president at Pine View School, and vice president of the Speech and Debate Club (with 200+ members), Terry has excellent academic success. He is fluent in English and proficient in Spanish and Chinese. With an interest in journalism, Terry is managing editor and sci-tech co-editor of  Torch, the school magazine of Pine View School, and he was chosen as the only young high school journalist to represent Florida to attend the prestigious Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington DC. 

“I'm really thankful for the opportunities that have been presented to me,” Terry adds. “My parents are the most wonderful parents I could have asked for. They've supported me every step along the way–not just in bringing me to Boys State–but also with their support throughout my whole life.” In addition to his parents, Terry credits Pine View and Suncoast Science Center for giving him the tools he needs to serve in a leadership role and give back to the community.

Pictured: Terry Shen, Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab volunteer and youth leader. Photo courtesy of Shen Family.

To learn more, visit.

Manatee Community Foundation announces the addition of four distinguished individuals to its board of directors. According to Bob (“Buzz”) Turner, MCF’s board chair, these new members “bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and passion for community service, further enriching MCF’s leadership. Their diverse backgrounds and deep commitment to philanthropy align seamlessly with Manatee Community Foundation's mission to enhance the quality of life in Manatee County through strategic philanthropy.” The four new members are: Mike Moschella, Monaca S. Onstad, Dr. Jan Pullen and Kristen Truong. 

To learn more, visit.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is pleased to announce a gift from Cheryl Gorelick and Jake Zeigler of $2,000,000 toward the FST Arts Plaza. This gift was made as part of The Maier Match Challenge in support of the “McGillicuddy Circle of Friends” through the “one-to-one match,” which brings the $2,000,000 gift to $4,000,000. The leadership gift helps FST surpass the Maier Match Challenge’s halfway goal after only two months of fundraising. 

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has developed a report detailing the vital contributions of the nonprofit sector in the four-county region and evaluating strengths and opportunities for supporting organizations whose missions enhance our livelihoods. Using data from The Giving Partner, an online database of nearly 750 nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, the “State of the Nonprofit Sector Report” analyzes several indicators of nonprofit well-being, capacity, and ability to respond to the ever-changing needs of the community. Overall, the report finds that the nonprofit sector in the four-county region is robust and diverse, catering to the needs of individuals and communities. Still, challenges in raising unrestricted funding interfere with service and program delivery. The report offers a view of the number of nonprofits serving each county in the four-county area and delves into cause areas that are enhanced through the work of nonprofits, leading among them in the region being education, arts and culture, youth services, and health/well-being. Indicators of nonprofit security and outlook included in the report are: Organizations with endowments; Organizations conducting capital campaigns; The size of nonprofits —by annual revenue, annual expenses, and staff-to-volunteer ratio . All these indications help gauge the strength of the sector now, as well as help inform predictions for the future, said Scott Henderson, Director of Insights at the Community Foundation. Henderson noted that the even distribution of organizational size suggests a strong sector. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County serves the region through support of nonprofit organizations that enhance quality of life. Along with traditional grantmaking, nonprofit trainings, and hosting a biennial Giving Challenge, the foundation maintains data resources that nonprofits, government entities, and the public can use free of charge. The resource used to develop this nonprofit sector report, The Giving Partner, is a searchable database of nearly 750 nonprofits that includes essential information such as cause area and mission, leadership and financials. In February 2024, the Community Foundation introduced the Community Indicators Dashboard to the public, which offers data Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties that offer intuitive visualizations that describe their overall well-being now and projections of such indicators as population, demographics and more that predict future bright spots and challenges. Data is available on the dashboard that gauges overall community wellness in the areas of education, economy, health and housing. 

For any family, back-to-school time can be stressful, especially when it comes time to purchase school supplies. The situation is even more challenging for children who are either in foster care or involved with prevention/diversion programs, where financial challenges can mean students will  start off the year without the critical supplies needed for classroom success. To help give children a chance to succeed in school, Safe Children Coalition is holding its annual Back to School Drive, to fulfill school supply lists for more than 350 children in foster care or its prevention/diversion programs. For many years, Safe Children Coalition (SCC) has invited the community to support youth in foster care and/or involved with its programs, with donations of school supplies gratefully accepted throughout the summer. So far this year, supplies to prepare 100 children for school have been donated but there are more than 250 whose school supply lists still need to be fulfilled. Anyone interested in helping children in SCC’s programs is encouraged to visit the Back to School Drive page (sccfl.org/back-to-school-drive) and follow the link to the participation form. At this link, community members can see and download the supply lists for grades K-5 and 6-12, and then shop to fulfill the supply list (or lists) of their choosing. Once the shopping is done, they can revisit the form to schedule the drop-off of supplies, during the week of July 15-19, at SCC’s Northgate location (1500 Independence Blvd., Suite 210, Sarasota). The deadline for drop-offs – to be ready in time for group backpack stuffing activities – is July 12 (although later donations will still be gratefully accepted). While gifts of supplies are preferred, monetary donations will also support the critical, life-saving programs and services for vulnerable children and at-risk families. For many years, SCC has been particularly grateful for the support of Suncoast Community Church, which holds its own donation drive to provide the backpacks used for this effort as well as organizes a large group of teens to stuff all the backpacks with the school supplies donated by the community. For more about the Back to School Drive, visit sccfl.org/back-to-school-drive. For questions, contact LeAnn Aldridge by calling 941-504-7420 or emailing laldridge@sccfl.org. 

Photo Courtesy of Safe Children Coalition

For more information, click here:

Restaurateurs Amanda and John Horne have been deeply involved in philanthropic efforts, serving the community they have called home for more than 40 years, July/August 2024.

Read Here!