The Sarasota Scene 5|18|18

Philanthropy

Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation Awards Grant to Campaign Against Summer Hunger
Barancik Foundation pledges $50,000 to All Faiths Food Bank’s campaign
Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation doubled its previous support to All Faiths Food Bank’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger, granting $50,000 to help close the funding gap to reach the dollar-for-dollar match of $1.3 million to help feed 40,000 children over the summer months. The gift will expand All Faiths’ reach with childcare centers throughout the community to identify the “invisible children” – from newborn to five-year-old children who aren’t tallied in the school system’s list of children qualified for free or reduced lunches during the school year. Teri Hansen, President & CEO of Barancik Foundation, believes this grant will strengthen efforts to end hunger in the region.

Grant Awarded to Local Elementary School
The Allen Wirtz Nobbe and Jo Bowe Nobbe Fund at The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has awarded The Florida Center for Early Childhood with a grant of $25,000 to support the mental health professional position at Gocio Elementary School.
The position began in August 2017 through a partnership with The Community Foundation of Sarasota County. The position is intended to support vulnerable parents and their children with “deep” family issues, providing one-on-one therapy for students, family therapy, parenting support, and teacher support that can include one-on-one consultation, and classroom support.
“It’s been a seamless transition starting at Gocio Elementary School as the mental health therapist,” said Jennifer Garafola, licensed clinical social worker, and the current mental health professional at the school. According to the Community Foundation of Sarasota, education, reliable economic supports, social capital, health, and well-being are the four vital aspects of helping children and their families break the cycle of poverty. By providing emotional support and empowering families, The Florida Center, with the support of The Community Foundation, is able to address the issues that can keep parents and their children in a vulnerable state.

Sarasota Youth Opera Awarded $20,000 NEA Grant
Gift supports fall production of The Little Sweep by Benjamin Britten
National Endowment for the Arts approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $20,000 to the Sarasota Youth Opera program to support their 2018 re-mount of The Little Sweep by Benjamin Britten. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

Tickets for The Little Sweep are currently available for purchase by 2018/19 Sarasota Opera Subscribers. Single tickets will be available online August 1 and in the Sarasota Opera box office September 4. 

Manatee Community Foundation Awards $223,200 to 31 Local Nonprofits
Each year, Manatee Community Foundation awards approximately $2.5 million in grants supporting local and national nonprofits and scholarships helping students pursue their education.
Manatee Community Foundation recently awarded $223,200 in grants to local nonprofits through a competitive grant process and through generous donors and giving circles that supported requests for funding. This year’s grants process emphasized the importance of organizations clearly articulating the expected human gain instead of activity-based work.
Key areas of investment this year were foster care, grade-level reading, health, arts, animal welfare and environment. Grants awarded to organizations will help fund a variety of initiatives such as funding for summer activities provided to Manatee County foster children through Children’s Guardian Fund Inc., support to provide a summer program for children living in the Pride Park neighborhood through Manatee YMCA, and funds to provide field trips to the Felts Audubon Preserve for 3rd Grade students in Manatee County Title 1 Schools through Manatee County Audubon Society.

Easterseals Receives a $10,000 Reading Grant
The grant was awarded from the Weichel Family Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation to support the reading program at Easterseals Southwest Florida, also known as “Happiness House.”
The funds will provide the program with a reading coach, available for all Manatee County students who attend the Lily School for Child Development Preschool Program, the Lily School Before and After Program, and children attending the Project Rainbow Children’s Respite Kid’s Night Out Program. 

Hermitage Receives 2018 Grant from National Endowment of the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts recently approved more than $25 million in grants as part of its first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018, including an Art Works grant of $15,000 to the Hermitage Artist Retreat for artist residency support.
This money will cover the cost of supporting three six-week residencies or eighteen single weeks of artist residencies. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

The Exchange Awards $250,000 to Local Arts Groups and Students
Since 1962, The Exchange has awarded more than $8 million in grants to hundreds of area-based non-profits.
The Exchange (formerly the Woman’s Exchange) announced that it will award $250,000 to 19 regionally-based arts and cultural organizations and 22 students. The awards will be given at an invitation-only event at The Exchange on June 7.  The organizational grants are for specific projects and outreach programs, including performances, exhibitions, education initiatives and special series. The Exchange’s board bases its granting decisions on the long-term stability and financial health of the organizations, the program’s overall appeal to the public and the educational impact these programs will have on area students. Individual scholarships are awarded based on grade point average, the individual’s artistic goals and achievements, and letters of recommendation.
The monies used for these grants and scholarships were earned entirely through the organization’s 15,000-square-foot consignment boutique in downtown Sarasota.
The grant recipients for the 2018/2019 fiscal year are:

Arts and Cultural Alliance: Inspire Sarasota
Asolo Theatre, Inc.: 2018-2019 season
Florida Studio Theatre: 2018-2019 Winter cabaret series
FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training: 2018 season of Dog Days Theatre
Gloria Musicae: Patriotic Showcase
Hermitage Artist Retreat: Hermitage Artists Programs’ live streaming project
Key Chorale: Misatango – Celebration of South American Music and Dance
La Musica di Aslo: La Musica educational outreach
Manatee Concert Band: 2018-2019 season
Perlman Music Program: Outreach programs
Players Theatre: Season sponsor;
Pops Orchestra: 2018-2019 concert season
Sarasota Ballet: World premier by Ricardo Graziano
Sarasota Cuban Ballet School: On Stage program
Sarasota Opera: Sarasota Youth Opera’s performance of Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep
Sarasota Orchestra: Young Person’s Concerts program
Selby Gardens: The 2019 Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition
Van Wezel Foundation, Inc.: Schooltime Performances program
Venice Chorale: Expansion of apprentice and youth programs
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe: 2018-2019 main stage season

The scholarship recipients for the 2018/2019 fiscal year are:

High School: Jessica Apatow; Zoe Heil; Beatrice Kelly; Ariana Koopman; Laura Elizabeth McKenna; Rachael Rice; Theo Shultz; Alyssa Volack.
College: Margaux Albiez; Summer Altier; Victoria Byrd; Emily Cain; Marie Dull; Joshua Galindo; Melanie Gasparoni; Abigail Hodgson; Jessica Pope; Rachael Querreveld; Autumn Rose; Haley Rosenthal; Olivia Valek; Teia Watson.

PGT Innovations Supports 2018 Suncoast BBQ and Bluegrass Bash
PGT sponsored the Suncoast Foundation for Handicapped Children’s event to raise awareness and contributions for the Suncoast Foundation as well as other participating area nonprofit organizations.
On April 20-21, the 9th annual Suncoast BBQ and Bluegrass Bash was held at the Venice Airport Festival Grounds. The event began Friday morning with the annual sporting clays tournament and was followed by the TGIF party with a classic car and truck cruise-in, fish fry and live music.
This year, the nonprofit estimates the event attracted 15,000 – 20,000 visitors and earned more money than any previous year. The event is designed to bring nationally recognized BBQ pit masters and bluegrass bands to Florida in a family-friendly way. Proceeds from the event will be used to support and maintain both current and future facilities as well as helping ensure the legacies of those who were instrumental in supporting the foundation’s mission.

Sarasota YMCA Celebrates Foster Parents
On May 12, the Sarasota YMCA presented its Safe Children Coalition Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner.
This annual event celebrates the individuals, couples and families who open their homes and hearts to foster children through the Sarasota YMCA Safe Children Coalition program. Guests at the event were welcomed by Laura Gilbert, president and CEO of Sarasota YMCA, treated to dinner, and enjoyed a picture slideshow featuring each foster family. Awards were presented to standout foster parents and gift baskets given through generous donations from the public, including Detwiler’s Farm Market. There were 170 in attendance for the celebration, which was sponsored in part by Tableseide Restaurant Group.

Currently, there are approximately 1,600 children being served in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties through the Safe Children Coalition program, which provides safe and nurturing foster homes. When children are removed from a home, the primary reasons are parent substance abuse or domestic violence. The Sarasota YMCA serves as the lead agency for community-based care in its three-county area. The Safe Children Coalition is a collaboration of the Y and local community entities who, together, provide a continuum of child welfare services for dependent children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Child protection services provided include case management, foster care, independent living, and adoptions.