HOUSING:
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF LEE AND HENDRY COUNTIES received $360,000 to continue its build out of Partnership Place, an affordable housing development in Bonita Springs. The money also will be used to provide counseling services for families purchasing new homes. Habitat is SWCF’s oldest and largest grantee, with more than $2.5 million donated since 2013.
HEARTS AND HOMES FOR VETERANS will use its $120,000 grant to help secure housing for Lee County’s growing population of military veterans. Services include first month rent, utility payment subsidies or a one-yearly rent check to avoid homelessness. HHV serves more than 800 Southwest Florida veterans each year.
EDUCATION
LITERACY COUNCIL GULF COAST received a $35,000 grant to help provide English as a second language training classes and individual tutoring. The Literacy Council expects to teach 2,000 students free of charge in 2024. Volunteers teach many of the classes, which include citizenship and GED preparation.
NEW HORIZONS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA will use its $100,000 grant to support its tutoring, mentoring and educational programs for about 600 low-income and under-resourced students. New Horizons has five locations in Bonita Springs and Estero. SWCF has invested more than $1 million in support of New Horizons since 2013.
FOOD
CAFE OF LIFE will use its $60,000 grant to operate its Leitner Neighborhood Park feeding facility, which serves more than 500 meals each week to needy Bonita Springs residents. Remaining funds support rental assistance, medical/dental services, music lessons and school supplies. Outreach programs serve migrant work camps and trailer park residents.
FEEDING THE 5000 received $15,000 to purchase Thanksgiving meals. The organization will distribute boxes of nutritious food through 27 schools and agencies in Lee and Collier counties, including four SWCF supported charities. More than 7,500 are expected to be fed in 2024.
INTERFAITH CHARITIES OF SOUTH LEE will use its $107,400 grant to acquire food for its pantry operations, including fresh fruit and vegetables. Grant money also is earmarked for client financial assistance on past due rents and utility bills, not to exceed $500 in a 12-month period.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
ALLIANCE FOR PERIOD SUPPLIES will invest its $30,000 grant to purchase period products for distribution in Lee and Collier counties. The money will supply about 1,000 women and girls for a full year. Overall, the organization supplies 5,000 at-risk females every month.
A.N.A.’S FRIENDS (Serving Abused, Neglected and Abandoned Kids in SW Florida) will use its $155,000 grant to fund needs for children under family court supervision. The organization expects to reach about 1,200 children with “normalcy” needs relating to education, housing, clothing and recreation. The grant also will fund back-to-school and holiday events for the kids.
FLORIDA LIONS EYE CLINIC will use its $50,000 to acquire equipment that allows for a more accurate diagnosis of glaucoma and vision loss. The money also covers the cost of the electronic medical records system and subsidizes medical staff time. FFLEC will serve more than 3,000 patients this year, nearly triple the patient volume in 2021.
FRIENDS OF THE SALVATION ARMY received a $75,000 grant to support an estimated 2,000 families and individuals who come to its Bonita Springs Service Center for help. Services include a food pantry, diapers and hygiene products distribution, case management assistance, crisis counseling and financial assistance for urgent needs.
HOME BASE, the newest SWCF grantee, will use its $40,000 grant to provide mental health services to Southwest Florida veterans and their families. The organization, which started as a Massachusetts General and Boston Red Sox Foundation program, operates an outpatient clinic in Fort Myers.
A VALERIE’S HOUSE will invest its $125,000 grant to support children and families grieving the loss of a parent, sibling or caregiver. Most of the grant money will be used to hire and retain one full-time counselor and one part-time counselor to provide services. The remainder will help fund college scholarships for five graduating seniors affiliated with Valerie’s House programs.
