The Academy: Part of the Solution on Mental Health
The Academy serves an unmet need in Sarasota County, helping individuals with mental illness recover and reintegrate into the community through employment. The niche training facility offers members opportunities in three vocational areas: culinary arts and hospitality services, graphic arts and design, and community relations. When they’re ready, members are able to pursue some of the careers in high demand in our region.
Youth Advocacy Team helps young people overcome homelessness
It’s no secret that Sarasota County lacks affordable housing. But did you know that as of April 2019, the average price to rent an apartment in Sarasota was $1,293? That’s up 18.5% from just a year prior. At that rate, it’s difficult to draw young adults and keep local youth here when the entry-level jobs available to them fall far under that price tag. Imagine trying to navigate that coming from an inconsistent living situation or from being homeless.
Foundation Funds “Engineering Innovators” Stipends for Summer Internships
An impressive 41 University of Florida engineering students recently completed intensive summer internships at a diverse group of Sarasota and Manatee County employers. To help ensure successful, high-impact work experiences in the region, nearly half of the interns received $3,000 stipends funded by Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
Gulf Coast Philanthropy Team Grows Stronger by Two
Gulf Coast Community Foundation has added two philanthropic advisors to its Philanthropy team, further strengthening the foundation’s ability to meet its mission of transforming the Gulf Coast region through bold and proactive philanthropy.
Venice Urban Forest: Good for the environment, good for the soul
Gulf Coast Community Foundation has provided $200,000 in matching grants to Venice Area Beautification, Inc., to support its Urban Forest initiative. In the last six months, more than 400 trees have been planted, in addition to dozens of different species of native plants. Beyond increased wildlife traffic already seen in this greenbelt, the Urban Forest provides another crucial function: It will serve as an environmental buffer separating industrial areas from the Intracoastal Waterway, helping to protect Southwest Florida’s most prized resource.
Roadmap to a Resilient Region
About every two years, Gulf Coast commissions a “regional scan” to help us identify critical trends and priorities and develop transformative initiatives to address them. The scan is a planning tool we use to understand the long-term trends and emerging issues that will affect our region and then to articulate shared priorities and the necessary actions to address them.