wcw AUGUST 2023
Our August issue has a profile with Sarasota artist Linda Richichi. Features include a look at the Little Art Gallery’s new home, Good News Dept., Calendars, Blobfest, You're News, Travel News, Women’s Equality day and the Importance of staying hydrated. Plus, take a visit to the US Botanic Garden in DC.
Our August issue has a profile with Sarasota artist Linda Richichi. Features include a look at the Little Art Gallery’s new home, Good News Dept., Calendars, Blobfest, You're News, Travel News, Women’s Equality day and the Importance of staying hydrated. Plus, take a visit to the US Botanic Garden in DC.
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good news department<br />
Women’s Resource Center Receives Grant for<br />
“Pathways to Success” Program<br />
Jamie Kahns, senior vice president and Sarasota-Manatee market manager for Bank<br />
of America, with Ashley Brown, WRC’s CEO and president, and members of the WRC’s<br />
board of directors.<br />
Gulf Coast Community Foundation awards Forty<br />
Carrots with $53,000 investment<br />
Gulf Coast Community Foundation awarded<br />
Forty Carrots Family Center three grants totaling<br />
$53,000 dedicated to Partners In Play (PIP)<br />
in Sarasota County and mental health services<br />
for families affected by Hurricane Ian. This<br />
funding is made possible through the Community<br />
Health Endowment Fund, Anna V. Pfister,<br />
Nellie Mae Koss and Helen K. Hadden Memorial<br />
Fund, and the Hurricane Ian Recovery Initiative<br />
at Gulf Coast Community Foundation.<br />
With these grants, Forty Carrots is able<br />
to provide its parenting education program,<br />
Partners In Play (PIP) groups at no cost<br />
to children and families at Sarasota County<br />
libraries and mental health support for families<br />
to not only recover from the hurricane’s<br />
trauma but also develop the coping skills they<br />
need as they rebuild their lives.<br />
“This generous funding from Gulf Coast<br />
Community Foundation wraps our children<br />
and families in support from prevention work<br />
happening at our PIP groups to interventions<br />
and treatment in mental health therapy. Disasters,<br />
no matter where they come from, impact<br />
our community every day. Having Gulf Coast<br />
Community Foundation’s ever-ready support<br />
to respond allows us to support recovery from<br />
the mental and emotional damages often left<br />
unseen and yet are far more enduring,” said<br />
CEO of Forty Carrots Michelle Kapreilian.<br />
“We are honored to provide support to Forty<br />
Carrots Family Center who embody their<br />
The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) has been<br />
awarded a $25,000 grant from Bank of America<br />
for its “Pathways to Success” initiative.<br />
“This program supports individuals pursuing<br />
post-secondary education,” notes Ashley<br />
Brown, WRC’s CEO and president. “By weaving<br />
together scholarships, programs, mentoring<br />
and direct financial support, the Pathways to<br />
Success program supports women who are going<br />
back to school with the goal of increasing<br />
their earning potential. It removes financial<br />
barriers and provides students the vital resources<br />
they need to thrive academically.”<br />
According to Brown, Pathways to Success<br />
stands in the gap for people trying to make<br />
the most of their lives. She explains that the<br />
largest people living in poverty in our region<br />
are women, ages 25 to 34, 55 to 64, and 75-<br />
plus. “Three out of four single parent mothers<br />
do not make a sustainable wage,” says Brown.<br />
Pathways to Success, explains Brown, “offers<br />
our clients a game-changing combination<br />
of financial support, programs, resources,<br />
and social support.” Bank of America is<br />
providing essential financial support and<br />
resources to Sarasota-Manatee women who<br />
are working to further their education and<br />
contribute to their local community.<br />
The funding will help women gain the<br />
knowledge and skills required to increase<br />
their career prospects, alleviating some of<br />
the stressors of pursuing higher education.<br />
Brown recalls a moving conversation with<br />
one successful participant. “They told us that,<br />
‘Pathways allowed me to move forward with<br />
an experienced professional to guide me.<br />
That allowed me to do more than just get<br />
through each day. I’ve learned to set longterm<br />
and short-term goals and make plans to<br />
keep moving ahead in life.”<br />
To learn more about the services available<br />
at WRC, call 941-256-9721 or visit mywrc.org.<br />
Partners In Play (PIP) group<br />
mission of nurturing healthy child and family<br />
development through research-based,<br />
relationship-centered education and mental<br />
health services. Forty Carrots stands strong<br />
as a pivotal resource for families in our<br />
region. Their work is inspirational and important,”<br />
said Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s<br />
Director of Community Leadership<br />
Kameron Hodgens, Ph.D.<br />
Since 1993, Forty Carrots Family Center has<br />
served families in Sarasota & Manatee counties,<br />
ensuring good beginnings that last a<br />
lifetime for children through its expertise in<br />
Parenting Education, Mental Health Services,<br />
and Early Childhood Education. Rated 4-Stars<br />
by Charity Navigator, Forty Carrots serves families<br />
from all walks of life, with 94 percent of<br />
families receiving services free of charge. Visit<br />
www.fortycarrots.org for more information.<br />
To learn more visit GulfCoastCF.org<br />
The Exchange Awards $ 500,000<br />
to Local Arts Groups and Students<br />
The Exchange has awarded<br />
$500,000 to 24 regionally based<br />
arts and cultural organizations<br />
and 14 high school and college<br />
students. Additionally, five organizations<br />
are recipients of the<br />
new Elizabeth Lindsay Arts in<br />
Education grant.<br />
Karen Koblenz, The Exchange’s<br />
executive director and CEO, explains<br />
that the new Elizabeth<br />
Lindsay Arts in Education Grants<br />
Program is intended to “encourage<br />
local art organizations and<br />
educators to work collaboratively<br />
to design and develop artistically<br />
creative and innovative projects<br />
involving the visual and performing arts<br />
benefiting students grades K-12.”<br />
Grants may include curriculum-based residencies,<br />
workshops, arts-related day trips,<br />
assemblies/performances and out-of-school<br />
experiences. Elizabeth (“Liz”) Lindsay was the<br />
co-founder of The Exchange and a long-time<br />
pillar in Sarasota’s art community before her<br />
death in 2022.<br />
Koblenz points out that the organizational<br />
grants are for specific projects and outreach<br />
programs, including performances, exhibitions,<br />
education initiatives and special series.<br />
She explains that The Exchange’s board<br />
bases its granting decisions on the longterm<br />
stability and financial health of the<br />
organizations, the program’s overall appeal<br />
to the public and the impact these programs<br />
will have on the surrounding community.<br />
Individual scholarships are awarded based<br />
on grade point averages, the individual’s artistic<br />
goals and achievements, and letters of<br />
recommendation.<br />
Koblenz adds that The Exchange is especially<br />
interested in programs that promote<br />
a vibrant and engaged community. “The cultural<br />
arts industry plays a pivotal role in our<br />
region’s economic health and serves as a<br />
magnet for tourism.” Monies used for these<br />
grants and scholarships were earned entirely<br />
through the organization’s 15,000-squarefoot<br />
consignment boutique in downtown Sarasota.<br />
Since 1962, The Exchange has awarded<br />
more than $9 million in grants to local<br />
non-profits and high school and college students<br />
pursuing a higher education in the arts.<br />
The grant recipients for the <strong>2023</strong>-2024 fiscal<br />
year are:<br />
Organizational Grants:<br />
• Art Center Sarasota<br />
• Arts and Cultural Alliance<br />
• Artists Series Concerts<br />
Neal Communities Donates $ 5,000 toward<br />
Kiwanis Club of North Port<br />
Neal Communities, donated $5,000 to the<br />
Kiwanis Club of North Port Foundation to<br />
help with a proposed project to construct a<br />
Storybook Stroll reading program and Little<br />
Free Library along a walking path at one of<br />
North Port’s neighborhood parks.<br />
Pine Park is located inside Country Club<br />
Ridge, a North Port neighborhood off McKibben<br />
Drive that was devastated by Hurricane<br />
Ian. The small neighborhood park includes<br />
a volleyball court, playground, picnic pavilion,<br />
picnic tables, outdoor grill and a paved<br />
Karen Koblenz and Elizabeth Lindsay<br />
• Asolo Repertory Theatre<br />
• Choral Artists of Sarasota<br />
• Ensemble New SRQ<br />
• Florida Studio Theatre<br />
• The Hermitage Artists Retreat<br />
• Key Chorale<br />
• La Musica di Asolo<br />
• Perlman Music Program<br />
• Ringling College of Art & Design<br />
• Sarasota Ballet<br />
• Sarasota Concert Association<br />
• Sarasota Contemporary Dance<br />
• Sarasota Opera<br />
• Sarasota Orchestra<br />
• Sarasota Pops Orchestra<br />
• Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative<br />
• The Players<br />
• Urbanite Theatre<br />
• Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation,<br />
Inc. (Van Wezel)<br />
• Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe<br />
• WSLR<br />
Elizabeth Lindsay Arts in Education Grants:<br />
• Embracing Our Differences<br />
• The Hermitage Artist Retreat<br />
• Key Chorale<br />
• Ringling College of Art & Design<br />
• Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative<br />
The scholarship recipients for the <strong>2023</strong>-<br />
2024 fiscal year are:<br />
• High School: Marina Berardi, Maija Boelkins,<br />
Beatrice Divinagracia, Kaitlyn Haley,<br />
Hannah Kesten, Sydney Payne, Eabha<br />
Phelan, Mehak Sendhu, Danae Tran<br />
• College: Kenna Bartlett, Jack Beatenhead,<br />
Danny Bo DeLongaig, Abigail Holdway,<br />
Lindsay McKenna, Noelle Prouty, Zoe Rizzo,<br />
Madisyn Wandall<br />
The Exchange is located at 539 S. Orange Ave.<br />
in Sarasota. For more information, call 941-<br />
955-7859 or visit www.sarasotawex.com.us<br />
walking trail which the Kiwanis Club hopes<br />
will one day be the home of a Storybook<br />
Stroll program<br />
The vision is for Storybook Stroll to be<br />
constructed with sturdy holders that allow<br />
laminated book pages to be viewed along<br />
the looped trail. The concept is that children<br />
in wheelchairs or strollers will be able to<br />
read pages of the book as they move along<br />
the pathway. For information visit www.<br />
KiwanisClubofNorthPort.org.<br />
continued on next page<br />
18 WEST COAST WOMAN <strong>AUGUST</strong> <strong>2023</strong>