The turning of the seasons has always given me pause. As Summer gave way to Fall, I reflected on the year, my mind drifting back to Spring, when it seemed...
Sugar Ray Robinson, considered by many the greatest boxing champion of all time, once said: “Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that’s...
The time-honored axiom that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure has never been more valid than when applied to our health. The prospects for an enhanced...
Walls may form barriers between the rooms in a home, but sometimes walls and barriers take on new meaning when thoughts turn to independent residential living options for Southwest Floridians...
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has changed everything. From the way we greet each other, to the way we organize our lives around new realities, to the way we gather...
The ability to navigate life with language that communicates complex thoughts, ideas and emotions makes us uniquely human. But our capacity to connect with and understand each other extends far...
Many have fled deprivation and persecution in search of a better life. They hold tight to their American Dream. They’re vital to Southwest Florida’s economy. They are the undocumented immigrants...
While preparing to welcome a new baby to the family is typically a time of wonder and joy, an expectant mother’s rollercoaster of anticipation and nervousness is also accompanied by...
When COVID-19 closed schools in the spring, it also shut down a primary food distribution channel for Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization that stocks elementary school pantries with nutritious food...
It’s been said that seeing is believing. But it also takes believing in a shared mission among caring Southwest Floridians to make seeing a reality for thousands of adults and...
One of the earliest health concerns for children is visible with every smile. Teeth. From their earliest days as infants and toddlers, when dental-health treatment and family knowledge surrounding oral...
As the convergence of perilous disease in the air and transformational social unrest on the streets has created anxiety that sets our hearts, minds and souls on edge, an invaluable emotional outlet that is uniquely human exists...
As I am confronted with the social upheaval in the wake of the inhumane killing of George Floyd, the most recent in an abhorrent series of unjust deaths and devastated...
School is a crucial and complex part of growing up. It’s a period when young people develop not only academically in the classroom, but also socially and emotionally as they navigate life in the hallways, at...
When the COVID-19 crisis closed schools throughout Southwest Florida, grade school students and their families were suddenly thrust into the unknown as they followed social-distancing guidelines and sheltered at home. But...
Cone of uncertainty. The term crossed my mind as I watched reports on Tropical Storm Arthur, which flared up before hurricane season even officially began. We’ve grown accustomed to hearing...
When the service missions end for local military veterans and their families, the mission of the nonprofit Home Base Southwest Florida begins. With the latest figures from the U.S. Department of...
This article is part of a summer series that highlights the vital work of regional recipients of 2020 Community Impact Grants from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. Even during the...
This article is part of a summer series that will highlight the vital work of regional recipients of 2020 Community Impact Grants from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. COVID-19 has caused...
Like so many Southwest Floridians, I’ve been remotely working from home, as the Southwest Florida Community Foundation stands with all those striving to balance health and safety while remaining efficient...
There is a great deal of talk these days around adaptability. Personal, professional, business, government and healthcare adaptability are top of mind as we navigate the pandemic in all aspects...
Strengths and vulnerabilities across and within systems are magnified during times like these. Our systems – healthcare, education, and the economy - are struggling under the weight of a virus...
I spend a good portion of my time these days virtually connecting with people who desperately want to do something to help those suffering as a result of the pandemic. ...
These are anxious times. COVID-19 has impacted global and local communities and disrupted our everyday lives in ways large and small. As we work together to adjust to quickly changing...
Our world has changed, collectively and individually. Last week I was walking around Collaboratory and missing the energy of people meeting and connecting in the building. If I am honest,...
Each week the goal of this column is to connect the beautiful act of giving to things happening in the world, our community and individual stories. Sometimes the subject matter...
Naples, FL (March 16, 2020) - The Community Foundation of Collier County and the Southwest Florida Community Foundation have each activated emergency relief funds: CFCC's Collier Comes Together Fund and...
This column is difficult for me to write as it hits close to home. My birth year of 1963 places me on the cusp of the baby boomer generation, and...
When we envisioned the design of Collaboratory as a regional resource to champion the social, economic and environmental sustainability of Southwest Florida, we were very intentional that it be much...
Thank you to WINK News for this beautiful story of connectivity at Collaboratory. If you haven’t driven by the train depot in Fort Myers recently, it has transformed into a community...
Fresh starts, clean slates, new beginnings, and turning the page are all sentiments attached to New Year resolutions. The beginning of a new year provides a calendar driven opportunity to...
by Dr. Anthony Jewett, Managing Partner, SW Florida Impact Partners LLP Note: This is the last of a series of columns written by members of the SecondMuse cohort working in partnership...
by Shadreka McIntosh, Ph.D., Sozo Wellness Pharmacy Note: This is part of a series of columns written by members of the Second Muse cohort working in partnership with the Southwest Florida...
Irene Rodriguez made it her dream to help people change the way they look at health and she wanted to find a way to promote a plant-based lifestyle with a...
by Sam Lewis, Wear the Fund, and member of the SecondMuse Cohort Since starting WearTheFund (WTF) nearly 8 years ago in my hometown garage, the hills and valleys of being an...
An estimated 36,000 adults in Southwest Florida, 3.4% of the population, identifies as LGBT, according to a new regional analysis by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law funded...
Each summer I turn over this column to the Southwest Florida Community Foundation’s nonprofit grantee partners. These are organizations who have received funding, made possible by donors, to support change-making...
by Cathy Murtagh Schaffer, PA-C, Lee Physician Group Patients struggling with addiction and related health issues have a new option for treatment through an innovative program at Lee Health. Using a $50,000...
by Sarah Owen, president & CEO, Southwest Florida Community Foundation I have a 3-hour limit. I don’t turn into a pumpkin, but anything longer than 3 hours in a car and...
by Christian Bell, Marketing Manager Ray Charles, Art Tatum, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli—these great performers, who are all immediately recognizable for their amazing talent, all dealt with visual impairment. Many singers,...
by Kaydee Tuff, Communications Manager, The Shelter for Abused Women & Children Nine-year-old Nikko could not talk about the daily abuse he saw his father inflict on his mother but he...
Southwest Florida Community Foundation's Immigration Program Officer Nirupa Netram attended Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) convening in Philadelphia in June 2019. The annual GCIR convening is philanthropy’s foremost conference...
by Janelle Beaber, Development Director Two and a half years ago, I was introduced to an organization who was changing the lives of pain patients in our community. These patients had...
By Jamail Aikens Sometimes we need someone to throw us a lifeline! On September 2, 1944, a 311-foot submarine rose from the ocean depths to throw a lifeline to a young...
by Armando Hernandez, SWFL Program Director, Home Base On the battlefield service members are placed in unimaginable situations. Many returning veterans find solace in avoiding these traumatic memories which only exacerbates the intensity, frequency...
The Southwest Florida Community Foundation recently welcomed two new team members to the organization. Trisha Botty, an experienced professional in government and community relations, communications, organization, program management and public advocacy,...
The Southwest Florida Community Foundation recently welcomed Katie Leone as Impact and Sustainability Manager. In her new position, Leone will work on the Social Innovation & Sustainability (SIS) Team where she...
Rose is pictured with her Big Sister Alex. My name is Rose and I am a graduating senior. I am a happy, healthy, well adjusted, young woman who excels in school...
by Jill Palmer, Executive Director, Florida Southern Gulf Chapter, American Red Cross Thanks in part to a recent grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, and in partnership with Lee County...
The low hum of homework grumbling has been a backdrop of my life for a least 20 years. On the journey of raising three kids, there are bound to be...
