Grant Recipients

2022 Grant Recipients

• ABLE Academy

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  $170,000

  ABLE Academy provides intensive applied behavior analysis and therapy for children with Autism and related disorders. NCEF funding supports the Early Intensive Intervention Institute for developmentally delayed children, ages 1 through 7, who do not qualify for other funding or services elsewhere.

• Avow Hospice

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  $85,000

  Avow provides hospice care, palliative care and grief support services. NCEF funding supports the Avow Kids program, which enables children (ages 5-17) to successfully manage the grief and loss caused by adverse events such as death, divorce, deportation, incarceration or the recent pandemic.

• Better Together

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  $150,000

  Better Together works to prevent child abuse, strengthen families and promote independence by leveraging the power of the local community to support and equip families struggling with poverty and other life crises. NCEF funding supports the Better Families program, which provides families in crisis with a safety net of support to protect children and prevent them from entering the foster care system.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast

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  $90,000

  Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast’s (BBBSSC) mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. NCEF funding supports the One to One Mentoring Program, which provides opportunities for BBBSSC to pair youth with mentors as well as expand site-based mentoring and the Beyond School Walls mentoring program.

• Boys & Girls Club of Collier County

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  $450,000

  Boys & Girls Club of Collier County provides daily after-school and summer enrichment programs to inspire and enable children in Collier County, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to reach their full potential. NCEF funding supports the academic and youth development programming for over 800 at-risk children in Golden Gate and East Naples.

• Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation

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  $75,000

  Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation helps to build character and teach critical life lessons to at-risk youth living in America’s most distressed communities through sports-themed programs. NCEF funding supports multiple Ripken Foundation Direct Service Events for at-risk youth ages 9 to 14, in addition to providing Healthy Lifestyles programs to various Collier County youth organizations.

• Catholic Charities

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  $286,047

  Catholic Charities seeks to serve and empower ALL in need, regardless of race, nationality or creed. NCEF funding supports Catholic Charities’ bilingual youth counseling program for sexually abused, neglected and behaviorally impaired children.

• Champions For Learning

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  $150,000

  Champions For Learning, The Education Foundation of Collier County, makes it possible for our community to impact lives of children by enriching the environment for student learning. NCEF funding supports the Real-World Learning Model: College & Career Prep Program, which provides underserved students with a college and career readiness curriculum, helping students connect to their futures.

• Child's Path

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  $150,000

  Child’s Path supports the needs of Collier County’s children, families and early learning professionals by providing high-quality education, resources and childcare services. NCEF funding supports the ability to provide scholarships for low-income children, ages birth to five.

• Children’s Advocacy Center

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  $500,000

  Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) provides services to the most severely abused and traumatized children in the community. NCEF funding supports payment for medical and social evaluations, case management, trauma-focused therapy and counseling. CAC is the only entity able to provide medical diagnoses of child abuse, child forensic interviews and safe custody exchanges.

• Conservancy of Southwest Florida

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  $105,000

  Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s mission is to protect Southwest Florida’s unique natural environment and quality of life. NCEF funding supports the Conservancy’s Mobile STEM Learning Adventures Bus (STEM LAB) which is an innovative way to reach students typically under-served by high quality environmental education.

• Friends of Foster Children Forever

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  $377,000

  Friends of Foster Children Forever provides abused, neglected and abandoned children with the social, educational and financial support the state does not. NCEF funding supports educational and out-of-school time opportunities for children in foster care, enabling thousands of foster children to discover hidden talents, boost their self-esteem, sustain good academic grades and most importantly, begin to realize their individual potential. Funding is also supporting a liaison to assist caregivers in navigating the available resources and programs offered.

• Fun Time Early Childhood Academy

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  $140,000

  Fun Time Early Childhood Academy provides safe, quality, affordable education and care for children of low-income working families in the River Park area. NCEF funding supports tuition assistance for 96 toddlers and preschoolers to receive quality child development services year-round.

• Gargiulo Education Center

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  $80,000

  Gargiulo Education Center supports the academic and social development of migrant children in North Naples through a free, safe and structured after-school program. NCEF funding supports scholarships for 70 children in need of after-school and summer programming.

• Grace Place for Children and Families

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  $360,000

  Grace Place for Children and Families strives to break the cycle of poverty by ensuring students graduate from high school, seek continued higher education and enter the workforce as hard-working, prepared professionals. NCEF funding supports a service learning and high school leadership program that will serve as a pathway to college for at-risk youth in the Golden Gate area, afterschool services for elementary school-aged children and the Bright Beginnings program to increase family literacy.

• Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida, Inc.

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  $40,000

  Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida, Inc. is a community-based organization that assists pregnant women and babies up to age 3 who are at-risk for poor birth or developmental outcomes. NCEF funding supports the Help Me Grow program expansion to Collier County promoting cross sector collaboration to build efficient and effective early childhood systems that mitigate the impacts of adversity and supports protective factors among families, so that children can grow, develop and thrive to their full potential.

• Leadership Collier Foundation

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  $50,000

  The Leadership Collier Foundation’s (LCF) goal is to grow its own workforce talent in Collier County by developing students’ soft skills and exposing them to work-related opportunities. LCF’s work-based learning initiative supports the development of emerging talent to become economically self-sufficient. NCEF funding supports the expansion of these youth development programs focusing on work-based learning experiences.

• Legal Aid Services of Collier County

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  $500,000

  Legal Aid provides high-quality, civil legal advice, representation and education at no cost to the residents in Collier County. NCEF funding supports the Legal Aid for Collier Kids Project to promote stability and well-being in the lives of children in the dependency system and those victimized by exposure to domestic violence, trauma and abuse. Free legal services are provided for at least 500 at-risk children annually.

• Literacy Volunteers of Collier County

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  $60,000

  Literacy Volunteers of Collier County enhances the lives of students, families and children by improving their English skills. NCEF funding supports the Children and Parents Reading Together (CPRT) program which supplements and reinforces what the child is learning in class, in addition to educating the parent by promoting parental engagement in their child’s education.

• MusicScores

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  $50,000

  MusicScores provides violin instruction for preschoolers to enhance literacy, self-regulation and focus, as well as social and motor skills. NCEF funding supports over 300 Head Start children to participate in this research-based and data-driven program.

• Naples Therapeutic Riding Center

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  $249,000

  Naples Therapeutic Riding Center improves the lives of children and adults with special needs through therapeutic riding and other equine-related programs. NCEF funding supports therapeutic horsemanship and riding lessons, occupational therapy with horses customized for children with a wide range of special needs and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. The benefits of therapeutic riding include marked improvement in physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.

• NCH Healthcare System

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  $85,440

  NCH Healthcare System is the largest non-governmental institution in Collier County. NCEF funding supports a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Professional hired to serve as a Mental Health Specialist Liaison (MHSL) to augment the existing NCH Pediatric Behavioral Health Department. This staff member provides a proactive approach to providing quality navigation and counseling towards mental health treatment.

• PACE Center for Girls

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  $59,000

  PACE Center for Girls’ mission is to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy. NCEF funding supports therapeutic counseling services, to provide early identification, expert diagnosis and effective individual treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders that will help prepare girls for academic and social-emotional success and their futures.

• Pan-Florida Challenge

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  $50,000

  Pan-Florida Challenge is a non-profit organization based in Naples, Florida on a mission to engage the community in cancer prevention by providing elementary school-aged children with nutritious Power Pack meals that set the foundation for a healthy lifestyle and lower a child’s odds of developing cancer later in life. NCEF funding supports the Power Packs meals containing 13 kid-friendly, nutritious, shelf-stable meals that meet or exceed USDA recommendations for protein, calories and carbohydrates for elementary-aged children. To ensure children who are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program receive stable nutrition outside of school hours, Power Packs are provided for the weekend and over summer break.

• Safe & Healthy Children's Coalition

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  $50,000

  Safe & Healthy Children’s Coalition of Collier County focuses on saving children’s lives through injury prevention and health promotion. NCEF funding supports the drowning prevention/water safety program Swim Central. This program provides layers of protection through water safety education for at-risk and underserved families and water safety lessons for 1,300 children.

• Special Olympics

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  $75,000

  Special Olympics helps people with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected members of society by offering a fair opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through a structured athletic program. NCEF funding supports the Young Athletes Program and Unified Champion Schools. The funding also supports the establishment of a Camp Shriver in Collier County.

• St. Matthew's House

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  $75,000

  St. Matthew’s House exists to change the lives of vulnerable and hurting individuals and families. NCEF funding supports the Essential Child Services Program, which serves many of the most vulnerable children and families in Collier County. It ensures the personal well-being, physical health and educational success of at-risk children in crisis situations. Funding will be used for childcare, urgent necessities such as medical and mental health care, tutoring and school-related expenses and more.

• STARability Foundation

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  $30,000

  STARability Foundation provides social, vocational and educational connections to the community for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities while strengthening awareness and respect for individual abilities. NCEF funding supports STARability’s Junior Trailblazer Academy, which is an after-school and summer program providing high school students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities with continuing education, vocational and life skills training and life-enriching experiences.

• Taste the Impact

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  $70,000

  Taste the Impact provides high school students in Immokalee and Naples, Florida with real-world business experience and foundational soft skills needed to make them career ready. NCEF funding supports Taste of Immokalee, a student-run, real-world entrepreneurship program where students learn, through “hands-on” experience, how to run a successful business.

• The Shelter for Abused Women & Children

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  $150,000

  The Shelter for Abused Women & Children provides safety, intervention, education and support to victims and survivors of domestic violence. NCEF funding supports onsite counseling and advocacy programs for children who have been exposed to domestic violence and abuse, as well as the Primary Prevention program, which creates a learning environment that inspires children and youth to create peaceful and nonviolent relationships.

• United Arts Council of Collier County

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  $40,000

  United Arts Council enriches the lives and strengthens the community through the power of the arts. NCEF funding supports 1,100 children to participate in academic and enrichment services during after-school hours.

• Valerie's House

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  $125,000 

  Valerie’s House is devoted to providing children and their families, who have experienced the death of a loved one, a safe place to share and experience support with others who are also grieving, while moving through the healing process. NCEF funding supports art, music and group therapy to help youth identify, express and process grief and to become mentally stable, healthy and successful in school and life.

• YMCA of South Collier

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  $375,000

  The YMCA of South Collier has established out-of-school programs that build a strong mind, body and spirit for children in the community. NCEF funding supports over 600 children in the Everglades City, Manatee and East Naples areas with after-school and summer programs.

• Youth Haven

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  $300,000

  Youth Haven’s mission is to protect and empower children and to strengthen families in Southwest Florida through comprehensive care and community collaboration. NCEF funding supports the Homeless Teen Transitional Living Program (HTTLP) which provides safe, reliable and life-changing resources for vulnerable youth.