Youths to feel grants' impact

Women's group chooses three $113,335 winners

Chrissy Cresswell
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
 

Kids were the big winners Thursday night.

Middle-schoolers in the two-county area will get hundreds of much-needed instruments; a covered arena will be built for disabled children and at-risk teens who participate in horse therapy; and Century's youth will receive the tools needed to increase literacy and raise FCAT scores.

The gifts came in the form of cold, hard cash, courtesy of IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area's members.

The women's philanthropy group voted to grant Bravo for Kids Inc., Leaning Post Ranch and Friends of the Pensacola Public Library $113,335 each Thursday night. They were among five finalists for the grants. The grants were announced at The Lewis Bear Co. in Pensacola.

"They made the list harder to choose from this year," IMPACT 100 member Donna Ward said. "I guess I have a heart for children, though. That's what really swayed my decision."

IMPACT 100 comprises 340 women who each donated $1,000. That allowed the organization to distribute three grants of $113,335. Five focus committees -- culture, education, environment, family, and health and wellness -- evaluated applications from more then 50 area nonprofit organizations and made site visits to learn more about the nonprofits before selecting the top contenders.

Bill Dollarhide, president of the board for Bravo for Kids, said he wouldn't make it home before spreading the good news.  "I am calling (the Escambia and Santa Rosa music coordinators) on the ride home," he said. "I am going to let them know their instruments are coming." 

Newman Gersin, executive director of Panhandle Youth Assistance, the program responsible for the Leaning Post Ranch, said the money means no more rain days at the ranch.
"We are just thrilled," he said. "It's nice to know that people see the value in what we are doing."

Bette Hooton, president of Friends of the Pensacola Public Library, said she can't wait to see children hitting the books.  "All these little communities in the north end of Escambia County are going to prosper," she said. "You will see a big change in literacy and FCAT exams. Just wait."

Debbie Ritchie, president and founder of IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, said this year's vote was the closest ever.  "I knew coming in that it would be really close," Ritchie said. "That just shows us that we had five amazing candidates."

Next year, the group hopes to increase its membership to 500, allowing the group to give grants to all five finalists.

Architect Rany Draughan, left, and ESA South Inc.'s Steve Doddst discuss the progress of the Century Library currently being built in the old Century Police Station. The two men are standing in what will become the Children's Reading Room at the facility.
Tony Giberson

Bellview Middle School sixth-grader Taylor Mroz practices his trombone. The middle school has received thousands of dollars worth of instruments for the kids to use through Bravo for Kids Inc.
Tony Giberson

These women know the IMPACT of unity

Group of female philanthropists grows to 340

Amy Sowder
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
 

2005 winners were:

Manna Food Pantries and ARC Gateway each won a $125,000 grant in 2005.
Manna provided 1 million pounds of nonperishable food to poor people from its seven pantries in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.  Now, the goal is to get fresh and nutritious food.
The sustainable neighborhood gardens -- which feed the hungry, educate area students and revitalize neighborhoods -- are under way. Manna has yet to purchase a greenhouse. It will fuel the certified organic farm that is coming to the 1½ acres f land acquired Thursday at Azalea Trace near University of West Florida.

The organic farm's produce will be sold to sustain the neighborhood garden program, said Manna's executive director, Tim Evans.  "If we can put a garden in a low-income neighborhood where they can grow their own food, they might never need to come to Manna for food," Evans said. "Something is better than nothing, but fresh is better."  Under the beating sun, neighborhood gardener Miley agreed, saying his children will learn where food comes from.
"When I asked my daughter where the chocolate milk she was drinking came from, she said, 'The refrigerator,' " he said with a sheepish grin.

ARC Gateway has spent all its grant money.
The nonprofit group for disabled people proposed a project to support Pollak Industries, a manufacturer that employs about 100 disabled people, giving them personal income and boosting their self-esteem.
The money bought a forklift, a rip saw, a rebar cutter, two generators and a horticulture truck.  In less than a year, sales in the wood-cutting department increased by $20,820, the concrete department by $2,916 and the horticulture department by $24,822.  "To have a group of women say 'We like what you're doing. Here's $125,000 to do it better,' was the boost we needed," Executive Director Donna Fassett said.
Employees were proud of their new equipment.  Calling the machine "beautiful," Doris Mares fed the $40,000 rip saw cedar planks to make survey stakes. When the sawdust settled, Mares pulled out her earplugs, ripped off her goggles and high-fived her co-worker.  "Without the machine, we could not get business, and customers couldn't buy our stakes and stuff," Mares said. 

Increased awareness

IMPACT's success could be because many members make site visits to the organizations that apply for grants, not just to the finalists, Ritchie said.  "To us, that really lets us know how the organization impacts the community," she said. "Maybe that excites the members."  That excitement is contagious.  Even organizations that don't receive grants can benefit because the site visits inspire women to volunteer or to give to organizations on their own. Each group submits a wish list during the process. 

Last year, Friends of the Pensacola Public Library Inc., an all-volunteer organization working to establish a permanent library in Century, lost its bid for an IMPACT grant. Still, literacy group officials became interested in the project, and a new library in Century will open early next year, funded by sales tax revenue.  "Maybe not being a winner was a blessing in disguise," said Bette Hooton, Friends president. "Now, not only will there be a Century library, it will be a literacy center for the north end of Escambia County."  The exposure often increases awareness of the community's needs, women say.

IMPACT member Carol Law was startled by the steep cost of musical instruments after reviewing Bravo for Kids' grant proposal to get instruments for middle school students.
"I was floored," she said. "You think that a baby grand piano costs thousands of dollars, but a flute or a piccolo can cost that much."  To demonstrate the point, Jean Norman, president of United Way of Escambia County, cited the saying: "A rising tide floats all boats."  "When a person sits on one of these committees, she truly learns about the needs, not just of the nonprofit she visited, but of all the applicants. Clearly, it's a big boost."
IMPACT members said they want the group to grow to 500 women so that every finalist is a winner.  "With 500 members, every area in this community could get $100,000. Can you imagine?" asked Hooton of the library group.
She shook her head. "What the women of this town could do."