<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Gj9Xt_1Gv574QC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Gj9Xt_1Gv574QC00" width="1200" height="675" ><figcaption>Becca Morris, CEO of Patty Baker Humane Society Naples, accepts the $250,000 Provol Award from the Collier Community Foundation. The award will help launch Home Together, a two-year pilot program expected to help 450 to 600 low-income seniors and their pets remain safely together at home. Irene Perez</figcaption></figure>A new program at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples will help make it possible for hundreds of low-income seniors to keep their pets at home, thanks to a surprise $250,000 grant from Collier Community Foundation.At a Nov. 6 luncheon at Arthrex One, the foundation honored outstanding generosity, leadership and community collaboration at its 2026 Celebration of Philanthropy, culminating in the announcement of Patty Baker Humane Society Naples as the recipient of the second annual $250,000 Provol Award Grant.The award will help launch Home Together at the humane society, a two-year pilot program expected to help 450 to 600 low-income seniors and their pets remain safely together at home. Through coordinated veterinary care, pet food assistance, transportation, in-home pet care and emergency support, the program aims to reduce isolation, support senior independence and prevent avoidable pet surrenders, the foundation said.An undisclosed number of nonprofits applied for the award, with the recipient announced at the event.Eileen Connolly-Keesler, president and CEO of Collier Community Foundation, congratulated Patty Baker Humane Society Naples and others honored at the event.“Last year’s 40th anniversary celebration supported vital nonprofit programs and services through surprise grants,” Connolly-Keesler said. “This year, we celebrate outstanding community contributions and carry Jeffrey Provol’s generosity forward with Home Together, helping seniors and their beloved pets stay together.”In a video submitted with the nonprofit’s application for the award, humane society CEO Becca Morris said the Home Together program isn’t just about pets: it’s about people. She noted that nearly a third of seniors in Collier County are living at income levels below what it takes to cover the basics.“For many of these seniors who live alone on a fixed income with their pet, it’s their whole world,” Morris said. “It’s a reason to get up and work and it’s what greets them happily when they come home. But when age or illness makes it hard to walk the dog or get to the vet or pay for the food, people start facing a choice no one should have to make: I have to give up my companion, my family.“With Home Together, we can send volunteers to walk that dog, drop off food or medicine, provide subsidized medical care, and even bring that pet to our clinic. But most importantly, we can help a senior keep her family together, all while helping with that loneliness and the severe shelter overpopulation problem here in Southwest Florida.”Connolly-Keesler said the Provol Award was established following the late Jeffrey Provol’s unexpected $18 million legacy gift to the foundation, with the annual grant recognizing outstanding nonprofit work and supporting community needs. The Naples Players received the inaugural $250,000 award in 2025.In addition to announcing the Provol Award, Connolly-Keesler unveiled the foundation’s annual community report at the luncheon, highlighting how it has grown from $300,000 at its founding in 1985 to more than $438 million in charitable assets at the end of this fiscal year.“We now oversee more than 940 funds, including donor advised, designated, agency, supporting organizations, field of interest, and scholarship funds,” she told the audience of about 300 guests. “Together, with donors, partners and nonprofits, we’ve helped strengthen Collier County for several decades. This past year alone, we granted over $31 million to 814 grantees.“And over our 41 years, we have granted more than $433 million out the door. Our commitment to addressing our community’s most pressing challenges remains strong as ever.”<h2>Community awards announced</h2>The foundation also recognized several individuals, nonprofits and companies with annual nonmonetary awards.Naples philanthropist Joanne Wyss received the Robert C. Cosgrove Award, which recognizes individuals who represent devotion to human values, families and the community’s well-being. Wyss was honored for her philanthropy and leadership supporting literacy, healthcare, education and the arts.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=29iG9n_1Gv574QC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=29iG9n_1Gv574QC00" width="1200" height="675" ><figcaption>Naples philanthropist Joanne Wyss accepts the Robert C. Cosgrove Award from Eileen Connolly-Keesler at the Collier Community Foundation Celebration of Philanthropy. A $5 million gift from Wyss and her late husband, Karl, helped fund the Foundation's new headquarters, the Wyss Center, on Vanderbilt Beach Road in Naples. Irene Perez</figcaption></figure>As the founder of Books for Collier Kids, Wyss and her late husband, Karl, helped put more than 2.2 million brand-new books into the hands of Collier students since 2005. Wyss also served as a founding board member and the first female president of Greater Naples Leadership. She and Karl also supported cardiac care, education and the performing arts.Connolly-Keesler said Wyss also helped make possible the foundation’s new home, the Wyss Center on Vanderbilt Beach Road, with a $5 million gift.In accepting the award, Wyss said that she and Karl found unexpected ways to become involved when they retired to Collier County.“When my late husband and I first came to Naples over 30 years ago, we found great people who became great friends and we found a beautiful life in a beautiful place,” Wyss said. “What we didn’t expect was that we would also find so many opportunities to give back that would bring us a new and very rewarding sense of purpose in our lives. So, I am deeply honored to receive this wonderful award from a community that has come to mean so much to me.”Gulfshore Playhouse was honored with the Harvey Kapnick Award for “exemplifying program excellence” with its professional theater, arts education and learning opportunities that reach students and audiences throughout the community.FineMark Bank &amp; Trust received the award for Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy for building a culture of community service that “combines employee volunteerism, nonprofit partnerships and the thoughtful use of its resources to support local needs.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=257B58_1Gv574QC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=257B58_1Gv574QC00" width="1200" height="675" ><figcaption>Eileen Connolly Keesler, president and CEO of the Collier Community Foundation, delivers highlights from the organization's annual report at its annual Celebration of Philanthropy luncheon on Nov. 6. The Foundation reported more than $438 million in charitable assets at the end of this fiscal year. Irene Perez</figcaption></figure>Imagine Solutions received Excellence in Civic Leadership honors for “connecting the community with leading thinkers and expanding access to learning through its conference, seminars and scholarships for students, teachers and nurses.”Rural Neighborhoods, Moorings Park Foundation, Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation and Collier County Government received the Community Collaboration award for working with the foundation to build The Renaissance, a 252-unit income-restricted apartment community for essential workers on a portion of the former Golden Gate Golf Course. The foundation served as a catalyst and committed $2.5 million, joining Moorings Park Foundation’s $2.5 million contribution to meet the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation’s $5 million challenge match.The event also paid tribute to former foundation board chair and board emeriti chair Tom McCann, remembering his “leadership, warmth and lasting commitment to Collier County.”</div></body>

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A new program at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples will help make it possible for hundreds of low-income seniors to keep their pets at home, thanks to a surprise $250,000 grant from Collier Community Foundation. At a Nov. 6 luncheon at Arthrex One, the foundation honored outstanding generosity, leadership and...

$250K grant helps Collier seniors keep pets at home

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A new program at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples will help make it possible for hundreds of low-income seniors to keep their pets at home, thanks to a su

$250K grant helps Collier seniors keep pets at home

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