BUSINESS

GOOD DEEDS: Students raise money for Hurricane Ian recovery fund

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Jennifer Johnston, left, and Michelle Stout, of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, make a thank-you package for students at Cork Elementary School for their philanthropy.

Cork Elementary School in Plant City gave a thoughtful donation to Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Hurricane Ian Recovery Initiative.

In the month of October, the students began a “Penny War,” raising $2,225 in just one school week to support disaster relief. The school’s contribution was combined with other donor gifts for a $10,000 grant award for students at State College of Florida, Venice campus.

The grant will cover the cost of 50 bus passes for Venice students whose vehicles were damaged in the hurricane or who were otherwise affected financially and are struggling with transportation to the campus.

Gulf Coast sent a package to Cork Elementary thanking students for their generosity. 

∎∎∎

The Hambrick Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports and gives back to special needs educators, recently made a donation to ReImagine Dance.

ReImagine Dance offers dance instruction to students with disabilities. Organizers Shannon Johnson and Melanie Simmons plan to use the funds provided to purchase materials for students and volunteers.

Funds will also go toward renewal of the organization’s website so it may continue to reach out to the community and offer services to more children and young adults.

∎∎∎

FPL volunteers participated in the utility’s annual Power to Care Week March 6-11.

Marking the initiative’s 15th year, hundreds of volunteers came together to help make the communities they serve even better places to live, work and raise families.

On March 10, a group of FPL volunteers had an all-hands-on deck project at the Englewood YMCA, which sustained property damage in Hurricane Ian. They spent the day restoring the exterior, landscaping the front entrance parking lot, refilling mulch and sowing new plants.