LBK Kiwanis Club awards first 2014 grants

The Longboat Key Kiwanis Foundation announced its first grants for the 2014 season.

The first grant will go to the United Community Neighborhood Learning Center, better known as the 13th Avenue Dream Center, to support the Reading Recovery Program for at-risk children in kindergarten through third grade. Kiwanis member Wayne Swift is the sponsor for the application.

The Child Protection Center of Sarasota County will receive the second grant in support of its Child and Families Supervised Visitation Program. Kiwanis member Bob Gault is the sponsor of the application.

A third grant will go to the Dance: The Next Generation project of the Sarasota Ballet. Funds will support a summer nutrition program for this project that serves at-risk children and encourages their continued study beyond the school year. Kiwanian Bob Kromer is the sponsor of the application.

Additional grants will be announced in the coming weeks. This year, the Kiwanis Club will offer approximately a dozen organizations grants of $500 to $5,000 based on their service to children in need. Organizations must be located in Sarasota or Manatee county and have a Kiwanis member as a sponsor. Organizations are invited to attend Kiwanis breakfast meetings at 7:45 a.m. Thursdays the Longboat Key Club’s Tavern & Whiskey Bar or to contact the club’s president Richard Crawford at 388-2847.

For more information about program rules and application requirements, write to Grant Committee, LBK Kiwanis, P.O. Box 8097, Longboat Key, Fla. 34228 or talk to a local Kiwanis member.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].