Graci and Dennis McGillicuddy break ground and Temple Emanu-El gives back

Take a look at what happened in Your Town this week.

By Anna Brugmann
| 12:47 p.m. November 15, 2017

Graci McGillicuddy celebrates the groundbreaking of the All Star Children's Foundation's upcoming campus.

Sarasota
Neighbors

Breaking Ground

Dennis and Graci McGillicuddy get the project off to a ceremonial start.

It might not have been a birthday party, but All Star Children’s Foundation’s groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday was the perfect celebration to commemorate Graci McGillicuddy’s birthday.

She, along with her husband, Dennis, broke ground on what will be a 5-acre campus including six family-style foster homes, a community center and recreational areas. The campus, at 3308 17th St., was created in partnership with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. It will provide a safe place for children who enter the foster system because of abuse or neglect.

Helping Hands

Temple Emanu-El opened the season of giving early on Nov. 14. Members of the temple’s Social Action Committee presented gifts to the pediatrics staff at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. It’s part of an ongoing partnership between Temple Emanu-El and SMH. “The gratitude of SMH and the appreciation of the young patients has led to this becoming a permanent and ongoing partnership between the synagogue and the hospital,” Rabbi Elaine Glickman said an email.