- May 4, 2024
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Diane Bartoszek, the community outreach and health care coordinator for Foundation for Dreams, was humbled to receive a grant from the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch.
Without the support of local organizations and businesses, Bartoszek said Foundation for Dreams would not be able to provide year-round weekend and summer residential camps for children with varying abilities and chronic and/or terminal medical conditions.
Bartoszek said the grant from the rotary club will go toward expanding its sensory rooms, which give children an opportunity to reset.
Foundation for Dreams was one of 26 nonprofits and programs in Manatee and Sarasota counties to receive a grant from the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch.
The Rotary raised $130,000 to support the nonprofits through its annual Suncoast Food and Wine Fest.
Bob Grepling, the chair of the Rotar's grants committee, said in the 21 years the club has hosted the Suncoast Food and Wine Fest, the club has raised $1.2 million.
Bartoszek said half of the parents of the 110 children already registered for the nonprofit's summer camp already have informed Foundation for Dreams that having a sensory room would be beneficial to their child.
"Our biggest goal is for them to be able to adjust to camp activities, do things with other peers and be able to be more productive members of society," she said of the children.
Throughout the summer families receiving meals from Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee through its Food 4 Families program also will benefit from a Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch grant.
Maribeth Phillips, the CEO and president of Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, said the Food 4 Families program will provide 30 meals that contain enough food for a family of five every weekend throughout the summer.
She said the nonprofit is planning to distribute 22,000 meals per week for nine weeks. That totals close to 200,000 meals over the summer.
"This food for these families is life saving," Phillips said. "Kids should be enjoying their summer and not have to worry about not having anything to eat."
Other nonprofits to receive grants include funding laptops for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, sending children with the Children's Guardian Fund to summer camp, supporting the Easterseals Southwest Florida Easterseals Academy.
Ashley Nolan, the program coordinator for Tidewell's Blue Butterfly program, said the grant from the Rotary will allow the nonprofit to continue providing services at no cost to its clients.
The Blue Butterfly program provides children ages 5 to 18 and their caregivers a safe space to grieve and process after a significant death in their lives.
Nolan said when she tells people their services are free, hearing the sigh of relief from people who call saying they don't have insurance or the means to pay for services is amazing.
"It knocks down all the barriers that people have to get mental health services," said Megan Wenger, a senior philanthropy advisor for Tidewell. "It's incredible what (the Blue Butterfly program) does and the multiple ways they're serving children and families."
The grant funding also is supporting programs within the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, including the Books for Kids program and the Clean Water Projects.
Ted Lindenberg, the director of the Books for Kids program, said the grant will help expand the Books for Kids Kindergarten Program, which started in the 2022-2023 school year.
The program now provides one-on-one mentorship with 140 children in seven classes. Lindenberg wants to increase the program to 180 children in nine classes.
