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| SARASOTA CO. – The Florida Center for Early Childhood recently received $100,000 in grants to help children and families cope with adverse outcomes associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and other social conflicts. Life has changed drastically over the last few months, leaving many families who were already struggling to face new hardships. The upset in regular routines and uncertainty of what comes next causes stress that affects both adults and children. They need extra support to manage stressors and move forward. With one in six children between the ages of 2 and 8 years diagnosed with a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder, the need for therapeutic services to deal with some of these major changes is at an all-time high. The risks are even higher for those in low-income families, single parent households, and foster care. To help deal with these issues, the following foundations provided funding to help local families get the services they need: The McCune Family Foundation provided $75,000 for mental health, speech and language, and occupational therapies for young children and their families. This grant aligns with the one of the Foundation’s focus areas – serving troubled or at-risk youth. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County awarded a grant of $25,000, from the James Franklin & Dorothy J. Warnell Fund, Sheldon L. German Fund, and Mildred Schwartz Lentini Fund, to go toward mental health services for preschool students and their families. The Florida Center’s focus on social-emotional support integrated with therapy and early education can ensure children and families reach their full potential. About the Florida Center for Early Childhood:For more than 40 years, The Florida Center for Early Childhood has been the leading provider of therapeutic services, early education and healthy development for young children in southwest Florida, offering a seamless delivery of services for the whole child and their family. Today, the agency is nationally recognized for its early childhood expertise in a variety of specialties. For more information, call 941-371-8820 or visit www.thefloridacenter.org About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County: The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of over $417 million in more than 1,500 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling more than $274 million over our 40-year history in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000. |