SARASOTA – The Florida Center for Early Childhood recently received a $10,000 grant from the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation for outdoor learning and safety equipment that will help approximately 300 children with special needs reach their full potential. The grant will allow a new privacy fence to be installed at The Florida Center’s Starfish Academy in Sarasota, making the playground more safe and secure. Additionally, new climbing equipment will be purchased so children with developmental delays and special needs can improve muscle strength, flexibility and coordination at both Starfish Academy campuses in Sarasota and North Port. The funding will help complete an outdoor classroom project that began more than a year ago. Previous grants from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation and the Junior League of Sarasota allowed The Florida Center to add other specialized equipment in addition to artificial ground surfacing for durability. “We are so thrilled that the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation and our other community partners share our passion for helping children through outdoor play,” said Dr. Kristie Skoglund, CEO of The Florida Center. “Being outside promotes mental health, enhances body awareness, improves motor skills and balance and helps students expand their social skills.” |
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. The Florida Center provides developmental therapies, mental health counseling, Starfish Academy preschool, the Healthy Families home-visiting program, and the state’s only Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders clinic. For more information, visit www.thefloridacenter.org or call 941-371-8820. |