Gulf Breeze Will Do member drive, Council on Aging tiny house, Sunday’s Child grants, more
Gulf Breeze Will Do, a women’s philanthropic group, is recruiting new members to help expand its giving capabilities.
Ladies of the Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach communities are invited to attend a membership drive from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pedro’s Gulf Breeze, 3095 Gulf Breeze Parkway.
Gulf Breeze Will Do was born out of a group of Gulf Breeze women who formed an organization that could serve as a funding tool to help other nonprofit organizations and individuals make a difference in the Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach communities.
Grant funding is provided by collective annual membership dues, of which 100 percent is distributed back to the community. Every member has a vote on which organizations receive grant funding.
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The organization has awarded more than $382,000 to initiatives in the Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach communities since its inception in 2014.
Annual dues are $250 per person for women age 29 and older and $150 for women 18 to 28 years of age. Women may live in any zip code, but grants will be awarded only to groups in the 32561 (including Pensacola Beach) and 32563 zip codes.
Applications may be submitted online at gulfbreezewilldo.org.
Council on Aging to develop housing solutions for seniors
Council on Aging of West Florida was recently awarded an AARP Community Challenge grant for $50,000 to fund a tiny home development project. The project was one of 260 awards out of 3,200 applications for quick action livability projects that align with community age-friendly efforts.
This collaborative project will develop two 128-square-foot tiny home units. One will be rented to a Council on Aging client for no more than 30% of the senior’s annual income. The second will serve as a demonstration home that can be toured by community leaders and residents interested in pioneering affordable housing options.
The population of homeless seniors is growing, and there are projected to be 95,000 elders living in America without stable housing by 2050, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. This project is aimed at fostering conversations and creating solutions to the challenges of housing instability and homelessness among elders in the Pensacola community.
The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements in communities that jump-start long-term change.
Visit aarp.org/Livable for details.
Sunday’s Child announces winners of $120,000 in grants
Sunday's Child, a Pensacola-area nonprofit which promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality, awarded grants to four Pensacola Bay area charities at the organization’s eighth annual membership meeting.
The 174 members of Sunday’s Child funded and selected the projects and initiatives, which included Pensacola Mess Hall, Harvest Community Outreach, The Ella L Jordan African American Museum and Pensacola Humane Society.
Each of the four organizations will receive $30,000 to fund their projects.
Pensacola Mess Hall will use the funds for the “Bias Inside Us” project, which will allow them to bring in an exhibition which demystifies the concept of bias through hand-on interactives, testimonials and videos.
Harvest Community Outreach will now have sufficient dry and cold storage, which enables them to continue and expand efforts to feed anyone in need in the community without worrying about food spoilage.
The Ella L. Jordan African American Museum will be able to complete its renovation and open to the public after receiving grant funding.
Finally, The Pensacola Humane Society will purchase an X-ray machine so that injured pets that are brought into the shelter can be diagnosed and treated there.
Visit sundayschild.org for details.
Autism Pensacola Steps for Autism seeking volunteers
Steps for Autism is a community fundraiser for individuals, families and businesses to raise funding for the many programs and services of Autism Pensacola. Organizers are in need of volunteers to help make this day a successful one. Volunteers will receive one complimentary Steps for Autism T-shirt for their donated time.
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Steps for Autism will take place Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Pensacola State College track.
The volunteer job descriptions are event set up (assisting staff, sponsors and vendors with setting up the event), general (supporting staff and booths, greeting visitors at the entrance), kids’ zone (assisting with monitoring inflatables and the general area) and event clean up (assisting staff and sponsors with the cleaning up).
Visit autismpensacola.wufoo.com/forms/2022-steps-for-autism-volunteer-sign-up to register.
Take part: To make a Causes submission, email giving@pnj.com.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze Will Do member drive, Council on Aging tiny house and more
