Shadow Wood residents (left to right) Phyllis Bird, Gary Rounding, Michael Paquette and Karen Paquette
The Shadow Wood Charitable Foundation has issued emergency relief grants to 10 local nonprofits, thanks to proceeds from the Rockin’ on the Range concert held November 7 at Shadow Wood Country Club. It was attended by over 800 people.
With entertainment provided by the Mega Motown Revue, the benefit included a live auction, corporate sponsorship support, and private donations.
“The $109,500 we raised went directly to help charities dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian,” said SWCF President Steve Zentz.
“Right after Ian we reached out to our charity partners, asking about their specific needs for recovery,” Zentz said. “They ranged from replacing supplies, to transportation for kids, and additional food. Some had clients with urgent needs for food and living supplies.”
“Fortunately, most Shadow Wood residents had minimal storm damages, so we immediately started working on helping our charity partners,” Zentz said. “Many of our community residents were up North when Ian struck, and they also wanted to help.”
More than 800 Shadow Wood and Shadow Wood Preserve community members, residents and guests gather at the Shadow Wood Country Club golf range to listen to the Mega Motown Revue.
The Foundation put a wish list on Amazon and responses were swift and generous. “Soon we had two large Amazon Prime vans arriving at our clubhouse full of supplies,” Zentz said. “Our volunteers got busy sorting, packing, and delivering them where needed.”
One of the SWCF emergency relief grant recipients, Valerie’s House, serves children who are grieving the losses of loved ones. It was founded in 2016 by CEO Angela Melvin, who was 10 years old when her mother, Valerie Melvin, died in a car accident.
Amy Strom is Vice President of Partnerships and Operations for Valerie’s House, which provides peer support groups, individual counseling, mentoring programs and more.
“It started with one group of 20 children in Lee County, and we now have services in Collier and Charlotte counties, and Pensacola,” Strom said. So far, the nonprofit has served over 3,500 children and their caregivers.
Shadow Wood residents (left to right) Bob Palmer, Greg Schnagl, Molly Schnagl and Martha Palmer at the Mega Motown Revue
“With a catastrophic event like Hurricane Ian, everyone struggles, but grief compounds the challenges. Most of the families we serve are led by single mothers,” Strom said. “Many lost their homes, cars, and pets. Even more have lost their jobs indefinitely.”
“We are using the funds from Shadow Wood to provide temporary housing, repairs to homes, financial assistance to those who lost their jobs, and support to those grieving the death of someone they love, or the loss of their home and school,” Strom said.
Hearts and Homes for Veterans also received emergency relief funds from SWCF. David Lake, vice president of operations at the nonprofit, said some local military veterans were displaced from their homes by Hurricane Ian.
“We’re doing what we can to help them sustain their livelihood, get past this hurdle and return to their normal lives,” he said.
“Many veterans have lost everything they own and have no means of replacing those items,” Lake said. “While we can’t provide everything they’ve lost, we try to replace essential items like food, hygiene and cleaning supplies, and limited furniture items.”
Hearts and Homes for Veterans serves residents of Desoto, Charlotte, Lee, Hendry, and Collier counties.
SWCF has 13 charity partners, with one or two board members monitoring the progress of each agency. “We have a lot of good connectivity with our charities,” Zentz said.
Ten SWCF partners received emergency relief grants. In addition to Valerie’s House and Hearts and Homes for Veterans, they include the Alliance for Period Supplies, Bonita Springs Assistance Office, Friends of the Salvation Army, Guardian Ad Litem, Habitat for Humanity, Literacy Council Gulf Coast, New Horizons of Southwest Florida, and St. Matthew’s House.
In October, SWCF held a volunteer fair with representatives from the charities and a few others needing volunteers. Community members came and learned about local opportunities for volunteering.
“We had a great success story at that event,” Zentz said. “The Lions Club Eye Clinic needed a volunteer bookkeeper and were delighted to find someone at the fair who was interested and matched their needs.”
In the fiscal year ending last March 31, SWCF donated $1.1 million to local charities. “The foundation hopes to raise another $1.3 million by March 31, 2023, to help our neighbors in need with housing, food, education and health and human services.,” Zentz said.