Local Impact

2008 Grant Recipients

Pensacola Little Theatre

PLT will use the IMPACT 100 grant to purchase a truck and a Multicultural Portable Stage that can be transported and set up anywhere in the community. The truck and stage will allow PLT to schedule workshops and performances for community centers, nursing homes, foster homes and other public places. Each workshop will teach all aspects of theatre and will include theatre games that will build self confidence, trust and communication skills. The workshops will focus on a particular issue within the community that must be addressed. This project is expected to impact the entire community of approximately 430,000 individuals, with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the Escambia and Santa Rosa County areas.

PACE Center for Girls

POWER UP PACE is a project designed to add 25 new laptop computers, 7 smart boards and curriculum based software to the center. PACE is lacking this basic equipment to assist their girls with their education, and with the learning of basic computer skills. The equipment will be used daily, and will also be incorporated into the after school program for transitioned students from 2-6 PM daily. This upgrade will bring PACE up to the same technological standards as the majority of public schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Since students work independently, with individualized teacher support, the project’s computer assisted instruction will provide individualized tutorials, in academic subjects as well as allowing the girls to learn Word, Excel and PowerPoint. These skills are vital for all students today to become successful in school and in the workplace.

ARC Gateway, Inc.

The Going Green in Every Way Project will purchase the necessary equipment to expand the existing recycling services of ARC to include document storage and shredding services for our business community. An appropriate storage facility will be rented to provide a safe, clean and climate controlled environment for safe, confidential documents which can be faxed, copied or emailed to the customer. Through an expanded collaboration of their existing relationship with Gulf States Recycling, a storage truck will be provided to transport the shredded documents to their recycling facility where they will be weighed and purchased. The project will create an on-going income opportunity for ARC programs, decreasing the dependency on state and community funding, while providing meaningful work for those they serve.

Manna Food Bank, Inc. (MANNA)

Over its 25 years of operation, MANNA has expanded its reach into the rural corners of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. MANNA has established a network of pantries, and more recently of gardens as well, that provide food to many area residents in need. The vehicles and equipment used to receive, handle, store and redistribute these commodities are essential to MANNA's daily operations and are key components of operational efficiency and organizational stewardship.

MANNA Needs a New Set of Wheels is a grant proposal to secure new vehicles and industrial equipment to restore the effectiveness and efficiency of MANNA’s program operations. MANNA is requesting funding to purchase: (1) a step van to take the place of a “soon-to-be-retired” 15 year old cargo van; (2) two commercial indoor three stage forklifts for use in the main warehouse; and, (3) a pick-up truck for service in the MANNA Family Farms project.

Appetite for Life

The funds from the IMPACT grant will be used to purchase equipment with the dual purpose of continuing and expanding meal delivery services and to generate earned income from catering operations in order to reduce future dependence on grants and other private sources for funding Appetite for Life’s core charitable mission programs. There are an estimated 3,000 persons in the Escambia/ Santa Rosa area with HIV/AIDS, many of them elderly. Appetite for Life would be able to serve a larger percentage of this most medically and financially needy population. They would be able to establish satellite food pantries. By increasing the capability of their catering services, they would be able to increase their income by 400%, and thus cover a majority of the organization’s annual operational budget.

2007 Grant Recipients

Clean & Green: The grant is being used to purchase a bobcat, dump-trailer and a truck to pull the dump-trailer and bobcat so that they can (1) clean hurricane debris, (2) remove damaged trees and limbs, (3) rake, mow and remove overgrown vegetation, (4) remove damaged outbuildings, (5) remove damaged fences or make minor repairs, and (6) haul all debris to the landfill. The equipment will be used to remove remaining debris for elderly homeowners, and others, who lack the resources to remove the debris.
Northwest Florida Blood Center: During 2006, Northwest Florida Blood Center furnished approximately 57,250 units of blood and blood components to area hospitals. Approximately 60% of all blood donations come from bloodmobile drives. The grant is being used to purchase a new bloodmobile that will be used throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties for approximately 15 years to collect blood. It will replace a 16 year old bloodmobile with numerous problems that has become unreliable.
Northwest Florida Comprehensive Services for Children, Inc. aka Families Count: This organization recently refurbished a building at 5139; Elmira Street in Milton, Florida, known as the Family Place on the Square. The grant will allow them to renovate an additional 2,500 square feet, or the back half of the 5,600 square foot building, to create a state-of-the-art youth outreach and development center, which for the first time, will allow them to address risk youth development.
Pensacola Promise, Inc.: The funds from the IMPACT grant are being used to implement the Chain Reaction TeenLINK communication system so membership can increase to 2,800 teens with the capacity to serve over 15,000 members. The system will connect the teens to 870 non-profit opportunities for service and launch 20 youth led projects, thus enabling the teen volunteers to increase their volunteer hours in the community.

2006 Recipients

Bravo for Kids: Bravo for Kids is a non-profit organization that provides musical instruments to middle schools located in Escambia and Santa Rosa County. The organization is able to order its musical instruments wholesale, and worked closely with the respective school districts to order the instruments required by the schools. As a result of the IMPACT grant, the organization purchased musical instruments for every middle school in Escambia and Santa Rosa County.
Century Library: The Friends of the Library received the IMPACT grant to furnish the children’s room at the Century Library, which opened during 2007. With the poverty and needs of northern Escambia County, the children’s room has been a great success and is appreciated by the residents of Century.
Leaning Post Ranch: The Panhandle Youth Association operates the Leaning Post Ranch, which provides equine therapy to developmentally disabled children, with the help of teenage "at risk" children. The grant was used to construct a cover for the horse arena, to shade and protect the children from the weather, which will allow them to provide more therapy to those in need.

2005 Recipients

ARC Gateway: ARC Gateway serves developmentally disabled children and adults. It received a grant to purchase generators for 2 of their group homes, to purchase equipment which is being used at Pollak Industries, and to buy a van to be used by the horticultural department. These 2 departments have realized a gain in sales of almost $50,000 already. The clients who work in these businesses have received salary increases of 5% of their salaries which are tied to production and production is up!
Manna Food Bank: Manna Food Bank received a grant to start a community garden, an organic garden and to construct a green house. The community gardens and the organic garden have been started and the greenhouse has recently been completed. The gardens are making an impact in the community.

2004 Recipients

Good Samaritan Clinic: Good Samaritan Clinic received a grant to facilitate the opening of a medical clinic for the working poor in Santa Rosa County. With support from the local hospitals that are seeing a decrease in cases in their respective emergency rooms, the clinic has been very successful, and has been able to attract volunteers and support to continue funding the clinic.
Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity received a grant to start The Habitat Homestore, which is a store to sell surplus goods and used goods that are donated to the organization. The store opened during January 2006, and during 2006 it made enough profit to build 4 Habitat houses! They have received materials that they have been able to use in building habitat homes and they have also received furniture and office supplies that they use in the habitat office.