Donald Ephraim and Maxine Marks, on behalf of the Donald M. Ephraim Family Foundation, have made a $250,000 gift to the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County to support the nonprofit’s mission to grow the arts in the community.
The donation will pay for planning, advocacy and community relations, as well as a five-year capacity-building program that includes training for cultural organizations and their leaders.
“Don and Maxine are philanthropists who care about this community and its future,” said Nathan Slack, the council’s board chairman. In other council news, David Lawrence, who has spent nearly two decades at the Arts Council of Indianapolis, will become the new president and CEO in August.
Lawrence’s arts-management background includes working with the Indianapolis Opera, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and the Indiana Repertory Theatre. For the last nine years, he served as president and CEO of the Arts Council of Indianapolis.
“He brings a passion for arts and culture, a strong strategic perspective and an infectious enthusiasm for the role he will be taking on with the cultural council,” said Bill Parmelee, the council’s board vice chairman.
Boynton Beach CRA awards two more grants
The Community Caring Center of Greater Boynton Beach and Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County are the newest beneficiaries of a Boynton Beach CRA grant through the Nonprofit Organization Grant Program, or NOGP.
NOGP is a new initiative that allocates money to assist organizations with economic and business development and affordable housing. The Community Caring Center of Greater Boynton Beach was awarded $57,681 for its Secret Garden Café Culinary Incubator, which offers training in all aspects of the culinary arts. Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County was awarded $40,000 for The Door to Sustainability Project, which consists of the construction of four new homes, the repair and maintenance of six homes, a neighborhood cleanup project and educational workshops.
Earlier this year, an NOGP grant of $32,077 was awarded to Pathways to Prosperity’s Circles of Palm Beach County Program.
Palm Beach boat show donates $35,000
The Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation and Sheridan House Family Ministries were the recipients of $35,000 from the Palm Beach International Boat Show thanks to a charitable campaign with Bennett Auto Supply, Informa Exhibitions and the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County.
Attendees who purchased a $24 ticket at any local Bennett Auto Supply store received a second ticket free, with all proceeds divided between the two charities.
“Knowing that the Palm Beach International Boat Show is successful thanks to the support of our local community, it’s important to us that we serve as community stewards and do our part to make South Florida a better place,” said Mary Bender, vice president of marketing at Informa Exhibitions, the company that manages and produces the show.
Local travel professionals form new nonprofit
Palm Beach Travel, a Manalapan-based agency, along with partners British Virgin Island Tourism, Crystal Cruise Lines, Etihad, Lamborghini and The Moorings, have formed a nonprofit called TravelCares.
TravelCares presented its first donation of more than $30,000 to the British Virgin Islands Recovery Fund.
“Our goals for our inaugural event were to raise funds to support hurricane recovery, provide insight into the devastating impact of Hurricane Irma on the people and economy of the BVI, give updates from BVI Tourism and encourage attendees to contribute to recovery efforts through the event, through the official BVI Tourism Board donation site and through visiting hotels and resorts as they resume operations,” said Annie Davis, president of Palm Beach Travel.
Palm Beach Poetry Festival scores NEA grant
The National Endowment for the Arts has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the organization’s second major funding announcement for this year.
Included in the announcement was an Art Works grant of $10,000 to the Palm Beach Poetry Festival.
The grant will promote the writing, reading and performance of poetry at the 15th annual festival set for Jan. 21-26, 2019, in Delray Beach.
“Through the work of organizations such as Palm Beach Poetry Festival … NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are,” departing NEA Chairwoman Jane Chu said.
Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.
FAU starts fellowship
on student activism
Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters launched a program for high school students titled “The Barb Schmidt Fellowship: Cultivating Community Involvement, Activism and Social Change.”
Students will earn six college credits through weekend workshops during the 2018-19 school year. There also is a $1,000 stipend for students who successfully complete both semesters. The goal of the program is to provide future leaders with a platform to develop the skills and knowledge needed to initiate, execute and sustain a social movement.
“We have all been inspired by what youth leaders are doing to make our world a better place,” said Michael Horswell, dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “We want to support the work being done by facilitating students’ growth in community engagement and social-change efforts.”
Meals on Wheels
looking for volunteers
Help is needed at a local nonprofit that delivers meals to homebound seniors in Palm Beach County. Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches invites those who enjoy working in kitchens to spare some time portioning, plating and packaging food.
“Our clients depend on our kitchen volunteers to prepare their meals for delivery,” volunteer coordinator Stefanie Raifman said. “They are the first part of a process that ensures homebound seniors remain independent in their home and receive healthy noontime meals.”
Kitchen volunteers usually work one day a week, arriving in the West Palm Beach location at 8:30 a.m. The shift ends at 10:30 a.m. Volunteers are needed Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. The organization serves more than 200 in the area five days a week.
For more information, call Raifman at 802-6979, ext. 3.
Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.
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