2022 GULF BREEZE WILL DO GRANT WINNERS
CPR ADULT AND INFANT MANIKINS – Gulf Breeze Middle School – $1,872.95
• Gulf Breeze Middle School teaches CPR to 6th graders during Health class and to adult staff throughou1 the year. We are looking to add updated CPR manikins to better enhance the knowledge being presented. Many of our current manikins are broken and not up to date with current protocols. Not only are we planning on adding updated adult manikins, but infant ones as well. Both groups of manikins have compression rate monitors that give instant feedback. The set comes with AED practice trainers and a storing case.
FOUNTAINS FOR THE FUTURE – Ocean Hour Inc. – $7,235.00
• Ocean Hour is a local all-volunteer non-profit organization that has been working at marine debris cleanups in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties for almost ten years. To date for 2022, Ocean Hour volunteers have removed over 30,000 pounds of trash and debris – and we only clean up on Saturday mornings for an hour. Ocean Hour’s grant application is for three outdoor drinking fountains/bottle fill stations, locations expected to be at the Gulf Breeze Parks and Recreation tennis courts, the Gulf Breeze Parks and Recreation baseball fields and the Shoreline Park Pavilion. Single use plastics such as water bottles are one of the top ten items we find at our cleanups. Installing water fountains with bottle fillers will greatly reduce the amount of plastic bottle trash in Gulf Breeze. The water drinking fountains with bottle filler will encourage residents to bring their own containers that can be refilled conveniently. This will be a terrific asset to these facilities and for the multitudes of people at these locations. Prevention is Ocean Hour’s major focus, and this project is a big step towards this goal.
REBUILDING THE COMMUNITY GARDEN – Gulf Breeze Community Garden – $3,049.31
• The mission of the Gulf Breeze Community Garden is to cultivate the enjoyment and benefits of organic gardening. We are a project of the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber Foundation, a registered non-profit organization (501 c-3). Since our founding in 2011 we have brought together individuals of diverse backgrounds and experiences. In September 2020 the Garden was uprooted when the property we occupied was sold. Searching for a new site was hampered by Covid-19 and the Bay Bridge closure. In June 2021, we were given space at the First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze. Our project now is to rebuild and maintain the Garden. Costs to rebuild have depleted our operational funds. With local high school student volunteers and our remaining members, we have constructed 4 plots. We are working on 2 more plots for a total of l 8 beds. We hosted a Girl Scout Gold project – a spiral herb bed. We are committed to maintain this project. Additional funds will enable us to sponsor beds for area service clubs and host educational programs for individuals who wish to learn about organic gardening. Some beds will be available to grow vegetables to donate to local food pantries.
SHADE THE BABES – HELP SHADE THE STUDENTS OF PENSACOLA BEACH ELEMENTARY – Pensacola Beach Elementary School – $10,000.00
• In 2014, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer, sounding the alarm that skin cancer is a major public health concern. Additionally, the Skin Cancer Foundation reports that five or more sunburns before age 20 may increase melanoma risk by 80 percent. Finally, the CDC reports that it only takes 15 minutes to sustain a sunburn. Pensacola Beach Elementary School is a charter school located one block from Pensacola Beach and serves children from the beach and Gulf Breeze areas. Unfortunately, the students’ outside space is almost completely exposed to the elements and does not have any shade structures (apart from one small gazebo) in place to give students relief from the sun. We are a small charter school and do not have a gymnasium or cafeteria. All physical education, recess, and lunches take place outside as we do not have an alternate space for these activities when it is too hot or too sunny to be outdoors. Given that we want to provide a sun-safe space for our children, we are asking for $10,000 to install shade structures outside to give our students protection from the sun.
TAKE STOCK IN CHILDREN – Santa Rosa Education Foundation – $8,318.72
• Take Stock in Children (TSIC} is a state-wide organization founded in 1995 in response to the need for a program that provides more than financial assistance to our economically disadvantaged, college bound students. We operate locally under the Santa Rosa Education Foundation and offer a unique opportunity for low-income, at-risk students to escape the cycle of poverty through education. Students selected from across the county, to include Gulf Breeze, receive a caring volunteer mentor, student advocacy, one-on-one college and career readiness, as well as a college scholarship. Our comprehensive program provides incentives and resources to help underserved students stay in school, earn a high school diploma, graduate from college and enter the workforce. Services start in grades 7-9, continue through high school, and include post-secondary retention and completion services. The 115 students currently in our program signed performance contracts agreeing to earn good grades, exhibit positive behavior, and remain drug and crime free. If all program requirements are met, students receive 4 years of college tuition. 100% of funds raised within Santa Rosa County are equally matched with state funds to purchase a 4-year Florida Prepaid College Savings Plan to sponsor a child for participation in our program.
UPCYCLING THE RECYCLED – South Santa Rosa Interfaith Ministries – $10,000.00
• For 22 years Interfaith Ministries (IM) has attempted to meet the needs of the marginalized citizens of our community. Interfaith Ministries and Good Samaritan Clinic meets a wide variety of emergency needs including: housing, utilities, free medical and dental care, free medications and many other emergent needs. The constant source of revenue to meet these needs comes from Thrift Shop sales. In an effort to increase income, the shop manager began a project (staffed by volunteers) or refinishing out-of-date furniture. The refinishing is done in a retail section of the Thrift Shop. To free up retail space inside the shop and provide added safety for customers and volunteers, the project needs to be moved out of the retail space. IM requests GBWD assistance with enclosing a portion of the existing loading dock. The construction requires: removing and replacing a wall; framing and installing double doors; installing a window; insulating a wall, hanging and finishing sheetrock; installing an A/C unit, ceiling fan, work sink, and lights; laying a new floor. Estimated cost of project is $11,050.00. Expenses over and above the total grant received from GBWD will be paid by IM.
Members, thank you again for supporting Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach.
Our communities have been able to do so much more because of your membership.