Headline Surfer photo illustration / In the center:Peighton Stephens is shown with and Rex Hoffman, unit director of Rossmeyer Family/Holly Hill Boys & Girls Club. At left isMa’kylia Martin and at right is Jonothan Sisk
By SERA KING / Headline Surder
DELAND, Fla. -- Boys & Girls Clubs have navigated times of crisis to provide safe places for children and teens and have continued this critical response work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties is pleased to announce that Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), through the NextEra Energy Foundation, has provided a $12,000 check to the nonprofit.
“As a recipient of this grant from FPL, we have been able to provide life-saving and life-changing programs and services to 23 children this summer," said Joe Sullivan, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties. "Our eight Clubs located throughout Volusia and Flagler Counties provide safe places for our members to learn and grow, ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals, life-enhancing programs and character-building experiences, and most importantly, hope and opportunity."
Sullivan continued, “We are doing everything possible to keep our kids, staff and volunteers protected from the spread of COVID-19. This summer, we also have had a responsibility to increase support for our families as they now face additional challenges with remote learning, work disruptions, and potential illness and health concerns.”
In its latest phase of COVID-19 relief, FPL will be awarding a total of $250,000 summer engagement grants to Boys & Girls Clubs across its service area (19 counties) to support programming that helps ensure families, primarily in minority and disadvantaged communities who have been impacted by COVID, have access to meals and fresh groceries, resources to keep youth engaged and learning throughout the summer, and critical mental health and mentoring services.
FPL has a longstanding relationship with the Boys and Girls Club.
"Over the years, we’ve partnered to support various programming to serve over 180,000 underserved youth across the state,” said Bart Gaetjens, external affairs manager for Central Florida at FPL "As we continue to realize the overall impact of COVID-19 on our youth, clubs need support from the community now more than ever.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, NextEra Energy, Inc. and its family of companies have committed more than $4 million in emergency assistance to partner organizations working on the frontlines of the crisis to provide critical support to the most vulnerable members of our communities.
Funds distributed to date have included providing critical assistance for basic needs like housing, food and healthcare, funding much-needed hunger relief efforts for food insecure populations, and supporting underserved students with digital tools for remote learning.
About the Byline Writer:
Sera King is associate publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet serving greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando, FL via HeadlineSurfer.com since 2008. King also is a byline writer, videographer and cartoonist for the media outlet. King received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration (3.84 gpa) from Ana G. Mendez University in Orlando in 2008.
Headline Surfer LLC is published by Henry Frederick, Central Florida's award-winning journalist.