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Collier County Public Schools are stepping up to help during these uncertain times. Below is a list of schools that are collecting supplies and schools who are offering help. Check to see what your school is doing!
If your school is collecting supplies, make sure you take your donations to that school.

Elementary Schools

Avalon Elementary: Distributing basic supplies. Food, water, paper towels, toilet paper. Done on 10/2 and 10/3.

Corkscrew Elementary: Collected items on 10/4 to support those in need in our community.

Lake Park Elementary: If you are part of the Lake Park family and in need of supplies, fill out a form by clicking the following link. bit.ly/LPEIan22

Manatee Elementary: Collecting toiletries, cleaning products, grocery/gas gift cards and non-perishable foods.

Naples Park Elementary: Collected items on 10/4 to give to our staff and families in need. Looking for: Gift cards, Large plastic bins with covers, Cleaning supplies, Paper towels, All Hygiene items, Diapers, Sheets, Towels, and Paper supplies. Thanks!

Pelican Marsh Elementary: Collected donations on 10/4 for local families in need.

Pinecrest Elementary: Collecting toiletries, cleaning products, grocery/gas gift cards and non-perishable foods.

Poinciana Elementary: Poinciana Pelican Families! We are here to help! Please fill out the form below with your needs. https://forms.office.com/r/yPEX3jYXqd

Sea Gate Elementary: Seahorse families, we are here to support you!  Please fill out the form below with your needs! forms.office.com/r/cH4eVwepKM

Shadowlawn Elementary: An Amazon Wishlist has been created for items needed: https://amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/36XO6Q0S22CBZ?ref_=wl_share

Tommie Barfield Elementary: Collected items on 10/4.

Veterans Memorial Elementary: If your family is in need of anything please email Ms. Vieira directly with the specific need(s), vieiraje@collierschools.com. We understand many of you may not know what you need just yet as you are in the process of post-hurricane clean up but as you do please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly! This information for both student families and staff families will remain anonymous with only administration knowing whom donations are needed for. Please know your VME family is here to support you if you are in need of anything!

Middle Schools

Cypress Palm Middle: Collected supplies on 10/4. Asking for non-perishable food, water, clothing, shoes, toilet paper, toiletries, cleaning products, garbage bags, towels.

East Naples: Donate or Pick Up: Thursday and Friday from 9am til 4pm!

Manatee Middle: Stated on Twitter, “Please let us know what you need”.

Oakridge Middle: Collecting items to distribute to local schools with the greatest needs. Collected items on 10/4. Asking for bread, peanut butter, jelly, Ramen Noodles, Pasta, rice, pinto beans, fresh fruit, dry milk, water, Gatorade, juice, canned goods, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and baby items.

Pine Ridge Middle: Taking a collection of clothes, toiletries, shoes, undergarments, towels and diapers! Please help by dropping off items to our MPR on 10/5 and 10/6 from 8 am-11am.

High Schools

Barron Collier High: Taking donations Wednesday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. They are looking for clothing, blankets, non-perishable food and cleaning supplies. If you are in need of supplies, please email dawesro@collierschools.com  

If you do not see your school on the list above, that means we do not have any information if they are collecting or distributing supplies. Please reach out to us at info@championsforlearning.com to add what your school is doing to help!

The vision of Champions For Learning is a community that is 100% engaged in support of student success. We have been actively assessing how we can best respond as “second responders.” We are learning that many of our students and teachers have lost everything, including several members of our team. We are working with Collier County Public Schools to compile a list of most needed items. Once we have this list, we will share it with you. We are committed to doing everything in our power to support our educators.

The Champions for Learning office is structurally sound, watertight, and operational thanks to a generator. We have opened our offices to Collier County nonprofit partners to use a communication center as we are keenly aware that many cannot use their own office space.

We are committed to ensuring that our students’ basic needs are met first while being ever so cognizant of their educational needs. Sadly, we have canceled our first FAFSA completion event. We have created a step-by-step online tutorial that can be accessed anytime. We anticipate doing more online tutorials to keep our students on track as much as possible. As we learn more about our students’ needs, we will provide the necessary resources to ensure their academic success.

We are grateful for the many calls, text messages, and emails offering support. If you are inclined to support our relief efforts, please make a gift HERE.

Thank you for being a Champion For Learning! Together, we will make a difference for our educators and students.

The Saturday 10/1 FAFSA Completion event at Lely High has been canceled.

There are two upcoming Saturday FAFSA Completion Events being offered: October 8^th at Palmetto Ridge High and October 22^nd at Lorenzo Walker Technical High, both 9am – 12noon.

Florida SouthWestern State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Lorenzo Walker Technical College admissions staff will be on-site providing admission application fee waivers. FSW and LWTC will even be offering on-site instant admissions decisions!

If you are a High School Senior and unable to attend an in-person FAFSA Completion Event, Champions For Learning has created a Step-by-Step FAFSA Completion Online Tutorial available here: https://youtu.be/zLDE-SAde0c (https://youtu.be/hylZEv7oVdY Spanish subtitles added).

Just coming out of a pandemic, and now enduring the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Collier County students have been through so much. Champions For Learning is committed to student success and we look forward to getting students the support they need.

The impacts of Hurricane Ian have been devastating and we are facing a long recovery. Champions For Learning is committed to being “second responders,” ready and able to help continue education and life-changing learning experiences throughout our county.

We are currently assessing how we can best support our teachers and students in Collier County. We know that several Collier County Public Schools are serving as shelters and several have experienced damage. We have reached out to Dr. Patton to learn how we can best support our teachers and students. As we learn what the needs are, we will share how you can help us.

Together, we will make a difference for our teachers and students. Thank you for being a Champion For Learning!

Champions For Learning is honored to announce this year’s Champions for learning as well as the Heart of the Apple Recipient. These are individuals who have helped change the lives of Collier County students. Congratulations to this amazing group of community leaders!

Heart of the Apple Recipient:

Gary Personette

Gary has been a volunteer since 2012, beginning with the Golden Gate High School Pilot project. He has mentored 5 Champions For Learning students. He has been a Board member, an Ambassador, a selection committee volunteer, a financial aid coach, and an event volunteer. Gary was instrumental in bringing the IncubatorEDU Entrepreneurship program to Collier County Public Schools, which prepares students to be creative and resilient problem solvers and critical thinkers. This program has

grown exponentially under Gary’s guidance over the past several years, this year expanding to all CCPS Elementary Schools.

Champions:

Pat Botthof
Pat has been a volunteer since early 2017, first serving as an event volunteer for Night of Champions. Since then, she has fulfilled several volunteer roles, including mentoring and serving on the ambassador council to support outreach and retention efforts.

Braulio Colón
As Vice President of Florida Student Success Initiatives, Braulio has facilitated a partnership with Champions For Learning to further improve college-prep and completion rates for limited-income, first-generation and underrepresented students in SWFL.

Ritch Cuvier
Ritch is a graduate from Champions For Learning / Take Stock in Children 11^th grade Program. He currently works in IT for John R. Wood Properties. Ritch has been an active alumni volunteer, participating in networking opportunities and sharing his experience as a Champions For Learning graduate.

Serge Ecityan
Serge is on the board for Champions For Learning, and is actively involved in the Champions Advisory Council, Planned Giving Committee, Take Stock in Children Selection Committee, and the Classroom Grant Selection Committee. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst with BMO Wealth Management, which has sponsored Champions’ graduation event, Countdown to Cap & Gown, for the past 6 years.

Kim & Gary Price
Kim and Gary have supported Champions For Learning over the years in a number of ways; Gary has Chaired the Night of Champions, served on the Professional Advisors Network and Golden Apple Selection Committee, and both Kim and Gary’s businesses have been donors and event sponsors.

Marti & Gordon Watson
Marti and Gordon have been involved with Champions For Learning and the Take Stock program in the roles of mentor, selection committee members and donors since they came to Naples over 20 years ago. Gordon & Marti helped to build the relationship with FSW that lead to the TSIC 11^th grade pilot.

These individuals will be honored at Champions For Learning’s signature event, Night of Champions on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Last month Bailey M., a senior from Naples High School, chose to spend his community service hours making 28 cards for local kindergarten students. 

These cards were delivered by Champions For Learning to Sea Gate Elementary, the same elementary school Bailey attended.

“Starting school can be intimidating. For these Sea Gate kindergarten students, having beautifully drawn, encouraging cards from a 12^th grade student reminded them that everyone starts at the same place. They loved the colorful cards,” shared Amy Snyder, Executive Director of Educator Programs at Champions For Learning.

Bailey made each card colorful with drawings of school supplies with a note inside, “Welcome to Kindergarten! Have fun and enjoy your year. Be kind and respect your teacher.”

Bailey said, “I wanted to include a message on the inside, but I wasn’t really sure how well they could read. So, I just tried to keep it pretty simple.”

The idea of making 28 cards for kindergarteners in Collier County came from a website the Collier County Public School District uses to communicate service opportunities with students. Many of the volunteer opportunities offered to high school students are as a result of an earlier collaborative effort through Future Ready Collier (FRC) to aid students in their search for approved service hours towards scholarships and other opportunities.

Champions For Learning is a partner and the backbone organization supporting Future Ready Collier, a network of organizations, businesses, schools and community members working to ensure every child in Collier County is ready for kindergarten, and every young person enters adulthood with a vision and a plan to accomplish that vision.

To learn more about Future Ready Collier, visit FutureReadyCollier.org

As of September 13th I will be the new CEO of Champions For Learning, the education foundation responsible for creating life-changing learning experiences for every student, with a community that is 100% engaged in support of student success. Champions For Learning serves a unique role in bringing the community together to support a culture of learning and innovation.

I’d like to thank Susan McManus for the work that she has done over the years. The legacy that she is leaving is incredible.  A special thanks to Dr. Terrie Mitev for serving as the interim.  She’s done an amazing job meeting with the staff and bringing the students together. I look forward to working and continuing to advance the Champions For Learning mission.

From a young age, I’ve understood the importance of education. I moved to this country as a toddler and had a parent who couldn’t help me with homework. I relied on my teachers to offer me assistance. I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the Champions For Learning and to support an organization that is working to support our educators.

There are great things happening at Champions. Everything from the new technical pathways pilot, the new support of the CCPS entrepreneurship program, and continuing to honor and support Collier County’s educators.

Thank you,
Barbara

Florida Weekly

Champions For Learning’s Classroom Grants: Find It, Fund It Collier portal is now open for the community to fund classroom projects that Collier County teachers have submitted for the 2022- 2023 school year.

Collier County teachers can apply for a classroom grant to help support innovative learning experiences within their classroom. Individual teachers (or teams) may apply for up to $2,000 per grant request and may submit multiple requests, if they are for different projects. Collier County teachers can learn more and apply for Classroom Grants through the Champions For Learning website, www.ChampionsForLearning. org.

Last year 226 Classroom Grants were funded by our community investing $115,230 into Collier County schools, impacting teachers and students across 53 schools.

Once Collier County educators submit their grant request, the classroom grants can be funded through one of two ways. Classroom grants can be funded by the Classroom Grants Fund, which is determined by a committee, or through community-based funding, sometimes known as crowdfunding. Classroom Grant requests must be posted by Tuesday, Sept. 13, to be considered for funding by the Classroom Grants Fund. For community-based funding, Classroom Grants must be posted by March 10, 2023.

The community has the opportunity to provide life-changing learning experiences to students through funding classroom grants. Visit www.ChampionsForLearning.org/CWACgrants to see a list of grants waiting to be funded and choose which local teachers and classrooms you want to support.

Thanks to a charitable gift from Suncoast Credit Union, which supports the technology and capacity for the Classroom Grant Find It, Fund It portal, 100% of community contribution goes into supporting teacher grants.

You can also help fund Classroom Grants through the License to Learn Fund (Florida Education Tag). Collier County community members can buy the new version of the license plate tag now, $20 of the annual fee is donated to Champions For Learning and 100% of the funds support classroom grants.

Starting kindergarten can be scary for some, but one Collier County student is doing what he can to make the beginning of the school year a little more enjoyable.

Bailey M. is entering his senior year at Naples High School. To get ahead on some community service hours this summer, Bailey handcrafted 28 cards for local kindergarten students to have as they begin school.

“I have a really fond memory of when I was in kindergarten, an older kid coming to read to us”, said Bailey. “I wanted just to do something similar for other kindergarteners today. So they have something fun to look back on.”

Bailey made each card colorful with drawings of school supplies with the note inside, “Welcome to Kindergarten! Have fun and enjoy your year. Be kind and respect your teacher.”

Bailey says, “I wanted to include a message on the inside, but I wasn’t really sure how well they could read. So, I just tried to keep it pretty simple.”

The idea of making 28 cards for kindergartners in Collier County came from a website the Collier County Public School District uses to communicate service opportunities with students. Many of the volunteer opportunities offered to high school students are as a result of an earlier collaborative effort through Future Ready Collier (FRC) to aid students in their search for approved service hours towards scholarships and other opportunities.  Champions For Learning is a partner with and backbone organization supporting Future Ready Collier, a network of organizations, businesses, schools and community members working to ensure every child in Collier County is ready for Kindergarten, and every young person enters adulthood with a vision and plan to accomplish that vision.

“There were a few opportunities that I was debating doing, but this one stood out to me. It just felt like something that was up my alley”, said Bailey.

When these cards are delivered to kindergarten students beginning their educational career, Bailey says he hopes they enjoy opening the cards and it is fun for them. That is why he included lots of colors and picture, so that it would appeal to kindergarteners.