NAPLES CHILDREN & EDUCATION FOUNDATION HONORED BY COLLIER COUNTY COMMISSION

NAPLES CHILDREN & EDUCATION FOUNDATION HONORED BY COLLIER COUNTY COMMISSION; MARCH 14^TH DESIGNATED AS “NCEF DAY”

The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), founders of the highly successful Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF), is pleased to announce that it has been honored by the Board of Collier County Commissioners with a proclamation designating Monday, March 14, 2022, as “NCEF Day” in Collier County.

“NCEF Day” will coincide with NCEF’s Annual Grant Awards Ceremony at which over 30 nonprofit organizations and seven multi-year strategic initiatives supporting at-risk and underprivileged children in Collier County will receive allocations from the 2022 NWWF.

The NWWF has been recognized as one of the world’s most successful charity wine auctions. This year’s Festival raised nearly $23 million for children’s services, bringing the total amount raised by the NWWF to nearly $245 million since its inception in 2001.

Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCEF has provided more than 275,000 local children with the services and resources they need to excel. NCEF-funded services include Early Learning, Healthcare, Hunger, Mental Health, Oral Health, Out-of-School Time and Vision. NCEF’s unique approach, which emphasizes collaboration between organizations and bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community, one issue at a time.

“NCEF has fundamentally changed the landscape of human services for children in Collier County while fostering collaboration and eliminating duplication of services,” Collier County Commissioner Penny Taylor stated in reading the proclamation. “Other communities throughout Florida and the United States strive to emulate NCEF’s successful philanthropic model and its research-driven, results-oriented mission.”

For more than 20 years, NCEF has partnered with more than 50 nonprofit organizations to significantly improve the physical, emotional and educational lives of children in Collier County. It also has effectively collaborated with Collier County Public Schools, the Sheriff’s Office, Health Department, Judiciary, and local colleges and universities.

In 2021, NCEF deepened its roots by dedicating a new permanent headquarters in Naples, reflecting its long-term commitment to serving future generations of children in Collier County. Prior to opening this approximately 13,500-square-foot building, NCEF worked in rented, borrowed and donated space throughout the community.

For more information on the Naples Children & Education Foundation or Naples Winter Wine Festival, contact Lisa Juliano at lisa@napleswinefestival.com or 239-514-2239.