Page 22 - August 2016 Life In Naples Magazine

by Eileen Connolly-Keesler

TPresident/CEO
he colorful carved wooden “Welcome
to Naples” signs, surrounded by lush
greenery, beautifully landscaped medians,
architecturally striking businesses and
luxurious homes are your first clues that Naples,

Florida is an affluent community set in a tropical

paradise. But these gorgeous surroundings can be

deceiving, representing a fragment of the residents

that live in this seaside community. Statistics for

poverty levels and teen pregnancy may surprise you leadership program.

and are the reality for the many women and girls in How can you help support local women and girls? Make

Collier County. The Women’s Foundation of Collier a donation to the Women’s Foundation of Collier County to

County, a fund at the Community Foundation of help support their mission. You can choose to support a grant

Collier County (CFCC), is focused on the needs or consider a planned gift to the Endowment Fund. When you

of local at-risk women and girls and serves their invest in providing support and opportunity to women and girls

current and changing needs through grantmaking, in Collier County, you invest in the prosperity and the future of

One third of female headed households in Collier our community.

County live in poverty. Particularly at risk of poverty You can also help by attending the Women’s Foundation of

and homelessness are the 12,769 women aged 65 Collier County event,The Power of the Purse, which will be held

and over who are living alone. Many of these senior on Friday, December 2, 2016, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at The Ritz-

women, who have lived middle class lives, are now Carlton, Naples Beach Resort. Guest speaker, Elizabeth Smart,

living on fixed incomes and are facing rising rent will tell the personal story of her abduction at age 14, and discuss

costs. Last year, the Women’s Foundation awarded overcoming extreme adversity, the process of recovery, and not

$40,000 in grants to St. Matthew’s House and allowing your past to dictate your life’s future.

JFCS Senior Center to help fund their programs You can make a difference. For more information, visit

for recovering women at Justin’s Place and senior wfcollier.org.

outreach and support programs for at-risk seniors. JOIN US!
Teen pregnancy is the number one indicator of

future poverty. Collier County had the highest teen The Power of the Purse
birth rate in 2015 in the state with a birth rate of

39/1000 for girls age 15-19. Twenty-five percent of When: Friday, December 2nd

these moms have a second child within 24 months Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

and less than two percent will earn a college degree Where: Ritz-Carlton, Naples Beach Resort

by age 30. The Junior Women of Initiative Program

promotes education and staying in school through Guest Speaker, Elizabeth Smart
a partnership between the Women’s Foundation

of Collier County and the Boys and Girls Club of wfcollier.org
Collier County which provides at-risk teens with

mentors and educational activities during a 10-week

22 Life in Naples | August • September • October 2016