Each year, SRQ Media invites the community to nominate individuals with hearts of giving who have made a significant impact with local nonprofit organizations — from volunteers and board members to individual staff members and donors. This year, attendees were thrilled to be together as we recognized our annual Good Hero Philanthropic Award recipients at the SB2: Philanthropic Agenda Luncheon and Good Hero Philanthropic Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, March 7th at Michael’s on East in Sarasota. In the coming weeks, we are happy to feature each of the ten honorees in our Wednesday Philanthropic edition of SRQ Daily.

Today, we are recognizing Marjan Zaun, who is on the Board of Directors at Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation.  Marjan is one of the key organizers of a worldwide healing with arts program, Las Meninas, focused on the arts and cancer patients in Florida Cancer Specialists clinics across the state. She also initiated the first ‘Friendraiser’ for the Foundation in Lakewood Ranch including those in the local community interested in learning more about the Foundation’s mission. Marjan stepped up as the Chair of the Annual Party Under the Stars Gala for 2023 and she is always the first to make potential donor introductions, having the Foundation’s mission as a priority and top of mind. Congratulations, Marjan. 

Pictured: Marjan Zaun (center) with Dr. Helene Lotman, CEO & President of JFCS of the Suncoast (left) and SRQ Magazine Managing Editor, Barbie Heit (right). Photo taken by Wyatt Kostygan.

Rise & Nye's and our supporting nonprofit are steadily gaining ground, and with your help we can make even greater leaps. The Inclusion Revolution is on a mission to give those with intellectual and development disabilities a chance at inclusion, jobs, and dignity. Many people have stepped up this year to provide support for our cause, but there is so much more to be done. We need more shops and more hands to lift up our amazing friends. Join us in taking steps to make our community a brighter, more inclusive place for people who for too long have been dismissed and forgotten. A big thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey! If you would like to support our mission, visit our donation page and please follow us on Facebook and Instagram. 

Daiquiri Deck, an iconic bar and casual restaurant that delivers a quality experience, great times, good vibes and the best frozen daiquiris around is partnering with Southeastern Guide Dogs with a goal to raise $10,000 in April through its Daiquiris for Dogs program. Launching April 1 and running through the end of the month, patrons that visit any of the five Daiquiri Deck locations will have the option to round up their checks to donate to Southeastern Guide Dogs. A QR code will also be available so guests can donate a custom amount of their own. “Our hope is to raise $2,000 at each of our five locations for a total of $10,000,” said Michelle Smith, chief marketing officer for Daiquiri Deck. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Southeastern Guide Dogs and our team is working hard to help spread awareness to support the amazing work they do in our community and beyond.” All the money raised will go directly towards the nonprofit organization’s mission to transform lives. In addition to providing world-class dogs with top-notch pedigrees completely free of charge, Southeastern Guide Dogs is the only working-dog school to offer graduates life-time alumni support, which includes dog food and preventatives. The top donor of the month for each location, nicknamed the Top Dog, will be invited to receive a group Top Dog VIP Tour of the Southeastern Guide Dog facility in Palmetto, along with a photo opportunity with a puppy in training and a meet and greet information session with a recipient of a guide or service dog.Earlier this year, Daiquiri Deck sponsored the 2023 Southeastern Guide Dogs Suncoast Walkathon with a $2,500 donation. During the event, the restaurant offered free daiquiris and, with a cash or online donation, the opportunity to spin the prize wheel for a Beach Keg, Tervis Tumbler or Coolie Cup. Daiquiri Deck was able to raise an additional $275 in cash donations.

Pictured: Guide dog from Southeastern Guide Dogs.

A leadership gift from Willis A. Smith Construction to the Campaign for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Master Plan has seeded a double matching opportunity for new gifts, which will enable the fundraising goal for the project’s first phase to be met. The Willis Smith donation leverages Selby Gardens’ existing Campaign Capping Challenge, which has been matching every gift dollar-for-dollar for Phase One of the Master Plan. Now, any new gifts up to $250,000 will effectively be tripled. “From this point forward, every new gift up to $250,000 for Phase One of our Master Plan will be tripled thanks to leadership support provided by Willis A. Smith Construction, our construction manager,” said Jennifer O. Rominiecki, president & CEO of Selby Gardens. “Phase One construction is projected to be completed in October—less than seven months from now—so crossing this fundraising finish line will ensure we can continue to focus forward. We are so grateful to Willis Smith and its leadership team, who are just incredible partners on this transformative project.” The Campaign Capping Challenge was launched in October 2021 with pledges from an initiator group of loyal Selby Gardens champions to secure the funds needed to complete Phase One of the Master Plan. With that goal now in close sight, Willis A. Smith Construction made its gift to further incentivize other donors. When it opens, Phase One of Selby Gardens’ Master Plan will include: a new Welcome Center; a state-of-the-art Plant Research Center with a new herbarium, laboratory, and library; the Living Energy Access Facility, or LEAF, which will house parking, a garden-to-plate restaurant, a new plant and gift shop, and a nearly 50,000-square-foot solar array that will make Selby Gardens the first net-positive energy botanical garden complex in the world; a cutting-edge stormwater management system; a publicly accessible Multiuse Recreational Trail, or MURT, which opened last December; off-site roadway improvements; and numerous new garden features with more open space. “Gifts to our Master Plan at all levels are welcome, and naming opportunities continue to be available,” said Rominiecki. “This project will transform not only Selby Gardens but also the Sarasota community and beyond. We invite everyone to be a part of it." To date, nearly $57 million has been raised for the overall Master Plan. To learn more about the Master Plan for Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus, go online to selby.org. 

Pictured: Aerial view of construction progress on Phase One of Selby Gardens’ Master Plan as of late March. Photo courtesy of Selby Gardens.

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation recently received a $1,000,000 grant from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. The grant will support inpatient and outpatient programs at the new state-of-the-art Cornell Family Behavioral Pavilion at Sarasota Memorial (SMH) including a new intensive outpatient program for youth ages 13-17. The new 95,000-square-foot Cornell Family Behavioral Health Pavilion will provide expanded and centralized care for people of all ages. One of the newest programs is an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for adolescents. Last year, there were close to 1,000 adolescent admissions at SMH’s existing facility representing nearly half of all admissions there. The new IOP will serve teens ages 13-17 in need of a higher level of care to help manage their condition—sometimes as a transition from a psychiatric hospitalization or as a step up from more standard outpatient therapy. The four-to-six-week program will be held after school, using evidence-based, creative and fun therapeutic interventions in a group therapy format. It will assist in strengthening a behavioral health continuum of care for youth in our community. The Cornell Family Behavioral Health Pavilion is on schedule to open late this fall. The modern facility will have private rooms with large windows letting in natural light, and other design elements that help reduce stress and promote recovery. The first floor will have therapeutic spaces dedicated for the health system’s expanding outpatient treatment and counseling programs. For additional information about behavioral health services at SMH call (941- 917-2660 or visit smh.com/behavioralhealth. For information on how to support programs and services at the Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion, please call 941.917.1286. 

Pictured: Updated Cornell Pavilion Lobby. Photo courtesy of SMH Foundation.

While high school students typically associate Spring Break with trips, fun and relaxation, 50+ teens recently joined Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties for the 9th Annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB) March 13-17, and dedicated hundreds of hours of community service to 12 local nonprofit organizations. ASB is a free, annual opportunity offered by BGCSDC for all Sarasota County high school students to experience, discuss, and understand community issues in a meaningful way while earning community service hours.  Projects included; packing and distributing food for local families in need with All Faiths Food Bank; prepping horses for classes at Prospect Riding Center, assisting with a 100th birthday celebration at Senior Friendship Centers, organizing a car wash for family and youth transport vehicles at Children First, and park beautification activities at various Sarasota County Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources sites. Other community partners who benefited from student volunteer efforts included Cat Depot, Easterseals Academy, Harvest House, The Pines of Sarasota, and Salvation Army of Sarasota County. To learn more or to donate, please visit bgcsdc.org. 

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents its final two programs of the 2022-23 season in May: Vivaldi and Mendelssohn, 7:30 pm on May 9 at Sarasota Opera House, featuring four young concertmasters; and Viola Royale, with brothers
Paul and Steven Laraia, 4:00 pm on May 14 at First Presbyterian Church. For more information and tickets, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202. Vivaldi and Mendelssohn, 7:30 pm on May 9 at Sarasota Opera House, features superstar concertmasters Rimma Bergeron-Langlois (Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra), Nikki Chooi (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra), Jun Iwasaki (Kansas City Symphony), and Emerson Millar (Seattle Symphony) sharing the role of soloist in Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons. Mendelssohn’s beloved String Octet sees all four together, with four additional artists, performing the masterpiece Mendelssohn composed when he was only 16. Viola Royale, 4:00 pm on May 14 at First Presbyterian Church, closes the season. Brothers Paul and Steven Laraia are both world class violists. Paul is with the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst String Quartet and has been acclaimed by The Strad for his “eloquent” and “vibrant”
playing. Steven is with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, having begun his career as principal violist of the Sarasota Orchestra. Their program features music by composers who played the viola, including a viola quintet by Mozart where they will be joined by several Sarasota Orchestra colleagues. For tickets and more information, visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or call (941) 306-1202.