Laura Velasquez began her Grace Place journey seven years ago as a volunteer. In her fourth year, she joined the Bright Beginnings program with her son, Danilo. Today, she attends the Beginnings 301 course, while Danilo is thriving in the fulltime three-year-old class, and her daughter, Karen, is blossoming in the fulltime two-year-old classroom. Beginnings [...]
Giving Tuesday Now, celebrating our #GracePlaceHeroes Faced with the fear of the unknown amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, communities around the world have continued to come together for one another, bringing hope to many. Our Grace Place community is no different. Teachers and program staff have spent days and weeks constructing new materials [...]
We want to recognize and extend a heartfelt thank you to the volunteers, staff, donors, and community partners who have gone above and beyond to lend their time, talent, treasures, and voice to make a difference for Grace Place and its families, especially now. You are all heroes to us. During these challenging times, we're taking a moment to [...]
Dear Friends, Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time of uncertainty and challenging circumstances. Like you, Grace Place is concerned about the spread of COVID-19, and we are doing everything we can to adapt our important work for students and families while protecting our community. As an organization, we have developed a plan [...]
A Familiar Face Returns to Campus Grace Place Jubilee Scholarship alumnus Alex Amador is headed back to Grace Place; this time as an Academy of Leaders Site Coordinator. “I am very excited to rejoin Grace Place,” said Alex. “In high school, Grace Place really helped me grow and gave me the tools I [...]
Grace Place Advocate John McNamara Passes Away It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to education advocate and Grace Place supporter John McNamara, who passed away on August 5, 2019. John’s generous and loving spirit was known to many in the Naples’ community, including the staff and families here at Grace [...]
It Truly is Independence Day Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with pie, barbecue, fireworks, and flags. For two of our students, as Americans this year, Independence Day meant so much more. Yanety Ramirez’s lengthy journey to American citizenship started in 2011 when she came from Cuba by way of Mexico. “I’ve [...]
Cheers to Class of 2019! Our AP Leaders are now high school graduates and off to college! This year’s class received over $600,000 in scholarships, the most of any graduating class in Grace Place’s history and each student has big plans for their bright future! Among the graduating class are our three Jubilee [...]
In an Adult Education Classroom, a Special Friendship Forms Edie Cole has dedicated the past ten years volunteering at Grace Place. With an extensive background in education, Edie works directly with students in the Adult Education Program and helps adults who are seeking to obtain their GED, learn English as a Second Language [...]
WE’RE TICKLED “BLUE!” We are pleased to share that Grace Place is now a certified Blue Zones Project approved worksite. Blue Zones Project is a community-wide, well-being improvement initiative to help make healthy choices easier for everyone in Southwest Florida. The global movement offers solutions for worksites to inspire and encourage employees to [...]