Naples, FL – April 25th – At Grace Place for Children and Families, twenty local philanthropists have fulfilled the $350,000 matching gift challenge that was recently offered by Mr. and Mrs. William Schoen to benefit the organization’s campus expansion campaign.

Ultimately, the roughly 13,000 square foot campus at Grace Place is slated to expand to 30,000 square feet, which will provide space for its three programs: the nationally recognized Bright Beginnings program, School Age and Adult Education. The $350,000 matching gift from the Schoen Foundation will help toward the completion of the campus expansion campaign, of which Grace Place still seeks an additional $5.2 million.

The Schoen Foundation supports numerous Naples-area nonprofits. “We are especially pleased to motivate investment in faith-based organizations such as Grace Place,” says Mr. Schoen. “The educational opportunities and leadership development that Grace Place offers its students are crucial to producing lifelong success for families in Golden Gate.”

Grace Place CEO, Dr. Tim Ferguson, feels that the Schoen Matching Gift “shows the confidence people have in our organization, in our mission to provide pathways out of poverty through education. We are accomplishing so much with our children and families, and we strongly feel that the match from the Schoens provided donors even more reason to invest by having their dollars stretch further.”

Grace Place for Children and Families is a nonprofit education center whose mission is to put faith into action – providing pathways out of poverty by educating children and families in Golden Gate City. Working across the life spectrum, Grace Place currently enrolls over 800 individuals in its educational programs: the nationally recognized Bright Beginnings program, two School Age Programs and an Adult Education program. Although education is the core focus of the organization and its mission, Grace Place’s Friday Food Pantry also serves over 2,000 families a year. Additionally, Grace Place works extensively with community partners to provide medical and mental health screenings, as well as referrals for other services for Golden Gate City. For more information, visit www.graceplacenaples.org.