Gulf Breeze Will Do awards $46,000 in grants to help seniors, students,

Not every organization seeking help needs a $100,000 grant. Sometimes, they need some money to buy food or clothes. Sometimes they just help opening the door.

Senior citizens made their way through the Gulf Breeze Senior Center, some carrying supplies, some using canes and walkers, struggling to open the red double-doors. One woman arrived with a bag and a service dog and had to have the door opened for her.

That will change soon with the installation of automatic doors courtesy of a $3,292 grant from Gulf Breeze Will Do, a women’s philanthropic group that has been giving money to schools, environmental groups, scouts and other organizations that benefit Gulf Breeze for 10 years.

This month, Gulf Breeze Will Do awarded $46,000 in grants to nine different organizations, including the Gulf Breeze Senior Center, which is hosted at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Gulf Breeze.

Grants will help purchase new ceremonial drill equipment and instruments for students, a four-year-college scholarship, turtle conservation, provide home repairs for two area veterans and more.

Gulf Breeze Will Do President Leslie Perino said the philanthropic group is modeled on the Impact 100 Pensacola Bay Area group, which annually awards $100,000 grants to multiple organizations.

“But it’s scaled down,” she said of Gulf Breeze Will Do, founded in 2014 by Susan Nitterauer. “Some groups might not need $100,000. It really does help smaller groups.”

The role model: IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area awards $1.2 million to local nonprofits

Perino said one past grant went to help a Boy Scout fund his Eagle Scout project.

Gulf Breeze Will Do awards grants to groups which operate in the 32561 and 32563 zip codes. Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded each year in various categories: Arts Recreation & Sports, Environment, Education, Hardship Support Services, Public Safety.

2024 Grant Recipients

Art, Recreation & Sports

• The Arc Gateway – Healing Through Art: Art Therapy for Arc Gateway. $3,750 grant will be used to provide art therapy services to the clients enrolled in the day program at the Arc Gateway South Santa Rosa center.

• Gulf Breeze High School Junior ROTC – Ceremonial Drill Equipment. An $8,457 grant will be used to purchase ceremonial drill equipment, replacing the aging and broken equipment currently in use.

Environment

Gulf Coast Turtle Watch, Inc. – Sea Turtle Super Heroes, Conservation Through Education. A $1,140 grant will be used for the purchase of educational materials, a sling to transport injured turtles and a tent and cart to be used at community outreach events.

Education

Gulf Breeze Elementary School – A $7,015 grant will be used to purchase 11 new xylophones for the music program, benefiting all students in the school.

Santa Rosa Education Foundation – Take Stock In Children. An $8,011 grant will be paired with matching funds from the state of Florida to fully fund a four-year college education for a low-income, at-risk student from the Gulf Breeze/Pensacola Beach area.

Hardship Support Services

Pensacola Habitat for Humanity – Gulf Breeze Heroes: Critical Home Repair Matching Fund for Disabled Veterans. A $10,000 grant will be used to unlock $20,000 in federal funds to provide critical home repairs for at least two disabled military veterans in the Gulf Breeze/Pensacola Beach area.

Santa Rosa County Schools – Just the Basics. A $1,011 grant will be used by two social workers from the school district to provide after-hours assistance with basic necessities including food, clothing, shoes, and lice treatment kits to students in need.

Public Safety

Gulf Breeze Senior Center – Automatic Door System. A $3,292 grant will be used to install an automatic door system at the senior center, enhancing accessibility for mobility-impaired community members.

Pensacola Beach Elementary School PTA – Replacement Decking Request. A $3,859 grant will be used to partially fund the replacement of unsafe, deteriorating wooden decking with composite materials that have a much longer lifespan.

Members of Gulf Breeze Will Do pay a $250 annual membership fee, and all money goes to grant awards. The group ended its 2024 campaign with 175 members and have already launched its 2025 membership campaign with a goal of 200 members. For membership and other information, go to gulfbreezewilldo.org.

“It’s just a fantastic organization and they’re wonderful to work with,” said Kim Giryluk, director of the Gulf Breeze Senior Center, referring to Gulf Breeze Will Do. “They’re working locally to make a better Gulf Breeze.”

But Perino said her group is just assisting other groups in their efforts to better their community.

“Each of these grant recipients is truly making a different in the lives of those they serve,” she said, “and it’s an honor to partner with them to uplift our community.”

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze Will Do awards $46,000 in grants to community groups.

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