Member News

The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center is Seeking Contributions for Annual Heights Community Gift Drive
(Fort Myers – November 25, 2019)  – The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center is seeking organizations and individuals to participate in the annual Harlem Heights Community Gift Drive.  Individuals, businesses and philanthropic groups are asked to donate new, unwrapped gifts for local children.  Gifts are needed for more than 800 children, ranging in age from birth to 17 years of age.
Suggested donations are gifts under $25 including Legos, dolls, art sets, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, remote control cars, tea sets, action figures, board games, coloring books and crayons.  Personal items are needed including pajamas, jewelry, body lotion, spray, soaps, hair accessories and wristwatches.  Donations of gift cards from Target, Kmart or Walmart are appreciated.  Monetary donations can be made at www.heightsfoundation.org/donate.
The gifts will be distributed to parents on Saturday, December 21 at The Heights Center, keeping the surprise in Christmas for our kids.
“This holiday season will again be challenging for many families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood,” said Kathryn Kelly, President and CEO of the Heights Foundation. “This is a great opportunity to bring joy to the children of our community.  We are thankful for the generous support of our neighbors.”
Items can be dropped off at The Heights Center, 15570 Hagie Drive in Fort Myers.  Toys will be collected through Thursday, December 19.
Volunteers are needed to assist with event set up and at the event.
Organizations and individuals interested in participating can contact Melissa Barlow at (239) 482-7706 or [email protected].  All donations are tax deductible.  Monetary donations can be made on the web at www.heightsfoundation.org.
 About the Heights Foundation and the Heights Center
The Heights Foundation works to build self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood.  The mission is to support education and wellness, promote family and community development, and provide the benefits of enrichment and the arts.  The Heights Center, supported by The Heights Foundation, is a place for Education, Opportunity, and Enrichment.   GLAD Kids is a child care and pre-k center serving more than 80 children birth-five.  The Harlem Heights Community Charter School currently serves kindergarten through fourth grade and will expand to serve up to fifth grade.
Harlem Heights was originally settled as a rural agricultural community.   Approximately 780 children live in a mixture of single-family homes and multi-family apartments. Demographically, the population is approximately 70% Hispanic, 20% African-American, and 8% Caucasian. The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average, with family income 40% below the county average. Families are not able to easily access family support services located in downtown Fort Myers, and benefit greatly from programs located within

Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners Meeting
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
9 a.m.
Fort Myers City Council Chambers
2200 Second Street
Fort Myers, Florida 33901

(Fort Myers, FL – November 25, 2019) – Blues by the Bay, an evening of live music, excellent food and drinks, raised $70,000 to support The Heights Foundation’s education programs. The event was held November 19 at the riverfront home of Dean and Lori Munro, in the St. Charles Harbour community. The exclusive VIP pre-party was held at the home of Tim and Sandy Youngquist, with entertainment by The VanKirk brothers of Strange Arrangement. Guests enjoyed samplings from the area’s finest restaurants, fine wines, a signature Blue Bay Martini, champagne and live music by The Wayward Souls, rockin’ blues band.
Participating restaurants included The House of Pasta, The Jac Island Restaurant, Keylime Bistro, LYNQ, MudBugs Cajun Kitchen, St. Charles Yacht Club, Sunshine Seafood Cafe and The Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market. Live and silent auction proceeds benefit School Success programs for at-risk children in the Harlem Heights neighborhood in Fort Myers. Event sponsors include Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands, J.P Morgan Chase & Co., entech, Acentria Insurance (Jason and Sherri Huff), Rich and Sandy Heinrich, Sammy Lucas and Greg St. Clair, and JP Morgan Limousine.
“Our School Success programs include our charter school, academic tutoring, after school and summer camp programs, scholarship and college access assistance, school supplies, and tuition support,” said Kathryn Kelly, President and CEO of The Heights Foundation. “Each program is geared to meet the specific needs of children and young adults who seek to further their education.”
The Heights Foundation works to build self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. The mission is to support education and wellness, promote family and community development, and provide the benefits of enrichment and the arts. The Heights Center, supported by The Heights Foundation, is a place for Education, Opportunity, and Enrichment. GLAD Kids is a child care and pre-k center serving more than 80 children birth-five. The Harlem Heights Community Charter School currently serves kindergarten through fourth grade and will expand to serve up to fifth grade. For more information visit www.heightsfoundation.org
 
About the Heights Foundation and the Heights Center
The Heights Foundation works to build self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. The mission is to support education and wellness, promote family and community development, and provide the benefits of enrichment and the arts. The Heights Center, supported by The Heights Foundation, is a place for Education, Opportunity, and Enrichment. GLAD Kids is a child care and pre-k center serving more than 80 children birth-five. The Harlem Heights Community Charter School currently serves kindergarten through fourth grade and will expand to serve up to fifth grade. Harlem Heights was originally settled as a rural agricultural community. Approximately 780 children live in a mixture of single-family homes and multi-family apartments. Demographically, the population is approximately 70% Hispanic, 20% African-American, and 8% Caucasian. The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average, with family income 40% below the county average.

The Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, Inc. dba CareerSource Southwest Florida is soliciting input for the July 2019 – June 2020 Regional Targeted Occupations List (RTOL) for Local Workforce Development Area (LWDA) 24 (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties).  The RTOL is used to determine which occupations are eligible for training reimbursement with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and other workforce funds.  Training reimbursements are issued by Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board through our CareerSource Southwest Florida centers to authorized training providers for post-secondary occupational training, associate degree education and bachelor degree education which link to the RTOL.
 
The process allows for the addition of occupations several times each year.  Deadline for this submission period is December 23, 2019.  For more information and to assist you in providing your input, we have provided links to the following documents on our website at www.careersourcesouthwestflorida.com, under Public Notice.
 
2019 0718 Public Notice – Adding Occup to RTOL – Instructions
2019 0718 July 2019 – June 2020 Regional Targeted Occupations List (RTOL)
2019 0718 2018-2026 Projections LWDB 24 120318
2019 0718 2018-2026 Projections Statewide 120318
2019 0718 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Definitions 2018
2019 0718 Sample Letter for Businesses to Submit Occups to Add to RTOL
 
If there are any questions or additional information is needed, please feel free to contact Mary Anne Zurn at (239) 225-2500 or [email protected]  Thank you.
 
 

(Fort Myers, FL – November 24, 2019) –Jennifer’s women’s boutique is celebrating 37 years in business by giving back to local charities at “Fashion Forward Friday” events through April.   The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center will receive 5% of all sales on Friday, December 6 from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.  Shoppers will enjoy champagne and cupcakes and will receive 15% off all dresses.
 
The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center mission is to build strong, self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood of Fort Myers through education, opportunity and the arts.   Jennifer’s will again be collecting donations to purchase bicycles for the organization’s annual holiday outreach.  The goal is to donate ten bikes.
 
Jennifer Williams opened her Fort Myers boutique in November of 1983.  Her unique and timeless sense of style and personalized service has created a loyal following.  Jennifer’s is located at 13251 McGregor Boulevard in The Design Center and is open from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Call (239) 481-8582 or visit Jennifer’s online at jennifersfortmyers.com or on Facebook or Instagram.
 
About Jennifer’s
 
The Fort Myers women’s boutique was founded by Jennifer Williams in 1983.  Jennifer’s offers subtle and timeless pieces that can be worn every day as well as sophisticated and simple fashions for the evening and special events.  Jennifer’s is located at 13251 Suite 111-1 McGregor Boulevard in The Design Center, between First Watch restaurant and Norman Love Confections.  For more information call 239-481-8582 or visit Jennifer’s online at jennifersfortmyers.com, on Facebook or Instagram.
 
 
Elly Hagen
Elly Hagen Marketing & Public Relations
(239) 994.3927
[email protected]
 

Needs are great during holidays for thousands of area children
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2019) – Blessings come in special packages for almost 4,800 Lee County school children each week. Without the blessings of food provided by Blessings in a Backpack of SWFL, these children and their families would go hungry on the weekends.
During the holidays, the need grows as kids are home from school. Blessings in a Backpack once again needs your help and has designated Tuesday, Dec. 3 as Giving Tuesday. People are asked to go to the local organization’s website at blessingsinswfl.org where there is a donate button and make a contribution. Giving Tuesday follows the holiday buying themes of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
A donation of $100 can feed one child for an entire school year. Blessings in a Backpack focuses on children in kindergarten through fifth grade who qualify for the free and reduced meal program at Title 1 schools because “that is the group growing brain wise,” said Cecilia St. Arnold, national program manager and executive director of Blessings in a Backpack SWFL. “The goal has always been the educational component. We want the children to come back to school not depleted and ready to learn.”
Targeting Title 1 schools is important because those schools are primarily made up of children from low income families and they need the help the most. Hungry children is a country and county epidemic. Consider that approximately 62,000 children in the Lee school district are food insufficient. Currently, funding only allows Blessings in a Backpack to help only a small portion of them. St. Arnold’s goal is to one day be able to help at least half – or 31,000 – of those children.
“It’s our own kids, our own backyard,” she said. “This is our future workforce. We have to take care of our own kids.”
Donations from a generous community are making a difference. St. Arnold said Blessings in a Backpack Is feeding 3,000 more children than it did five years ago.
Nationally, the number of hungry children is staggering. According to Blessings in a Backpack statistics, more than 13 million children live in food insecure homes. Three out of four teachers say they have children in their classrooms who regularly come to school hungry. One in six children do not get the food they need each day.
Business support, especially in delivering food to the children, is essential for the non-profit. Sysco has stepped up to deliver the bags of food to each of the schools. From there, the kid friendly, nutritious, ready-to-eat meals are placed in the children’s backpacks on Fridays.
Blessings in a Backpack helps prevent hunger
Blessings in a Backpack steps up where federal aid stops by feeding children on the weekend. Every Friday afternoon, children receive packages filled with nutritious, kid-friendly, ready-to-eat food items. Students return to school every Monday morning with a full stomach and an eager mind. In partnership with Lee and Collier county schools, Blessings in a Backpack has helped dramatically improve test scores, reading skills, behavior and general health. Kids are our future; you can help secure theirs. Donations of all sizes are welcome through the donations portal at blessingsinswfl.org or via mail at P.O. Box 61402 Fort Myers, FL 33906. All contributions are tax-deductible.
 

The recreational harvest season for snook closes Dec. 1 in Gulf state and federal waters, including Monroe County and Everglades National Park, and will remain closed through Feb. 29, 2020, reopening to harvest March 1, 2020. Anglers may continue to catch and release snook during the closed season.
Snook remains catch-and-release only in state waters from the Hernando/Pasco county line through Gordon Pass in Collier County (includes Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County) through May 31, 2020, in response to the impacts of red tide. Snook also has a regular season closure that runs May 1 through Aug. 31. At its February meeting, the FWC anticipates discussing whether to reopen snook harvest in this area on March 1. Comment on this and other red-tide-related issues at MyFWC.com/SaltwaterComments.
Regular season closures are designed to help conserve the species during vulnerable times such as cold weather. Atlantic state and federal waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, will be closed Dec. 15 through Jan. 31, 2020, reopening to harvest Feb. 1, 2020.
Visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations” and “Snook” for more information on snook. Improve data and report your catch on the Angler Action Foundation iAngler app at AnglerActionFoundation.com.

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Nov. 22, 2019) – During October, 638,922 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Fla., an increase of 12.2 percent compared to October 2018. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 8.8 percent compared to last year.
The traffic leader in October was Delta Air Lines with 139,527 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were American (111,139), Southwest (104,141), JetBlue (85,919) and United (72,512).
Southwest Florida International Airport had 5,451 aircraft operations, an increase of 1.3 percent compared to October 2018. Page Field saw 10,692 operations, a 16.6 percent increase from October 2018. In addition, more than 3.3 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in October 2019.
Southwest Florida International Airport served nearly 9.4 million passengers in 2018 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction. For more information, visit www.flylcpa.com or Like Us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flyRSW.

Round out your Thanksgiving festivities with some license-free saltwater fishing Saturday, Nov. 30. License-free fishing days are a great way for Florida residents and visitors to get out on the water and find out why Florida is known as the Fishing Capital of the World.
This day is part of eight total license-free fishing days the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers each year when anglers are not required to have a fishing license to participate. All bag limits, closed areas and size restrictions apply on these dates. To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/License. For fishing regulations and tips, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing. To renew or purchase a fishing license, visit GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.