The Frank E. Duckwall Foundation has issued a challenge grant to raise money to build a Visualization Theatre classroom in the new Library & Learning Center at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. For every $1 donated to the project through March 31, the Duckwall Foundation will donate $1, up to $100,000.

The donation qualifies for another match of $200,000 from the SCF Board of Trustees and the SCF Foundation’s Board of Directors, bringing the total donation to $400,000.

The Visualization Theatre classroom, which will seat 40 students or visitors at a time, is designed to provide library users with a contemporary digital learning environment. It will offer 270-degree immersive projection on three walls for 80 linear feet of display surface, zoned audio systems, cameras for real-time video capture and collaboration spaces. The Library & Learning Center is expected to be completed in 2018.

The first installment of the grant, based on matching funds, will be distributed in March 2018. For information or to donate to this campaign, contact Barbara Bourgoin, director of development for the State College of Florida Foundation, at bourgob@SCF.edu or call 752-5398.

The Talent4Tomorrow Partnership helped 72 families in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid on Oct. 12 at Sarasota High School.

Trained community volunteers from CareerEdge Funders Collaborative, UnidosNow and United Way Suncoast, as well as financial aid officers from Ringling College of Art & Design, State College of Florida, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and Keiser University, offered guidance on completing the application.

Later in October, the Talent4Tomorrow Partnership provided help for many more Sarasota County high school seniors and their families at North Port High School and Booker High School.

The FAFSA is required for any student applying for federal and state financial aid programs, such as the Pell grant, as well as for many scholarship programs. Through local efforts made by the Talent4Tomorrow Partnership last year, 45.5 percent of Sarasota County high school seniors completed the FAFSA, a 9.1 increase from the previous year.

The Talent4Tomorrow Partnership is a broad community collaborative known as a “Local College Access Network.” Lead agencies in the partnership include Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, CareerEdge Funders Collaborative, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Education Foundation of Sarasota County, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Sarasota County Schools, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, UnidosNow and United Way Suncoast.

Additional support for the FAFSA assistance events comes from the Florida Philanthropic Network through its College Access & Success Initiative.

The owners of a local pet store have made sure some hardworking dogs will have plenty of kibble.

Petland Bradenton owners Stephen and Taylor Benecke made a donation to pay for food for the nine patrol dogs at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office says the donation will save more than $10,000 a year.

Sheriff Rick Wells, the dogs and their handlers accepted the donation at Petland, 3560 53 rd Ave. W.

Staff members from the Sarasota office of Bouchard Insurance recently volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, an organization dedicated to building affordable homes for struggling, low-income families and individuals.

Bouchard Insurance team members worked on a home in Sarasota, doing everything from painting the interior and exterior to setting the foundation for future landscaping.

The employees also learned a little about the family who will enjoy the home when it is finished. The Bouchard team will return for the dedication of the home to the family.

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota is building a Studio for the Performing Arts with the help of a $10,000 grant from the Scheidel Foundation to kick off the $3.5 million capital campaign.

The Studio for the Performing Arts, which will be funded largely through private donations, will be strategically joined to SCF’s Neel Performing Arts Center and Howard Studio Theatre. It is being developed to support the growth of music, art and theatrical programs, and as the largest community performing arts center in Manatee County to provide an outreach to populations with limited access to such amenities.

The studio will offer intimate performances, deeper learning experiences for students in practice rooms and recital areas with ideal acoustics. A nearly 6,000-square-foot recital hall will include a grand piano, performance lighting and sound system with recording capability. It will seat 175 visitors for concerts and shows.

The Women’s Foundation of Southwest Florida has awarded a $14,305 grant to Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity to support a single mother’s dream of owning a home for her family.

The grant underscores the foundation’s commitment to invest $500,000 in causes that help local women and girls by 2020 to ElevateHer SWFL. ElevateHer SWFL, an initiative of the Women’s Foundation, engages the community in the philanthropic process by providing a platform to invest in programs that educate, boost security and entrepreneurship, and advocate from a woman’s perspective.

Thanks to corporate and individual donors, over $192,826 has been invested to date by the Women’s Foundation of Southwest Florida toward the 2020 ElevateHer SWFL goal of $500,000.

The Venice High School Foundation has awarded 20 mini-grants of up to $600 each, totaling $10,531.60, to VHS teachers.

The mini-grants were awarded to: Linda Reynolds, $600.00 to help fund the Golden Eagle Awards of Excellence Program; Christine Pomerleau, $500 to create designs and update bulletin boards for communication with students, teachers and staff; Cary Willgren, $420 to buy whiteboards for daily use of graphing algebraic and geometric graphs; Mary Dembinski, $373.80 to buy Texas Instruments Scientific calculators for End of Course exams; Elizabeth Donofrio, $600 to cover preparing breakfast and lunch, as well as decorating door prizes, in connection with schoolwide Literacy Celebration in January 2018; Shari Valencic, $597.42 to buy materials to develop and execute Visible Learning-related vocabulary reading and discussion; Gail Bruder-Werner, $337.49 to buy SyncSpace software and an Apple iPad Wi-Fi tablet to encourage shy students to use a familiar tool with demonstrating through visual mark-making; Brenda Bartlett, $600 for Renaissance promotional incentives, monthly socials and weekly awards to recognize extraordinary students on a weekly basis; Janet Allen, $600 to buy award-winning young adult books; Barry Rossheim, $600 to buy food for animals in the animal room; Dan Kelly, $600 to buy water filters in order to maintain the water tank in Marine Science; Cynthia Hamilton, $597.58 to buy assorted supplies to be used in making homemade paper from recycled magazines, etc.; David Monagra, $600 to buy high voltage bulbs, sand and batteries need for the I.S. Film Studies class; Nadia Carlston, $227.65 to buy a Flags of the World Political Wall Map for ESL students; Robert Lash, $339.96 to buy various electronic kits to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of modern day electronics; Wendy Dunn, $537.30 to buy authentic Spanish language resources for students to use to explore ways to increase communicative proficiency in Spanish; Laura Semian, $600 to supply assorted food, prizes, rewards and incentives to motivate and reward students enrolled in the VHS PBD program; Coti Delgado, $600 to buy 40 students and one teacher subscriptions to the Membean vocabulary program; Eric Jackson, $600 tobuy supplies and equipment to support the newly established VHS Connects program; and Nicole Wolfe, $600 to buy honor cords to recognize graduating students who qualify based on their grade-point average.

David Weekley Homes, the nation’s largest privately held builder, held its third annual, companywide Giving Thanks, Giving Back Thanksgiving Drive for Sarasota-area residents. The builder joined with homeowners, team members, real estate professionals, vendors and others to collect canned and nonperishable items for Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center Inc.

When teachers and administrators returned to St. Martha Catholic School in preparation for the new school year, they were confronted with an unpleasant surprise. Over the summer, the library and its contents suffered moisture intrusion, resulting in a total loss.

Of the 14,000 books, only 150 were salvageable, and the entire room had to be specially cleaned and furniture replaced.

School officials were connected to Goodwill Manasota, where books are regularly donated for sale at its retail and book stores. In October, a group from St. Martha visited Goodwill’s Logistics Center and selected about 150 fiction and nonfiction books that they felt were appropriate for the school’s pre-K through eighth-grade students. The school has been invited to return and select additional books in the future.

The Paradise Center, on Longboat Key, has a new sponsor, Youthful Aging Home Healthcare and theCenter for Brain Health.

It is a natural partnership as the Paradise Center is a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for local seniors. Youthful Aging offers full-service home health services, from professional nursing care to personal and concierge services. The Center for Brain Health is Sarasota's only neurology practice exclusively specializing in brain health. This year, the Center for Brain Health began offering free memory and lifestyle screenings at the Paradise Center and the relationship between the two organizations continues to grow.

Epilepsy Services of Southwest Florida has received a $10,000 grant from the Wilson-Wood Foundation. The money will be used to assist with case management costs for about 275 uninsured adults with epilepsy in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The Wilson-Wood Foundation, based in Nokomis, has announced its grant distributions for 2017. A total of $359,000 was distributed to 28 nonprofits benefiting Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The following organizations received grants: All Faiths Food Bank, $15,000; Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, $10,000; Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County, $10,000; Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, $10,000; Child Protection Center, $10,000; Children First, $20,000; Community Assisted and Supported Living, $25,000; Easter Seals Southwest Florida, $12,000; Epilepsy Services of SW Florida, $10,000; Exchange Club Family Partnership Center of Manatee County, $10,000; Florida Center for Early Childhood, $10,000; Florida Sheriff Youth Ranches, $20,000; and Forty Carrots of Sarasota, $10,000.

Also, Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, $10,000; Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County, $10,000;Good Samaritan Pharmacy and Health Services, $10,000; Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast, $15,000; Literacy Council of Sarasota, $10,000; Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, $20,000; Mental Health Community Centers, $20,000; Neuro Challenge Foundation, $10,000;Salvation Army Bradenton Corps, $7,000; Sarasota Family YMCA, $10,000; Friendship Centers, $15,000; Sky Family YMCA, $10,000; Teen Court of Sarasota, $10,000; Tidewell Hospice, $10,000; andWomen’s Resource Center of Manatee, $20,000.