Community Foundation ends first decade with trip back to Woodstock
With the group Jo List and Friends playing 1960s songs from groups like The Doors, dozens of Community Foundation members and supporters clad in tie-dye shirts celebrated the nonprofit organization’s 10th year with a Woodstock-themed fundraising event at the Diamondhead Beach Resort Jan. 31.
Janeen Paulauskis helped organize and decorate the gala where each table was stocked with “psychadelic” mushrooms and “special” brownies. There was a “Sly and the Family Stone sliders” table and a “Shroom Station” along with cocktails.
The Community Foundation assists more than 30 nonprofit organizations including scholarships, programs at Beach Baptist Church, Chapel by the Sea, a butterfly program with the Kindergarteners at the Beach School and Abuse Counseling & Treatment Center Inc. in Fort Myers.
“We’re a good supporter of the local organizations,” said Community Foundation President Sheryl Bowman. Bowman said its members also help “families who find themselves in challenging situations.”
The Community Foundation has grown to “about 76 ladies and they are serious about being involved in the community and donating their time,” Bowman said. She said the fundraiser was about “bringing the community together, not just to raise money, but to connect. Life can be challenging.”
The Woodstock theme was chosen to deliver an air of “love, peace and joy instead of focusing on the traffic and roadwork,” Bowman said.
Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jacki Liszak put it another way: “It’s so important for adults to play. We’re so serious all the time.”
Also on hand to take photos of the guests was Empire Entertainment and Photo Booths.
The Community Foundation’s upcoming events include a fashion show in March and a beach cleanup day in April. To learn more about the Community Foundation, you can visit their website at www.fortmyersbeachcf.com/.