Our community is only as strong as the tools, resources, and voices that come together to create it.
As a community connector and convener, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County is committed to listening and relying on the voices of our community to guide our philanthropic work.
Through surveys, reports and conversations, we are gathering insights from local cause leaders to better understand our community, and provide support to nonprofit organizations in multiple ways.
Community Voices was created to bring together experts from nonprofit and community organizations to share insights about our community's evolving needs in a series of panel discussions.
You may listen to previous discussions or read a blog post recapping key insights and stories shared. This page will be updated as these community-wide dialogues are ongoing.
Adapting the Human Services Model During a Pandemic
August 5, 2020
Meet the Panelists:
The Changing Landscape of Education: Adapting and Innovating During a Crisis
July 28, 2020
The challenges facing our education sector are revealing. From overcoming technology barriers to fulfilling the basic needs of our families, the students, parents, teachers, and providers within our community are working hard to create a constant learning environment for our children. With all this effort, the question remains: how can we adapt and innovate to transform these challenges into lasting opportunities that reflect our genuine care and value for education?
In a virtual panel discussion, four community partners alongside the Community Foundation’s Kirsten Russell, Vice President of Community Impact, and Nicole Light, Education Officer, shared valuable insights and lessons learned on how our community can respond and thrive as we approach the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.
Meet the Panelists:
Executive Director of Elementary Schools
Sarasota County Schools
BOOST
At Risk Specialist
Booker High School
E-Tutoring
Vice President of Operations
Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota County
Great Futures Academy
Director, Suncoast Campaign for
Grade Level Reading
The Patterson Foundation
This Book is Cool!
Supporting Childhood Resiliency During a Crisis and Beyond
October 22, 2020
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has long supported children and their families. Learn through this interactive virtual discussion how bringing mental health supports to children, students, and parents is helping build a resilient community.
We will discuss collaborative community efforts involving schools, mental health therapists, mindfulness, and neighborhood support groups to understand why trauma-informed care is needed now and even more in the months and years to come.
Meet the Panelists:
Season of Sharing Virtual Update: A Conversation with Community Partners
December 1, 2020
In a year like no other in recent memory, Season of Sharing remains a time-tested and trusted way for neighbors to support one another. Whatever the crisis, this vital safety net is there to help countless families and individuals with the immediate basic needs necessary to regain stability.
And not a moment too soon.Unprecedented requests for help with rental and mortgage assistance, utility bills, child care, transportation, food vouchers, or other crucial expenses are relying on Season of Sharing like no other time in its existence.
Listen to this conversation with the Herald-Tribune Media Group and community partners as we discuss the latest impact of Season of Sharing and how this community-wide network is responding to the evolving needs brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meet the Moderator:
Barbara Peters Smith
Opinions Editor
Herald-Tribune Media Group
Meet the Panelists:
Glasser-Schoenbaum Human Services Center
Arts & Healing
March 24, 2021
Learn through this interactive, virtual discussion how local arts organizations are playing an important role in addressing mental, emotional, and social healing as well as connections created in response to the dramatic changes brought about in the last year from COVID-19, economic hardship, and racial injustice.
Speaking from their own experiences, panelists shared the benefits that the arts can provide for health care workers, arts-focused community wellness efforts serving at children and families, and the way local arts organizations are healing themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meet the Panelists:
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Connecting People and Ideas
October 5, 2021
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County and our nonprofit partners strive to include and support diverse voices and audiences in our efforts to build a more equitable community.
Learn through this interactive virtual discussion with local community leaders about they are centering community voices and the unique mediums they use to highlight the diversity in thought, perspectives, and opinions that enrich our region. We will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened this work along with the lessons learned and opportunities that lie ahead.
Meet the Moderator:
Mercedes Soler
President and Co-Owner, Solmart Media
Board Member, Community Foundation of Sarasota County
Meet the Panelists:
The Bay Park Conservancy