Lakewood Ranch Community Fund To Award Grants At October 18th Presentation

SARASOTA, Fla. - Oct. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- MEDIA CONTACT
Angela Massaro-Fain, President
(941) 351-0024

Lakewood Ranch Community Fund To Award Grants At October 18^th Presentation

Colonel John W. Saputo USMCR To Receive 2013 C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian Award

What:          Lakewood Ranch Community Fund

         2013 Grant Awards Ceremony

Where:          Lakewood Ranch Town Hall

         8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd

         Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202

         941.907.0202

When:          Friday, October 18, 2013

         3:30pm – 5:00pm

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Florida – October 15, 2013 – The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund, a philanthropic organization dedicated to enhancing life in and around Lakewood Ranch, is hosting its 2013 Grant Awards event on Friday, October 18^th at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall from 3:30pm - 5:00pm. To open the ceremony, Colonel John W. Saputo, USMCR, will be honored with the 9^th Annual C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Since 2002, the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund has distributed 241 grants to local non-profit organizations, totaling more than $800,000. This year, applications for grants were received requesting over $154,000 for human services, education, healthcare, arts and culture, environmental, and mental health and crisis intervention causes. At the October 18^th presentation event, 21 grants will be awarded totaling $68,402. In 2012, the Fund distributed 21 grants totaling $71,000.

Colonel John W. Saputo, USMCR, is the recipient of the 2013 Humanitarian of the Year Award for his high professional standards, unwavering ethical and moral values, and fierce dedication to humanitarian ideals. Throughout his military career and his position as the President/Owner of Gold Coast Eagle Distributing of Sarasota, Saputo has demonstrated an unparalleled level of leadership and vision with a steadfast dedication to philanthropy and community service. “Gold Coast Eagle and its employees believe in being an active partner within the community,” said Saputo. “We actively support and give back to the community, not for attention or accolades, but because there is a need. There are hundreds of organizations that strive to end an illness or a disease or to help those who cannot help themselves and as long as these groups exist, we will be here to help.”

About the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund

The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund was created as a charitable fund under the larger umbrella of the Manatee Community Foundation. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life in and near Lakewood Ranch by promoting philanthropy, connecting the charitable interests of donors with the ongoing needs of the community, and granting funds. For more information, visit LWRfund.org (http://www.lwrfund.org/)

Grapevine Communications is a full-service, award-winning advertising, marketing and public relations firm based in Sarasota, Florida, and serving clients nationwide. The firm was awarded the 2010 Frank G. Berlin, Sr., Small Business Award by the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.For more information on Grapevine Communications, contact Angela Massaro-Fain at AMF@grapeinc.com or 941-351-0024.