Our Impact

2019 Grant Recipients

Three finalists were chosen to compete for Impact 100 Martin’s $100,000 grant award in 2019:  Education Foundation of Martin County, Florida Oceanographic Society, and Tykes & Teens.  Grants were awarded as follows:

$100,000 – Education Foundation of Martin County

$25,500 – Florida Oceanographic Society

$25,500 – Tykes & Teens

Education Foundation of Martin County

Executive Director: Lisa Rhodes

Year Founded: 1992

Mission: To enrich and enhance educational opportunities for
all students and teachers in Martin County through effective
fundraising efforts, positive collaborative partnerships, innovative
programming and efficient allocation of resources.
Vision: A public schools system in Martin County where every
student has the opportunity to achieve his or her highest potential.
The Education Foundation of Martin County (EFMC) works to
provide resources beyond the school district’s capabilities to best
serve the diverse populations in Martin County and their unique
needs. EFMC seeks innovative methods to assist teachers in
improving student engagement, academic performance, and
future outcomes of Martin County students. Having worked with
Martin County teachers for almost three decades, it is uniquely
positioned to address literacy issues.
EFMC strives to increase community involvement and financial
support of the educational process, encourage effective
instruction, and create initiatives that support dedicated and
creative teachers; thus, supporting excellence in education. As
an independent group, EFMC promotes these efforts by raising
and distributing private and corporate funds through a number
of established programs, including classroom enrichment grants,
mentoring programs, scholarships, and development of and
recognition for teachers. These resources exceed the funding
capabilities of the school board.

Impact Project: EFMC PLAYS Across the District – to expand a
current pilot project which uses research-based guided play and
leveled books in kindergarten classrooms to promote language,
literacy and social interaction with students. The expansion would
be to all elementary schools in Martin County.

Florida Oceanographic Society

CEO: Mark Perry

Year Founded: 1964

Mission: To inspire environmental stewardship of Florida’s
coastal ecosystems through education, research and advocacy.
Vision: To be a recognized leader in environmental education,
research and advocacy.
Florida Oceanographic Society operates a 57 acre nature center
which provides a natural learning environment centered around
Florida’s marine life and local coastal ecosystems for guests of
all ages. Each year, FOS educates thousands of students with onsite
and virtual field trips, in-school outreach programs, summer
camps and special educational activities. Students quickly become
aware of the important issues facing local waterways, as well as the
need to become advocates and environmental stewards.
FOS maintains an active research, monitoring and restoration
program geared towards protecting and preserving the health of
the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie Estuary. A key component
of the program is the involvement of the community, with
volunteers directly involved in research and data collection. The
education and research departments are integrated to create
hands-on environmental learning opportunities.

Impact Project: Living Shorelines to Save Our Waters – to
create living shorelines at 8 sites in the Indian River Lagoon and
St. Lucie Estuary to improve water quality, restore habitats, protect
shorelines from erosion and create living classrooms

Tykes & Teens

CEO: Jeffrey Shearer

Year Founded: 1996

Mission: Supporting and strengthening our community
through quality prevention, education and social emotional
healing services for children and their families.
Vision: To create a community where all children have access to
high quality mental health services.
Tykes & Teens has provided mental health services to more
than 30,000 local children in need since its founding in 1996.
The organization is dedicated to strengthening families and
preventing suicide, substance use and other dangerous behaviors
by ensuring that all children have access to high quality mental
health services. This includes counseling as well as a wide
range of specialized programming that helps families cope with
issues such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, bullying, eating
disorders, school suspension and more.
Counseling services are provided on a sliding scale at over 40
locations across the Treasure Coast, including three outpatient
offices in Palm City, Jensen Beach and Hobe Sound, as well as
on-site counseling in all Martin County and Okeechobee schools,
and at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County. Services are also
available in St. Lucie and Indian River Counties. Tykes & Teens
also seeks to advocate for increased awareness of mental health
in order to remove the stigma and shame often associated with
seeking mental health treatment.

Impact Project: Project TEACH (Training and Educating All
Child Healers) – to transform early childhood programming in
Martin County by providing “Infant Mental Health Endorsement,”
a nationally recognized best practice standard that provides a set
of competencies for professional development in the infant and early childhood field.