- April 25, 2024
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Easterseals Northeast Central Florida's Susan Moor, Grace Community Food Pantry's Charles Silano and Salty Family Services' Jeff Chaisson hold up their checks. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Susan Moor displays the presentation check for Easterseals Northeast Central Florida. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Family Cares Board of Directors President DJ Lebo opens up the awards ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Charles Silano shows off the check that helped pay for Grace Community Food Pantry's new refrigerated truck. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Front row: Presbyterian Counseling Center's Laura Walker and Lisa Benitez. Back row: Salty Family Services Jeff and Frances Chaisson and Carol Brown and Palm Coast Council Member Nick Klufas. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Family Cares Executive Officer Carrie Baird, left, watches as Board of Directors President DJ Lebo speaks at the Flagler Catalyst Fund awards ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Cares Board of Directors Vice President Stephen Bickel donated $10 million over 10 years to the organization. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Cares Executive Officer Carrie Baird. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Cares Chief Operating Officer Rachel Gerow. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Dr. Stephen Bickel, right, talks with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin after the ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Bob Snyder, DOH-Flagler administrator and Flagler Cares board of directors secretary. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The inaugural Flagler Catalyst Fund awards took shape on Oct. 26 in the form of three oversized checks.
The catalyst fund is part of Dr. Stephen Bickel's donation of $10 million over the next 10 years to Flagler Cares to drive the organization's mission to fill in the gaps for community health and social services in Flagler County.
Flagler Cares presented the checks to three community organizations at its first Flagler Catalyst Fund awards ceremony at its offices in City Market Place.
Easterseals Northeast Central Florida received the fund's first Innovation Grant, which will provide it $750,000 over the next three years for the Me In Progress wellness program that will provide behavioral health services for teens who often fall through the cracks. The program will provide counseling and alternative therapies, including music and art therapy.
"This is really a dream for us," said Susan B. Moor, the local Easterseals' vice president of philanthropy. "When our partners in counseling, when our physicians, when our psychologists, when our therapists who see and treat 5,000 children a year, tell us there’s a void, we need to be there for these children.
"These kids don't fit a clean model," she said. "They are high performing and (appear to be) doing great, but they are not thriving at home, they are not thriving in their friendships and relationships. They are not thriving in their own hearts. We listen to the kids and make sure what we're designing fits what they're telling us."
Salty Family Services and Grace Community Food Pantry each received a one-time $25,000 Growth Grant.
Jeff Chaisson started Salty Family Services in Volusia County with his wife Frances to help at-risk families whose children are in danger of entering the foster care system. They have been trying to expand into Flagler County, but volunteers would come and go, Jeff Chaisson said. With the Catalyst Fund grant, the Chaissons hired their first employee, Carol Brown, who will work with families in Flagler.
Grace Community Food Pantry used the grant to help with the purchase of a $64,000 refrigerated truck to expand its capacity for perishable food storage and distribution.
"It’s made a difference for the labor intensive part of the pantry," said Pastor Charles Silano, the organization's chairman. "We’re able to sort better, we’re able to store more food, we’re able to purchase more food and we’re able to deliver it safely. It’s like having another walk-in cooler. The volunteers love it. It’s made a humongous difference, especially in the hot summer months when the work is really hard."
The pantry serves nutritional meals to approximately 400 to 500 individuals weekly.
'THIS IS THE START'
Several community leaders attended the awards ceremony including Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and council members Nick Klufas and John Fanelli and School Board members Cheryl Massaro and Colleen Conklin.
DJ Lebo, president of the Flagler Cares board of directors, said the non-profit, established in 2014, was the brain child of AdventHealth, the Florida Department of Health-Flagler County and fellow board members Bickel and Barbara Revels.
"They got together and started thinking, 'We have some gaps in our health outcomes in Flagler County and what can we do to make changes?'" Lebo said. "They said, 'We can’t do this alone. We’ve got to get someone on board to help us on a regular basis. So they got Carrie Baird."
Baird, Flagler Cares' executive officer, moved the agency forward, Lebo said. Flagler Cares provides community organizations with hands-on support and administers its own programs. Through Baird's efforts and now Bickel's donation, Flagler Cares has grown from an informal group of people to a staff of 14 with 15 board of directors.
Bickel, who has always been passionate about the organization, had typically made donations and sometimes deposits directly into the organization's bank account, Baird said.
"It makes me feel confident that something good is going to happen in Palm Coast and so far it’s happening in spades. It's also a testament to Flagler County and the talented people that we have here. We want to make a difference. This is not the end, this is the start."
— DR. STEPHEN BICKEL
"I always tried not to accept Steve’s money," Baird said. "It was nice if we wanted to do something and there wasn’t funds for it, he was there. But I thought it was my job to find resources from other places."
But she said never expected to get that phone call last fall from Bickel telling her he was going to help expand the organization and its footprint on the county by donating $1 million a year for 10 years, which would then be followed by an endowment.
Bickel said he chose Flagler Cares for such a large donation because of Baird's track record. Moor said Flagler Cares is not just an investor, it will be a partner, helping with planning, providing advice and introducing Easterseals to other community partners.
Jeannette Simons, Flagler Cares' chief innovation officer, said the next round of Flagler Catalyst Fund awards will be announced in spring of 2023. She said Flagler Cares keeps track of all of the programs it supports and how the grant money is impacting the community.
"If you want to do philanthropy, you want to invest in people that you really think can carry your mission out," Bickel said. "And from the beginning Carrie has attracted talented people because of who she is. They’ve always kept a growth trajectory. It makes me feel confident that something good is going to happen in Palm Coast, and so far it’s happening in spades. It's also a testament to Flagler County and the talented people that we have here. We want to make a difference. This is not the end, this is the start."
