Boy Scouts of America, Southwest Florida Council, Manatee District
When most people hear the words "Boy Scout," they think about camping, emergency preparedness, and patriotism. But Scouting offers so much more. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices throughout their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. We accomplish this through our four youth programs: Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Venturing, and Exploring.
Cub Scouting gives boys in grades 1-5 the opportunity to have fun with their families and friends while learning important life skills and morals. The Boy Scout program aims to teach boys in grades 6-12 how to lead their peers, be prepared for unexpected situations, and overcome challenges to meet their goals. Venturing provides young men and women ages 14-21 a structure by which they experience a higher level of adventure than their peers while teaching them leadership skills and requiring them to work together to direct their crews' activities. Finally, Exploring empowers young men and women ages 14-21 to have hands-on experiences in their career fields of choice under the guidance of professionals who are active in those fields.
Manatee County is home to 17 Cub Scout packs, 15 Boy Scout troops, 3 Venturing crews, and 3 Explorer posts. Currently, 960 youth participate in our programs, and they are led by more than 400 adult volunteers. These youth and volunteers give tens of thousands of hours back to their community through service projects at local schools, environmental parks and preserves, places of worship, and other non-profit organizations.
In addition to bringing direct service to communities, the Scouting program addresses the root causes of societal ills. Scouts learn the importance of hard work, servant leadership, honesty, community service, teamwork, and personal responsibility. They also have the experience of being guided by multiple mentors throughout their Scouting careers. These adult volunteers learn to be better leaders in their units, homes, and businesses by benefitting from the more than 100 years of youth-serving experience handed down to them through the Boy Scouts of America.
Christian Fellowship Mission
Christian Fellowship Mission, Inc. was founded as a non-profit organization in 1966 by Lester Yancy, Aden Yoder, Sanford Sommers and Glen Martin to provide shelter, food and education to the people in Haiti.
Most importantly they have been given HOPE for a brighter future.
Haiti is one of the few countries deemed poor enough to earn a 4th world status.
While the future may seem bleak, there is hope through Jesus Christ and the church, his hands and feet.
CFM is dedicated to sharing the gospel, assisting the poor, caring for orphans and raising up pastors and leaders, one person at a time.
Manatee Glens
Manatee Glens specializes in mental health and addictions so that health and wellness is possible for every family. Manatee Glens is undaunted in its commitment to deliver excellent quality mental health, addictions and child welfare services. Manatee Glens provides$11 million in charity care so that we can continue to serve one out of every 30 families in our community. These are people from all walks of life, from various backgrounds, from toddlers to teens to seniors, all with one thing in common: they or someone they love is facing a crisis. We place the clients and their loved ones at the Center of Care.
“If it were not for Manatee Glens I may not have the life that I enjoy so much today. Four years ago yesterday, I was a client in the Addiction Center struggling to find the will to survive. Thankfully I was accepted into the program through public funding,” stated a former client who is now a Manatee Glens Drug Court Counselor. “In the past four years I have not picked up a drink or a drug. With the tools that I learned through counseling services, techs, outside meetings and group therapy, I was introduced to a new way of life that has enabled me to flourish in my recovery. It is so amazing for me to be granted the opportunity to give back to the organization that played such a pivotal role in saving my life. In the past four years I have earned my B.A. in Psychology, gotten married, become an active member in Narcotics Anonymous, reconnected with my family, found inner peace and became an employee at Manatee Glens. My wife and I are now saving for a down payment on a home, and I am in a Master’s program in mental health counseling.”
A few other services:
• Our FACT (Florida Assertive Community Treatment) Team is essentially a hospital without walls that provides mental health services to those with persistent mental illness. Clients benefit from living at home rather than in a hospital.
• Outpatient & Inpatient Detox allows people to detox with dignity while monitored by the medical team.
• The Manatee Glens Walk-In Center is open weekdays so that adults or children can drop by without an appointment to discuss their mental health or addiction concerns. There’s no charge for the first visit.
• The Access Center at the hospital offers 24-hour psychiatric emergency care for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. This center screens individuals—voluntary or involuntary—for mental health and/or addiction issues.
• Sexual Assault victims call the Rape Crisis number at any time and meet a trained counselor at the designated clinic for the medical exam. Manatee Glens provides therapy programs that create a sense of safety and confidence in victims. Victim advocates stay with the children or adults each step of the way and help make them more comfortable and able to testify in court.
Parkinson's Dance Club
The purpose of the Parkinson Dance Club is to introduce Neurodance to Parkinson's Patients, care givers, and family members for a better quality of life. Using movement, music, and dance this program creates a brain/body connections that is fun for everyone. We have seen increased flexibility and mobility, improved posture,better balance, confidence, new friendships, and smiles. This is an amazing service for a population that is faced with so many challenges. We are all volunteers meeting every week since 8/1/11 definitely making a difference for families touched by Parkinson's Disease.
Read the Hearald Tribune's article about Parkinson's Dance Club titled "Parkinson’s disease patients turn to dance".
