LeaP for Change

2023 Leadership Pensacola Class Supports Families Across Northwest Florida

by Morgan Cole

Helping the community, building relationships and cultivating a better Pensacola community is what each participant of the of the 55-member Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) class of 2023 strives to accomplish.

The LeaP class of 2023 implemented their project, LeaP for Change, which is an initiative that will help provide basic needs including food, hygiene products, clothing, and other necessities to specific local organizations that serve families and children in the Northwest Florida community.

For this initiative, LeaP class members established a Care Closet and School Pantry Program with the hope that the two projects will be sustained upon the current class ending.

The class partnered with C.A. Weis Elementary School to establish the Care Closet, which is available at no cost to students in need of access to basic care including hygiene and personal care, clothing and nutritious foods.

The class also worked with Feeding the Gulf Coast to utilize a multi-tiered approach to address childhood food insecurity through the establishment of their School Pantry Program. Located at the Ebonwood, Brownsville and Wedgewood community centers in Pensacola, the pantries will provide children and families with consistent access to nutritious meals and other non-perishable food items that can be easily consumed at home, as well as other essential necessities.

On May 3, class members gathered at C.A. Weis Elementary School for the official ribbon cutting and to celebrate the completion of this year’s LeaP for Change project.

LeaP is a program of the Pensacola Chamber Foundation that was founded in 1982, with the first class graduating in 1983. The program is designed to help cultivate community leaders and teach them about existing issues in Pensacola communities and about finding solutions.

The Pensacola Chamber established the program to renew the community’s pool of talented leaders. They understood that the future health of any community is linked to committed, educated leaders who must be equipped to make vigorous, well informed and responsible decisions.

Through the 10-month program, participants gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing the local community and acquire the leadership skills and credentials necessary to resolve them.

Each year’s LeaP class is presented with a choice of potential local nonprofits to partner with for specific projects they are trying to accomplish within the community.

Overall, this year’s class project initiatives are projected to have helped more than 800 households—with a total of 500 families at C.A. Weis and 300 through the School Pantry Program.

“The Leadership Pensacola Class of 2023 had the honor of working directly with our local Community Food Pantries to serve our Pensacola community,” 2023 LeaP class member and director of research and development for Andrews Research Foundation, Jessi Truett said.

Each project initiative served to benefit families residing in the 32505 area code, where 23.5 percent of households are reported to live below the poverty threshold. The area is also classified as an urban food desert, meaning a person must travel more than one mile to access a traditional food retailer or grocery store.

In total, LeaP class members collected more than 4,000 items for use in the new pantry and closet, including soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, underwear, batteries, cleaning supplies, other toiletries and a variety of nonperishable food items.

In addition to reaching more than 800 households through their community service project initiatives, the class also surpassed its initial fundraising goal of $60,000, collecting a total of $67,000 in donations.

“Our group of 55 Pensacola Leaders from varying backgrounds and experiences worked together for a year to build and fill the pantries with the most needed items for our local families. This amazing experience allowed us to open our eyes to our community needs, and our hearts to help fill those needs,” Truett said.

To date, more than 1,900 individuals have completed the Leadership Pensacola program and have acquired the skills, passion and connections to work effectively as community trustees.

For more about Leadership Pensacola and complete details on this year’s class project, visit pensacolachamber.com/ leadership-pensacola or leapforchangepensacola.org.

City Awarded Additional $3.9 Million for American Magic Headquarters at Port of Pensacola

Sunday’s Child Announces 2023 Grant Finalists

The City of Pensacola has been awarded an additional $3.9 million from Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida Job Growth Grant Fund for a warehouse renovation and expansion at the Port of Pensacola that will allow American Magic to permanently relocate their headquarters to Pensacola. The funding is in addition to the $8.5 million approved by Triumph Gulf Coast on May 11 for the project, which will include significant renovations to Warehouse 10 at the Port of Pensacola.

“Today’s award to the City of Pensacola will strengthen the Port of Pensacola’s infrastructure and promote economic opportunities in the sailing industry for the Florida Panhandle,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news release.

“We believe in making strategic investments that will create job opportunities and ensure Florida’s prosperity for generations to come.”

The additional $3.9 million will allow the City of Pensacola to move forward with the project design.

“Today is the start of something really special for our city,” Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said. “We appreciate Gov. DeSantis and the DEO for recognizing the type of impact American Magic could have on our community, seeing its immense benefit to the state of Florida and for supporting our effort to make Pensacola, Florida the sailing capital of the United States of America.”

The project will include design, renovation and completion of the partially completed Warehouse 10 at the Port of Pensacola. Renovations will include a 50-foot addition, along with design and construction of a dock and boat ramp.

The permanent relocation of American Magic will create 170 jobs in the advanced manufacturing, engineering and design, and high-tech research and development sectors.

American Magic has used the Port of Pensacola on a temporary, seasonal basis since 2018, most recently training on Pensacola Bay in preparation for the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona.

Design and construction of this project is anticipated to take 24 months. Job creation is expected to begin immediately, with a total ramp-up period of 24 months from construction completion.

This project aligns with the publicly approved Portside Vision Plan, and it firmly establishes the Port of Pensacola and the state of Florida as the premier location for cutting-edge watercraft and boatbuilding innovation on a global scale.

For more information about the Port of Pensacola, visit portofpensacola.com.

To learn more about American Magic, visit americanmagic.com.

Sunday’s Child, a Pensacola Bay Area member-based philanthropic group that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality by awarding grants to significant charitable and economic initiatives, recently announced its 2023 Grant Cycle finalists. The finalists were selected after a thorough vetting process and site visits by Sunday’s Child members. The nonprofits and their projects vying for one of six grants in the amount of $20,000 are:

Washington High Softball Booster Club: Project - If We Build it, They Will Come

Dixon School of Arts and Science: Project - Dixon Cultural Immersion Lab Community Health Northwest Florida: Project - Closing the Treatment Loop for the LGBTQIA+ Bright Bridge Ministries: Project - A Comfortable Space is a Welcoming Place

Re-entry Alliance Pensacola, Inc.: Project - Modernizing an Outdated System

Stamped LGBTQIA Film Festival: Project - Growing Up: Expanding LGBTQIA+ Programs for Children and Families at Stamped Film Festival

Pensacola Little Theatre: Project - On the Same Page: Race and Censorship at the Clark Family Cultural Center

Valerie's House Pensacola Chapter: Project - Gender Neutral Bathrooms Council on Aging of West Florida: Project - Someone Waits for Me, too

Funding for the grants comes from Sunday’s Child members. Since 2014, Sunday’s Child has awarded $764,250 to local charities in the Pensacola Bay Area. Sunday’s Child President Jacey Cosentino announced in January that the 2023 membership drive had resulted in $120,000 raised from among its 182 members that would enable the organization to award six grants of $20,000 each to 501(c)3 nonprofits in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties that demonstrate a commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality. Cosentino stated, “We are so pleased to announce 9 deserving organizations from within our community; each has a shared passion for making everyone feel included and welcomed.”

Sunday’s Child members will select the six grant recipient charities and their projects from among the 9 finalists at its annual meeting on June 25, 2023. For more information on Sunday’s Child and its grant process, visit sundayschild.org.