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New nonprofits are steeping up to aid the LGBTQ+ community, financially challenged girls and women, hospitality workers, animal welfare, and neurodivergent students.

Benevolent Community

Find out about new charitable organizations that are addressing unmet needs

By Gaylene Salomons

Alliance for Period Supplies of SWFL

Mission: To provide free, monthly period products to fi nancially challenged women and girls so they may participate fully in daily life. “A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s opportunity to get an education, or a woman’s ability to put food on the table,” says organization president Dusti Beaubien. Established in 2019, the group operates through 200-plus partner sites in Collier and Lee counties. (apsofswfl .org)

Sage House

Mission: To provide shelter, services, and unconditional love and support to all LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults. As a mom of children who identify as LGBTQ+, Marianne Lambertson was shocked that parents kick kids out of their home for identifying or coming out as LGBTQ+. She founded SAGE (sexuality and gender equality) House, an accepting community that provides meals, clothing, and mental health and counseling support. (sagehousenaples.org) SNIP Collier

Mission: To provide spay and neuter services, vaccinations, and basic medical care for the dogs and cats of Collier County who live in low-income families. Tom Kepp, a native Neapolitan, started a spay and neuter pet project in the Bayshore area of Naples in 2013, knowing that pet adoption would not end pet overpopulation. In 2019, SNIP (spaying and neutering initiative program) became a 501(c)(3). A SNIP low-cost clinic and education center is planned in Immokalee. (snipcollier.org) Southwest Florida Music Education Center

Mission: To create a world-class music education center where neurodivergent students receive education in music and life skills, preparing them for meaningful growth opportunities that enrich their lives and the community as a whole. Founded in 2019 by Robert and Sandra Moher in partnership with the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs in Boston, the local center is one of only a few music education programs available to neurodivergent students in the United States. The center is off ering training for postsecondary music certifi cates at Artis— Naples until fall 2024, when it will shift to its new facilities on the Hodges University campus. (swfl music.org)

Think Pineapple Foundation

Mission: A socially focused, mission-driven organization established to support local hospitality businesses and industry employees during times of crisis. It was created in response to the 2020 pandemic shutdown and provides temporary fi nancial support for basic necessities and health care. (thinkpineapplefoundation.org)