The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund awarded $53,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations serving people who live or work in Lakewood Ranch and east Manatee and Sarasota counties. Additionally, the Fund awarded $15,000 to the Brain Health Initiative conducted by Harvard University and Mass General in the Lakewood Ranch area.

Grants include investments in health education for teenagers, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), epilepsy support services for families, veterinary care and follow-up support for working guide dogs, car seats for Lakewood Ranch infants, preschool gym equipment for children with disabilities, food security, participation in Lakewood Ranch Youth Chorus and Orchestra, therapeutic riding sessions for children with disabilities, and camp for children with special needs.

The eighteen nonprofits receiving grants are: Sarasota Opera Association, Healthy Teens Coalition of Manatee County, Nature’s Academy, Take Stock in Children of Manatee Community, Visible Men Academy, JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation, Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, Easter Seals Southwest Florida, Foundation for Dreams, iTn SunCoast, Mark Wandall Foundation, Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy, Southeastern Guide Dogs, St. Joseph Food Pantry, The Haven, Tidewell Hospice, and Manatee YMCA.

Real estate attorney Amanda Tullidge of Blalock Walters is grants committee chair and Lakewood Ranch Community Fund board of advisers member. “As the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund heads into its 20th year, we are thrilled to continue our long-standing commitment to supporting the nonprofits which play such a critical role to resident life in and around the Ranch,” said Tullidge.

Grant recipients will be celebrated at the December 11 lunch meeting of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, focused on philanthropy in the area.

Lakewood Ranch Community Fund is a fund of Manatee Community Foundation. Established in 2000 by the Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the Fund has awarded more than $1.3 million. To learn more about the Fund or to make a tax-deductible gift, call (941) 747-7765 or visit ManateeCF.org.