Representatives of 36 local nonprofit organizations were all smiles as they gathered at the Quail Valley River Club last Monday morning to receive combined grants totaling $607,000 to fund programs targeting children and families at what Wanda Lincoln, Quail Valley Charities committee chair, affectionately calls “the best day of the year.”

“Quail Valley Charities is now in its 19th year and after today’s distribution we will have given out $6.6 million,” said Kevin Given, Quail Valley COO/partner. “I just want to thank each of you for all the effort you do on a daily basis behind the scenes, as well as our team and our membership.”

“Thank you for everything you do for the children and young adults in our community,” said Martha Redner, Quail Valley Charities executive director and Quail Valley Membership & Marketing director. Redner is also a Dancing with Vero Stars competitor this year to benefit Healthy Start Coalition.

Money for the grants being distributed was raised during a series of events held earlier in the year, and Lincoln recognized the efforts of the Quail Valley committee and staff members who made them possible.

“We’re very, very happy to partner with the organizations who are here today, and we really do think of it as a partnership,” said Lincoln. “We’ll give you a check, and then you go out and do the work. We live in a community that is generous, but we also live in a community that has tremendous needs.”

“I am overwhelmed by the generosity of our membership; continued generosity year after year,” said Kathy Mulvey Quail Valley CEO/owner. She noted the countless success stories she has learned of as a result of prior year grants, and encouraged recipients to continue making their dynamic impact on the community. “You have a bright future.”

In addition to funding for the Quail Valley Employee Education Fund, the following organizations received program grants:

Ballet Vero Beach, Nutcracker for All; Big Brothers Big Sisters, Passport to Early Literacy; Boys & Girls Clubs, Project Learn; CASTLE, Triple P-Positive Parenting Program; Childcare Resources, Lead Teacher for 2- and 3-year-olds; Children’s Home Society, Teen Life Choices – Baby Think it Over; Crossover Mission, Summer Camps; Dasie Bridgewater Hope Center, Million Dollar Project; Education Foundation, Preschool Summer Transition Enrichment; Environmental Learning Center, STEAM Immersion in Nature; Feed the Lambs Enrichment Center, After-School and Summer Camp; Gifford Youth Achievement Center, After School Education Program; Girls on the Run, Program Expansion Initiative; Hibiscus Children’s Center, Career Pathways to Independence; Healthy Start Coalition, Babies and Beyond; IRC Sheriff’s Office, Explorers Post 556; Kindergarten Readiness Collaborative, Family Engagement Nights in Fellsmere; Laura Riding Jackson Foundation, Teen Voices Workshops; Life Builders of the Treasure Coast, Supporting Youth in Juvenile and Dependency Court System; McKee Botanical Garden, Wabasso School Day Celebration and Interactive Children’s Garden Guide; Mental Health Association, Skill Building and Executive Thinking training for children; Place of Hope, Homes of Hope foster parent recruitment; Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Early Childhood Specialist; Samaritan Center, Links-Up Mentoring Project; Scholarship Foundation, College Scholarships; Special Equestrians, Teaching Social Skills through Equine Activities; Substance Awareness Center, Re-Direct Project; The Learning Alliance, Moonshot Academy Workshops; Vero Beach Museum of Art, A+Art for teens on the autism spectrum; Victory Kids, Mind-Body-Soul Youth Performance Camps; VNA and Hospice, Children’s Bereavement and Camp Chrysalis; Willis Sports Association, Fun at Bat; Women’s Care Center, Crib Club Shopping Boutique; Youth Guidance, STEAM small group mentoring; and Youth Sailing Foundation, Summer Sailing Camp Scholarships.