Friends of Wheels and Keels were invited to a cocktail reception at the home of Gavin Ruotolo, founder and CEO of the Wheels and Keels Foundation, to thank them for their support of the annual Wheels and Keels Antique and Exotic Car and Boat Show and Fundraising Dinner, being held April 14-15 at the Moorings Yacht & Country Club.
Guests were given a peek at Ruotolo’s own vintage car collection as they mingled with one another and with representatives of the seven nonprofits the foundation provides grants to. Each of the agencies offers services geared toward improving the lives of local children and adults, with special interest given to organizations less able to secure financing from other sources.
Since 2010, they have expanded from funding just the Youth Sailing Foundation, to include the Arc’s Oyster Reef Restoration project, Navy SEAL Trident House Charities, Vero Beach Rowing, Lines in the Lagoon, Special Equestrians of the Treasure Coast, and Crossover Mission.
Additionally, W&K board member Annetta Gregg said that in honor of Marcia Ruotolo, Gavin’s wife of 55 years who passed away in June, they are planning a special new Founders Award. It will be given away to a different charity every year at the Friday night dinner.
“She was so sweet, and she was instrumental in organizing the foundation with Gavin and Vince,” said Gregg, referencing Vince DeTurris, W&K board president.
“It will be given to a new nonprofit charity from Vero Beach that deals with children, just children,” said Gregg, explaining that Marcia was always particularly enthusiastic when speaking about children.
“When we talked about this Founders Award, I said it has to be for the children, because that’s Marcia. We’re hoping every year to bring in new charities under the wing of Wheels and Keels.
We’re pretty excited about it,” said Gregg.
“We have the seven charities that we sponsor year to year to year, but now we’re going to also have a couple of other awards to give to organizations that have specific needs. Since this keeps growing, it’s just got such a great opportunity to have impact,” added board member Kent Soukup.
“There are a lot of smaller charities that have barely any budget, so a few thousand dollars has a huge impact. We’re looking around trying to identify some smaller charities that could really use it,” said Soukup.
He explained that he has a simpler grant application form for those requests, which they are currently accepting.
“We’ve got the wherewithal and bandwidth to raise a lot of funds, whereas with these smaller organizations, it’s just impossible for them to put on an event, so it works well,” said Soukup.
For more information, visit WKVero.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
