The philanthropic ladies of Indian River Impact 100 gathered at the United Against Poverty UP Center to learn how the $100,000 grants they provided in April have been used to date.
“I want to thank you all for coming because you made this day possible. It’s because of your collective giving that these folks were able to have their dreams come true,” said Suzi McCoy Shriner, Impact board president.
After thanking everyone, representatives of Bike Walk Indian River County, Feed the Lambs Enrichment Program, Ocean Research and Conservation Association, and Homeless Children’s Foundation spoke about their projects.
Megan Bradford, program administrator at Bike Walk, spoke about their Pedal it Forward program.
“We provide safe and reliable bicycles to those individuals in our community who don’t have another means of transportation,” said Bradford, adding that they provided 538 bikes last year, along with locks, lights and helmets.
The grant was used to employ Bradford; purchase bike parts and tools, including a mechanic lift station; recruit volunteers; and market their outreach efforts to the transportation-deprived.
“They’re trying to improve their lives. Their situation is not permanent and they are on the way to going forward in their lives,” said Bradford. She said they are working with the Go Line so that people can better combine bike rides with bus rides to work, stores and appointments.
“With this momentum, we will build long-term sustainability and we will focus on fundraising past the two-year grant period so that we can continue to peddle it forward,” said Bradford.
John May, CEO/executive director for Feed the Lambs, said their afterschool and camp enrichment programs are offered at no cost to students ages K-12 who would otherwise have nowhere to go.
He and wife Kenya, program director, opened a North County site at the Coastal Community Church in Wabasso, where currently 21 children are assisted with their math and reading skills and homework. They plan to open a summer camp there, similar to their South County location, which had 80 children last year.
They were also able to purchase a van to transport the children while their parents work, and are working with parents so that they can participate in their children’s education.
Carla Meyer, Homeless Children Foundation board president, and Lauren Flanagan, case manager, spoke about their Compassion in Action program, which provides camps, afterschool activities and enrichment, along with school supplies, meals and transportation.
Meyer said 567 school-aged children were identified as being homeless during some part of the 2022-23 school year, and that in 2024, they provided services to 507 of these children, 282 in summer camp. The grant will enable 35 students over the two years to attend summer camp, along with lunch, other necessities and backpacks filled with school supplies.
“These camps are not just about the recreational use. They foster character building, they teach life skills like swimming and teamwork, and encourage creativity through art making and nature exploration,” said Flanagan. They also assist families to connect with available resources for everything from food stamps to housing.
Lauren Kleiman, Ph.D., a research associate at ORCA, spoke of their St. Sebastian River Pollution Mapping project, explaining that the river is significant as it feeds into the Indian River Lagoon.
“The idea of this is to create a thorough, comprehensive pollution map of the St. Sebastian River with the help of local community support and high school students,” said Kleiman.
She explained that easily interpreted pollution maps, available to the public online, display hotspots derived from water and sediment samples taken from some 60 points. Kleiman has made presentations to students at Sebastian River High School about the project and some have already gotten involved.
Impact 100 members contribute $1,100 annually and each spring vote to determine which nonprofit applicants will receive that year’s $100,000 transformational grants.
For more information, visit Impact100IR.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
