New College Foundation has received a $20,500 Equity and Access Grant through the James Franklin Warnell & Dorothy J. Warnell Fund and the McCauley-Brown Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
The Community Foundation’s Equity and Access Grants support programs that serve local populations facing systemic barriers to education and health care services. The funds will be directed to increasing mental health access for LGBTQ+ and other minority students at New College by offering after-hours care through the College’s Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC).
According to Anne Fisher, Ph.D., the director of the CWC, access to after-hours care is “vitally needed to meet the needs of our LGBTQ+ students, as it offers support during times that the center is not available. Importantly, these services will be offered not only to students who live on campus but to those who live off campus or are not on campus during times of crisis.”
Fisher explains that, nationally, the demand for mental health services at college counseling centers has been on the rise.
“For many students, college is the first time they have the autonomy to make their own choices about their health and wellness. It’s often the first time that they feel safe enough to explore their identity and to seek help to work through past traumas,” Fisher said. “The CWC is committed to being a safe space for our students, and this grant is truly a bright spot because it allows us to provide 24-hour access and support to our students, particularly those marginalized by others, as are students on the LGBTQ+ continuum. We are so grateful to the Community Foundation for its support and solidarity.”
For more information about this grant or the New College Foundation, call 941-487-4800 or visit ncf.edu/alumni-and-friends/the-foundation.
About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $421 million in more than 1,500 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $48.9 million last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $323 million to area nonprofit organizations thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families and businesses. For more information, call 941-955-3000 or visit cfsarasota.org.
Su Byron is the communications specialist for the New College Foundation.