Summer Camp amid COVID 19 means small groups, mask-wearing, temperature checks, frequent hand-washing, and lots of sanitizers and disinfectants. Providing a safe place for our Heights kids to thrive and learn has taken on a new meaning during this time.

I am extremely grateful for the kindness and generosity so many have shown to us. You make it possible to do our work in Harlem Heights; keeping families sheltered and fed, and kids safe and learning.

Summer School/Camp

“Can we have school this summer?” Who would imagine Kevin, or any elementary student, asking to have school in the middle of summer vacation?
• The Center currently has 57 elementary students with us from 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.
• Because so many students had difficulty maintaining their learning in the last 9 weeks of the school year, students spend several hours every day working on their reading and math skills in small groups.
• Since it is summer vacation, the kids practice their skills in fun ways. For example, one group will be putting on a play – having spent several weeks practicing their reading and comprehension skills learning their lines.
• Need to work on your reading and writing skills? Join the kids in The Writing Club who are busy at work putting together their collection of COVID stories, aka When We Had to Do School At Home.
• When the kids aren’t working on strengthening their academic skills they are enjoying art, technology and sports activities.

Thanks to you, The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center continues to respond to meet the needs of families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood during the COVID-19 crisis.

Food Distribution programs:

The Heights Center partnered with 4 organizations, Farm Share USA, Community Cooperative, Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the We Have Your Back program to provide groceries and meals to Harlem Heights Residents.

• Farm Share USA, in coordination with Senator Benacquisto’s office, hosted a food distribution event that provided fresh produce to approximately 450 families on April 16, 2020.
• Community Cooperative’s Mobile Food Pantry facilitated 6 food distribution events at the Center between March 2020 and May 2020.
• Westminster Presbyterian Church donated and helped to distribute shelf stable groceries to families every Friday beginning in mid-May through June.
• The We Have Your Back Program partnered with local restaurants to provide Heights families with hot meals every Tuesday and Friday in May.
• Since March we have provided more than 2800 meals and nearly 500 bags of groceries.

Additionally:

• Several of you provided funding to help Heights families with rent, childcare, utilities, home repairs, car payments, car repairs, etc.
• Lorraine and Gary at Gulfshore Cooling stepped up to provide a new HVAC system for a Heights grandmother. Thank you!

Back to School 2020 outreach update:

• We anticipate providing 580 students in K-12 with school supplies on Saturday, July 25 at The Heights Center.
• You have been so generous! Organizations and businesses currently collecting and donating supplies are FL Blue, Bell Tower Park, Crown Colony,Hertz- Revenue Management Team, Kelly Brothers Marine Construction, Owen Ames Kimball Company, Kelly Greens, Estero Island Chapter of NSDAR, Scotlynn Group, Jason’s Deli-Reflection Lakes, State Farm, Temple Judea, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Zion Lutheran Church, Peace Lutheran Church, ReMax Realty Group, ABC Young Professionals Group, and Fort Myers High School NHS.*
• Donations are currently being accepted at The Heights Center Monday-Friday from 9AM-5PM.
• Monetary donations are accepted directly on the Foundation’s website.
• Checks can also be mailed to The Heights Center (15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908

*In addition to collecting school supplies, members of the Fort Myers High School National Honor Society are also donating canned goods and clothing to The Heights Center. This campaign began the week of June 29 and is expected to continue through the end of the summer.

Harlem Heights Community Charter School:

• We look forward to welcoming our fifth-grade class in August. The school will now serve K-5, with 151 students enrolled.

GLAD Kids:

• GLAD Kids is serving 54 children, and we expect that number to continue to rise.
• Children are in small groups, washing hands frequently, disinfecting surfaces & toys multiple times a day, and taking a lot of extra precautions.

Construction of The Heights Education Center:
Future home of The Harlem Heights Community Charter School and
GLAD Kids Early Learning Center

• We are on schedule to open for the school year, August 10.
• Click here to see a really cool time-lapse video of our progress.
• Click here to view more construction photos.
• The building is beautiful! and it’s unfortunate that COVID has kept us from having our planned Hard Hat tours. Email me if you’d like a private tour.
• I do look forward to showing off our Education Center in the near future.

As we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The Heights Foundation, we are so proud of the accomplishments of our Heights families that YOU made possible! Stay tuned for more details.

“Our goal is to ensure that every child in Harlem Heights has the necessary supplies to succeed in school,” said Kathryn Kelly, president and CEO of The Heights Foundation. “The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average. Parents are out of work due to the COVID-19 crisis and cannot provide all the things their student will need. We want to send our students back to school, ready to learn.”

The Center has a wish list that includes new and durable backpacks, 8-16 GB USB flash drives, 3-ring binders, basic and scientific calculators, colored pencils, composition books, crayons, dictionaries, dividers, earbuds/headphones, cap and block erasers, filler paper, folders, glue bottles and sticks, highlighters, index cards, markers, notebooks, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pens, rulers and scissors.

“We are looking for organizations whose members can band together to meet the need,” said Melissa Barlow, The Heights Center’s outreach coordinator. “The 580 backpacks are the largest investment, costing more than $7,000 and supplies for each student cost $25. A business may be able to sponsor the backpacks, a church or philanthropic organization could sponsor crayons, markers or notebooks. Because of COVID-19, we appreciate monetary donations more than ever. We can order in bulk and stretch the dollars even further.”

Thank you to our current businesses, organizations and communities that are supporting our school supply outreach:

• Crown Colony Community
• Estero Island Chapter – NSDAR
• Florida Blue
• FMHS National Honor Society
• Jason’s Deli
• Kelly Greens Community
• Peace Lutheran Church
• Re/Max Realty Group
• Scotlynn Group
• State Farm
• Temple Judea
• Westminster Presbyterian Church
• Zion Lutheran Church

Donations can be dropped off at The Heights Center, 15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, 33908, Monday- Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. until July 23.

Individuals, businesses, churches or organizations interested in donating can contact Melissa Barlow at (239) 482-7706 or melissa@heightsfoundation.org. All donations are tax-deductible. Monetary donations can be made on the web at www.heightsfoundation.org/donate or mailed to The Heights Center, 15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Download Tournament Brochure:

GLAD Golf 2020 THF Brochure schedule

Lunch Menu:

Ciabatta Bread Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Pesto & Mini Brioche Navette with Butter
Plated Entrée: Stuffed Tuscan Garlic Chicken Breast; Sundried Tomato, Mozzarella
Baby Spinach & Light Fresh Herb Crema
Haricot Verts, Matchstick Carrots
Portabella Raviolis
Dessert Course:  birthday cake

Oops! We could not locate your form.

In addition to classroom space, the colorful building has a large multipurpose room with a capacity to serve meals for 180 students. The building has music and art labs designed with access to an outdoor roof terrace to encourage arts exploration and interaction with the environment. The terrace will also host the aquaponics and hydroponics gardens. An outdoor play pavilion is included as part of the design for PE activities. All classrooms have been designed with natural light, flexibility and technology in mind.

82% of the project’s budget has been raised in a silent campaign. Major donors include David Lucas, Jim and Gaye Pigott, The Fernandez Family Foundation, Joe and Joann Catti, Dinah Bloomhall and FineMark Bank, as well as several anonymous donors. In her remarks to the audience at the groundbreaking, Kathryn Kelly, Founder, President and CEO of The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center thanked the donors, the strong families of Harlem Heights, some with four generations in the neighborhood; the staff of The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center, The Heights Charter School and GLAD Kids; board members of The Foundation and the charter school; volunteers and community partners including Westminster Presbyterian, Zion Lutheran, Rotary of Sanibel-Captiva and Fort Myers South, FineMark Bank, Community Cooperative, Senior Friendship Centers and The United Way.

“We know that when kids are provided resources, including community support and a decent education, they thrive and flourish,” said Kelly. “Our charter school was conceived because we saw the difference we made in the academic performance of our AfterSchool kids. We knew that if we could help them be successful in school with just a few hours each afternoon, our impact would be multiplied if we had them all day. We are raising life-long learners and they are thriving.” 108 students grades K-4 currently attend The Harlem Heights Community Charter School that is housed in the existing community center and several modules.

The Heights Foundation merged with Gladiolus Learning and Development (GLAD Kids) in January of 2019. GLAD Kids is housed in an older building in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. Prior to the merger, GLAD had started a capital campaign to build a new building, and donors agreed to fund the new building on The Heights Foundation campus that will house both GLAD Kids and the Heights Charter School.

Owen-Ames-Kimball is the general contractor for the project. RG Architects designed the building and TDM Consulting is the civil engineering and site planning firm.

For more information about supporting The Heights Early Learning and Education Center, contact Kathryn Kelly at (239) 482-7706 or Kathryn@heightsfoundation.org. For more information about The Heights Foundation visit www.heightsfoundation.org.
About The Heights Foundation and The Heights Center

The Heights Foundation works to build self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. The mission is to support education and wellness, promote family and community development, and provide the benefits of enrichment and the arts. The Heights Center, supported by The Heights Foundation, is a place for Education, Opportunity, and Enrichment. GLAD Kids is a child care and pre-k center serving more than 80 children birth-five. The Harlem Heights Community Charter School currently serves kindergarten through fourth grade and will expand to serve up to fifth grade.

Harlem Heights was originally settled as a rural agricultural community. Approximately 780 children live in a mixture of single-family homes and multi-family apartments. Demographically, the population is approximately 70% Hispanic, 20% African-American, and 8% Caucasian. The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average, with family income 40% below the county average. Families are not able to easily access family support services located in downtown Fort Myers, and benefit greatly from programs located within the neighborhood.

The Heights Center is growing, and with its growth comes the promise of further educational commitment to families in Lee County’s low-income Harlem Heights community.

The Heights Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning for the new Heights Early Learning and Education Center, which will house the GLAD Kids Early Learning Center and the Harlem Heights Community Charter School. The three-story, 36,000-square-foot building comes at a total cost of $11.8 million, with 82% of that figure already raised through a silent campaign.

The new building, which will be attached to the east side of old Heights Center on Hagie Drive, will allow the foundation’s services to expand, with the GLAD Kids Early Learning Center being housed on the first floor of the new building and the charter school on the second and third.

Harlem Heights Community Charter School students Eliceo Martin-Miguel, left, and Christopher Adorno, right, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for a 36,000-square-foot, three-story building that will house the GLAD early learning center and classrooms for the charter school on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. The students are joined by Heights Center founder Kathryn Kelly and other administrators and dignitaries. (Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA)

The new facility will include a multipurpose room that will be utilized as an assembly space and a dining area with a capacity to provide meals to 180 students. It will also be fitted with “inspiring” music and art labs that give students access to an outdoor roof terrace, where aquaponics and hydroponics gardens will be located, to encourage environmental exploring and further artistic inspiration. An outdoor play pavilion will also be available for PE exercises and activities.

Heights Foundation board members and school representatives took part in the groundbreaking, donning white helmets and gold-tipped shovels. Some students from the charter school and the GLAD Center also got a chance to grab miniature shovels and lift some dirt.

Jan-Erik Hustrulid, the Heights Foundation board chair, thanked those in attendance at the Wednesday ceremony.

“We thank each and every one of you for your passion, your commitments, your investments and your love for the Heights Center, for the Heights Charter School and for our kids and families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood,” he said.

“Kathryn Kelly has worked tirelessly for many, many years to bring this to a reality,” he added.

Kelly, the president, CEO and founder of the Heights Foundation, spoke before the groundbreaking and reflected on the start of the organization, which came about after she decided to take part in a delivery of Thanksgiving turkeys to families in the Harlem Heights community 20 years ago. After that trip, she recognized the need that existed among those families.

According to a Heights Center news release, the poverty rate for Harlem Heights children is more than twice that of the county average, and family income in the neighborhood falls 40% below the county average.

“When farm fields gave way to development in the 1970s, what had been a strong, farm-working community suffered severe job losses,” she said. “And kids growing up in multi-generational poverty faced countless roadblocks in climbing out.”

She said that every child of the Harlem Heights neighborhood deserves a fair shot at education.

“Our kids are valuable, and if they are, there is no such thing as a throwaway kid,” she said.

Jan-Erik Hustrulid, left, looks at a virtual reality rendering of the new building for the Harlem Heights Community Charter School and GLAD early learning center on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, following the groundbreaking ceremony. (Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA)

Kelly told The News-Press that the new building should be fully constructed and functional in about a year, alleviating the crowding issue that was beginning to emerge in the old center.

“Now, (the students) will have their own identity,” she said. “We’re not sticking some in classrooms over here and some over there … They’ll all be together in their own building. I think that brings them unity and brings them closer together.”

“(The children) are looking forward to it,” she added. “They’re so excited.”

The old Heights Center, a 14,000-square-foot building, is currently home to the foundation’s community center and the charter school. It opened in 2013.

Kelly said the primary purpose of the original building was to create a community center. So, once the charter school moves into the new building, the old center will focus more on adult services such as daytime classes and programs.

The GLAD Center merged with the Heights Foundation earlier this year and will be moving from their current building to the new Heights Center once it opens. GLAD is a childcare and pre-K center that serves more than 80 children from birth until 5 years old and provides developmental and educational services for low-income families.

Kelly said the GLAD Center’s current location on Gladiolus Drive is old and in need of extensive repairs. Due to this, GLAD previously had donors who pledged money to construct a new building, and since it merged with the Heights Foundation, the donors agreed to direct the money to the Heights Foundation’s new facility.

“The fact that we had donors step up for us right off the bat was very important to us,” Kelly said.

Charter school to add fifth grade class with new facility

The tuition-free public school previously accepted K-4 students but will expand to fifth grade with the new facility. The school opened in 2016, and, at the time, accepted a kindergarten and first grade class. Since then, the charter school has added a grade every year, with fifth being added in 2020.

Currently, 108 children are enrolled in the charter school. The new building will allow the foundation to teach approximately 180, Kelly said.

“We don’t have space for (fifth grade), except for the new building,” she said. “We will be a true elementary school, K through 5.”

Harlem Heights Community Charter School fourth grade students recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the groundbreaking ceremony for the latest addition to the Heights Center campus, a 36,000 square-foot, three-story building that will house new classrooms for the Harlem Heights Community Charter School and GLAD early learning center on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in south Fort Myers. (Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA)

The school was created after the foundation fully realized the impact it was having on area children, according to Kelly.

Summer camp and after-school programs have been provided by the foundation since its inception. Kelly said the foundation began to collect data on the kids who attended these services and realized the children weren’t on grade-level when it came to reading and math.

The foundation then decided to tweak the after-school programs to make them more “academic,” hiring two teachers to assist in the process. Children began to quickly improve, leading the foundation to create a fully-fledged school.

“Within one semester, we had kids who had been failing or making C’s and D’s that all of a sudden, they’re grades were getting better,” she said. “If we could get kids on grade-level in one or two semesters after having them a couple of hours a day, what could we do if we had them all day long?”

Reach Andrew Wigdor at awigdor@gannett.com and on Twitter @andrew_wigdor.

You Can Impact The Lives Of Heights Kids
The kids in Harlem Heights are growing up. Will they continue in a life of poverty?   Or will they realize their full potential and find their place in the world? You have a unique opportunity to help us continue to truly impact the lives of at-risk kids right in our community.  Data shows that if you provide young people with the necessary resources, including a good education, a decent home, and community support, they will blossom into productive citizens, lead purposeful lives, and make significant contributions to our society.
Be a part of their dream. Give them a place to find hope.
The Heights Early Learning and Education Center

Oops! We could not locate your form.

“Melanie worked for us as a consultant and was instrumental in the successful acquisition and transition of GLAD Kids to The Heights family,” said Kathryn Kelly, Founder, President and CEO of The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center. “Her leadership will help us increase our impact and outreach to the youngest children in the Harlem Heights community.”

Holaway’s experience includes leadership roles in the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, Edison State College (now FSW) Preschool and Lee Health’s Child Development Center.

Kelly recently announced plans to build a three-story educational building on The Heights Center property that will house GLAD Kids and The Harlem Heights Community Charter School, a K-5 school. A groundbreaking is planned for fall 2019.

For more information about GLAD Kids visit www.gladkids.net, call (239) 481-2100 or email melanie@heightsfoundation.org