Guests enjoyed samplings from the area’s finest restaurants, fine wines, a signature Blue Bay Martini, champagne and live music by The Wayward Souls, rockin’ blues band.  Participating restaurants included The House of Pasta, The Jac Island Restaurant, Keylime Bistro, LYNQ, MudBugs Cajun Kitchen, St. Charles Yacht Club, Sunshine Seafood Cafe and The Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market.

Live and silent auction proceeds benefit School Success programs for at-risk children in the Harlem Heights neighborhood in Fort Myers.

Event sponsors include Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands, J.P Morgan Chase & Co., entech, Acentria Insurance (Jason and Sherri Huff), Rich and Sandy Heinrich, Sammy Lucas and Greg St. Clair, and JP Morgan Limousine.

“Our School Success programs include our charter school, academic tutoring, after school and summer camp programs, scholarship and college access assistance, school supplies, and tuition support,” said Kathryn Kelly, President and CEO of The Heights Foundation. “Each program is geared to meet the specific needs of children and young adults who seek to further their education.”

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.

Photos By Angelina Hobbs

The VIP reception was held at the waterfront home of William and Patricia Hearn.  St. Charles Yacht Club hosted the main event.  Live music was provided by The Juice Rockin’ Blues Band.

Guests enjoyed samplings from the area’s finest restaurants including Blue Coyote Supper Club, Café Italia, Cip’s Place, Culinary Education Center of Sanibel, Key Lime Bistro, LaMotta’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, St. Charles Yacht Club and Society. The Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market provided a raw bar for the VIP reception.

Guests had the opportunity to bid on fabulous auction lots including tickets to a Maroon 5 concert, a wine dinner for four at RumRunners, a stay at South Seas Resort with a private sailing class by Offshore Sailing School, an in-home cooking class for ten by renowned Chef Loretta Paganini, a wine cooler from Good Deals Appliances filled with standout wines, including a rare bottle of 100 pt. Screaming Eagle Cabernet, an insider’s trip to Cuba with Chef Gloria Jordan, tickets to James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt with use of a Jaguar or Range Rover from Jaguar Land Rover of Fort Myers, a wine tasting for 20 at Total Wine with hors d’oeuvres from Ruth’s Chris and limousine from JP Morgan, and an in-home dinner for ten by Chef Justin Fleming of St. Charles Yacht Club.   Guests were able to sign up for a special seven course dinner at the home of Dorothy and Ron Fitzgerald by Chef Dustin Valette of Valette’s in Healdsburg, California and St. Charles Yacht Club’s Executive Chef Justin Fleming.

“We are so appreciative of our sponsors, donors, restaurants, guests and our hosts who opened their hearts in support of The Heights Foundation,” said Kathryn Kelly, President and CEO of The Heights Foundation.  “Our School Success programs include our charter school, academic tutoring, after school and summer camp programs, scholarship and college access assistance, school supplies, and tuition support.  Each program is geared to meet the specific needs of children and young adults who seek to further their education.”

For more information about The Heights Foundation and The Heights Center visit www.heightsfoundation.org or call (239) 482-7706.