A fundraiser on April 4 at Bruno’s of Brooklyn raised $18,000 for Community Cooperative. The ticketed dinner featured a live auction and the premiere of chef-owner Cal Bruno’s Plate It Up Challenge. For the video series, Community Cooperative challenged chef-owner Cal Bruno to create a dish in 30 minutes using surprise ingredients donated to the [...]
Community Cooperative’s pantries are now filled with over two tons of peanut butter and jelly supplies after the nonprofit’s 2022 Peanut Butter & Jelly Food Drive. To help keep shelves stocked all summer long, Community Cooperative launched its annual PB&J Food Drive in March to rally the support of families, businesses and the community in [...]
Community Cooperative raised over $24,000 on April 9 at the return of Empty Bowls, an event that had not been held in Lee County since 2017. Empty Bowls included a soup competition and community entertainment to benefit Community Cooperative’s emergency food programs, which include Sam’s Community Café & Kitchen, the Community Market, Meals on Wheels [...]
Community Cooperative raised more than $1 million with a record turnout of more than 770 people to help thousands of men, women and children in our county who struggle every day with hunger and homelessness at the 19th annual soup kitchen benefit. “We have veterans sleeping in the woods and families sleeping in cars [...]
Volunteers are needed for Community Cooperative’s 19th annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit on March 10. The event raises money that helps thousands of men, women and children in our community who struggle with hunger and homelessness. The popular community fundraiser in the service garages of Sam Galloway Ford relies on [...]
Community Cooperative has announced a new date and location for its Empty Bowls fundraiser, presented by FineMark National Bank & Trust. Originally scheduled Feb. 26 at Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, the event will now be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at Centennial Park. “Unfortunately, City of [...]
Grisel Brewster has joined Community Cooperative, taking the role of development director. Brewster most recently served as Senior Director of Operations for IMAG History and Science Center, a neighboring nonprofit organization located in Fort Myers. Brewster not only brings nonprofit operational experience to Community Cooperative, she also has over 15 years of event planning experience [...]
Noelle Branning has joined the board of directors for Community Cooperative, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating hunger and homelessness in Lee County. Branning was elected Lee County Tax Collector in 2020 after a career in criminal defense and family law. She was elected District 10 chair for the Florida Tax Collectors Association and serves on [...]
Community Cooperative plans the 19th Annual Soup Kitchen Benefit March 10, 2022. Each year, local restaurants prepare and serve southern-style dinner to more than 700 guests at the annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit in the service garages of Sam Galloway Ford in Fort Myers. In 2021, the event was held in [...]
Community Cooperative announces the return of the Empty Bowls fundraiser, presented by FineMark National Bank & Trust, to take place on Saturday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. Sanibel Pottery will be collaborating with this year’s event to raise hunger awareness through art. One-of-a kind handcrafted [...]
FineMark National Bank & Trust and its Fort Myers clients donated $13,400 to Community Cooperative’s annual Full Plates Project to provide Thanksgiving food packages to families in need. FineMark offered to collect items and donations from clients for the drive, as well as to match financial donations from the bank’s Fort Myers clients up to [...]
Fort Myers Fire Department stations are serving as collection points through Monday, Nov. 22 for Community Cooperative’s annual Full Plates Project to collect and distribute Thanksgiving meals to the area’s hungry. Donations being collected include turkeys, canned corn, canned fruit, canned yams, can/jar gravy, canned green beans, boxed cornbread or muffin mix, boxed mash potatoes, [...]
Community Cooperative is asking Southwest Florida to help neighbors in need by providing a holiday meal or gifts. The annual drive to brighten the holidays starts with the Full Plates Project, to make sure there are no plates empty this Thanksgiving. The drive offers the opportunity to donate food, host a food drive or donate [...]
Community Cooperative has added a second monthly mobile food pantry for veterans and their families on Wednesday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lee County Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in Cape Coral. The second monthly date was added to meet the growing need for area veterans for food assistance. The mobile food [...]
Robert Galloway and Julie Klein have joined the board of directors of Community Cooperative, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating hunger and homelessness in Lee County. Galloway is the vice president of Galloway Automotive and general manager of Sam Galloway Ford-Lincoln, where the nonprofit’s annual Soup Kitchen Benefit is held each year in the dealership’s service [...]
The popular event to help our hungry and homeless returns with a new theme and location. Community Cooperative will be hosting the return of the popular annual fall fundraiser, Becoming Cosmopolitan: Gone Country, on Thursday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon in Fort Myers. This marks the 16th year [...]
Roy’s Restaurant in Bonita Springs will collect non-perishable food for Community Cooperative on Thursday, June 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. Adults donating non-perishable food will receive a complimentary beer or glass of Roy’s wine per person. The restaurant is at 26831 South Bay Drive, Suite 100 in Bonita Springs. “Every summer, Community Cooperative puts [...]
For the third year, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) partnered with Community Cooperative to distribute 400 hurricane kits to Meals on Wheels recipients who are homebound and often unable to go out and buy necessary items to prepare for storms. Each kit included a three-day supply of nutritious shelf-stable food for breakfast, lunch and [...]
The board of directors of Community Cooperative has appointed Stefanie Ink Edwards as chief executive officer, effective June 14. Edwards succeeds Tracey Galloway, who has announced her retirement after 10 years with the organization. “Leading and transforming Community Cooperative into the dynamic human services organization we are today has been one of the greatest honors [...]
Recognizing that hunger does not take a summer break, Community Cooperative is calling on community members to support its School’s Out, Hunger’s Not campaign. During the months of June, July and August, Community Cooperative is looking for additional volunteers and donations for its Sam’s Community Café & Kitchen, Community Market and mobile food pantries as [...]
The 18th annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit was held May 6 to raise much needed funds for Community Cooperative. The event honored the organization's founder, the late Sam Galloway, Jr., who passed away in March. Community Cooperative’s Board of Directors announced the Community Café, known as the Fort Myers soup kitchen, [...]
Community donations equate to 128,000 PB&J sandwiches for children, families and seniors in need Community Cooperative’s pantries are now filled with over 4 tons of peanut butter and jelly supplies thanks to community support of the nonprofit’s 2021 Peanut Butter & Jelly Food Drive. Peanut butter and jelly are some of the most frequently requested [...]
Volunteers are needed for Community Cooperative’s 18th annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit on May 6. The event raises money that helps thousands of men, women and children in our community who struggle with hunger and homelessness, and this year’s benefit will be particularly significant since the event’s creator, Sam Galloway, Jr., [...]
Community Cooperative and co-sponsor FineMark National Bank & Trust will be hosting its popular fall annual fundraiser, Becoming Cosmopolitan: “Gone Country,” on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at The Ranch Concert Hall in Fort Myers. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Becoming Cosmopolitan event was canceled, even as the community’s need for food and [...]
Community Cooperative is asking businesses and the community to help support a Peanut Butter & Jelly collection drive through April 21. Peanut butter and jelly are some of the most frequently requested items at mobile food pantries because it is kid-friendly, shelf-stable, and protein-rich. Community Cooperative will be gathering supplies to keep shelves stocked all [...]
Community Cooperative has named board member Wayne Kirkwood, former owner and president of Kirkwood Electric, to the nonprofit’s Lifetime Advisory Board. The board is made up of longtime supporters who continue to serve in an advisory role to the innovative nonprofit made up of social service entrepreneurs fighting to end hunger and homelessness in Southwest [...]
Community Cooperative has hired Tami Holliday to fulfill a new role for the nonprofit as community relations and development manager. In this position, Holliday will work with the development department to provide leadership and support for fundraising, promotion and volunteer recruitment and retainment. Holliday will represent Community Cooperative in the community, with the goal of [...]
The 18th annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit for Community Cooperative will be held May 6 at the service garages of Sam Galloway Ford in Fort Myers. The evening features a southern-style dinner prepared by local restaurants and businesses as guests raise much-needed funds to support those struggling with hunger and homelessness. [...]
Community Cooperative will again offer monthly mobile food pantries for veterans at the Lee County Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in Cape Coral, with the first set for 10 a.m. to noon on Jan. 6. At the drive-thru pantries, veterans and their families will receive a week’s worth of shelf-stable food, meat and fresh produce. “Nationwide, [...]
With the growing need for meals to be delivered to homebound neighbors who cannot shop or cook for themselves, Community Cooperative has returned its Meals on Wheels services to five days per week and seeks volunteer drivers to serve throughout Lee County. “Since the pandemic, the Meals on Wheels program did not miss delivering one [...]
The holidays and the new year are brighter for several Southwest Florida Families, thanks to a $20,000 gift donated to Community Cooperative by FineMark National Bank & Trust. With the donation, Community Cooperative has been able to help eight families thus far with housing and other holiday needs and the list is growing. “We are [...]
Ryan Carter has joined the board of directors of Community Cooperative. Carter is executive vice president and co-founder of Scotlynn USA Division Inc., a logistics and transportation company headquartered in Canada that specializes in hauling refrigerated produce. “We are excited to welcome Ryan to our board,” said Community Cooperative Board Chairman Keith Banasiak. “His expertise [...]
Community Cooperative is asking partners and supporters to step up to provide meals and gifts to families and the homebound elderly for its annual Full Plates Project and Holiday Outreach programs. The drives to provide food and gifts to community members in need is especially critical this year as many people are still struggling with [...]
Community Cooperative premieres the first Plate It Up Chef Challenge video series on Facebook Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. featuring Chef Harold Balink of Harold’s Restaurant. For the video series, Community Cooperative challenged three local chefs to participate in the Plate It Up Chef Challenge, inviting them to create dishes using ingredients donated to the [...]
Leadership NEXT, a monthly program for advancing business professionals, will present a virtual program from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, highlighting the nonprofit industry and volunteerism. Attendees of Leadership NEXT will hear from Stefanie Edwards, chief development and operating officer of Community Cooperative, a nonprofit with a mission to eliminate hunger and [...]
A two-week customer appreciation event where shoppers collected five times the loyalty points at Total Wine & More’s Lee County stores resulted in a donation of $34,330 for Community Cooperative. The donation will help fund ongoing emergency food programs during the pandemic, including the soup kitchen, Meals on Wheels, the Community Market and mobile food [...]
Community Cooperative’s popular fall annual fundraiser, Becoming Cosmopolitan, will not be held this year due to the pandemic, but the community’s need for food is greater than ever. Supporters of the nonprofit dedicated to bringing food to the hungry and hope to the hopeless have pledged $50,000 and are asking the community to collectively donate [...]
Community Cooperative was presented the inaugural Bay Pines Director’s Cup for service to Southwest Florida’s veterans through bimonthly mobile food pantries held at Lee County Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in Cape Coral. Until the pantries were stopped in March due to the pandemic, Community Cooperative served more than 500 veterans a month since 2017. “We’re [...]
Stefanie Edwards, chief development and operating officer of Community Cooperative, was recently awarded her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Certification, showing professional achievement and commitment to fundraising. The credentials are awarded based on work experience, continuing education and passing an exam. Each CFRE recipient signs an ethics agreement. Founded in 2001, CFRE International is an [...]
In preparation for back to school, TwinCutZ is hosting its annual free haircut day for students on Sunday, Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at all five Southwest Florida locations. In addition to complimentary haircuts, TwinCutZ is also gifting every student a free backpack. Additionally, TwinCutZ is donating backpacks to Community Cooperative, and [...]
With growing requests for meals to be delivered to homebound neighbors who cannot shop or cook for themselves, Community Cooperative has an immediate need for volunteer drivers throughout Lee County to deliver Meals on Wheels. “Since the pandemic, the Meals on Wheels program has grown about 20%,” said Tracey Galloway, chief executive officer, Community Cooperative. [...]
Community Cooperative is providing an opportunity for parents who do not need extra assistance provided by Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) cards sent by the Florida Department of Children and Families late last month to donate food to help other families impacted by the pandemic. P-EBT cards were sent to parents of children who are [...]
Community Cooperative has scheduled 16 mobile food pantries, with seven new pantry locations in July. Before the pandemic, eight mobile pantries were scheduled monthly by Community Cooperative, averaging about 140 households per pantry. Now an average of 250 to 300 households are served at each site, with 425 households the highest. The schedule for new [...]
Fort Myers Brewing Company hosted “Gateway CAN do it: Food Drive Rally” and collected 3,000 pounds of food and raised more than $1,400 for Community Cooperative Thursday, April 30. The donations of food and money is enough to feed approximately 525 people for a week. Another drive-thru food drive is planned at Fort Myers [...]
Fort Myers Brewing Company is hosting “Gateway CAN do it: Food Drive Rally” to collect food and financial donations for Community Cooperative during drive-thru, take-out beer order hours Thursday, April 30 from 3 to 7 p.m. With the need to feed local families and seniors more than doubling, Community Cooperative is working throughout Lee County [...]
SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc. has announced nine new beneficiaries of its 2019 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest, thereby extending its reach throughout the five-county region. In support of a variety of children’s programs including hunger, health, education and counseling, the new beneficiaries include: Blessings in a Backpack, Community Cooperative, Inc., Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Florida [...]
Eight nonprofit organizations that serve senior citizens in Lee County recently received financial grants totaling $20,000 at the 2017 CAMEO Recipient Awards ceremony held at Shell Point Retirement Community in June. Beacon of Hope Pine Island received $800, Broadway Community Church received $1200, Community Cooperative, Inc. received $3000, Dr. Piper Center received $5000, Harry Chapin Food [...]
