FORT MYERS, Fla. (Feb. 1, 2013) – Community Cooperative Ministries, Inc. received quite a financial boost thanks to a recent $100,000 donation.
According to Tracey Galloway, CEO of CCMI, the umbrella agency for the Everyday Café and Marketplace, Meals on Wheels, Community Montessori Preschool and other social and homeless services, the donation, given by a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, is earmarked for the nonprofit’s Fort Myers location for food and homeless services.
“This is such a wonderful gift at such a critical time,” said Galloway. “Private donations and grants like this help CCMI maintain our mission of creating a sustainable, positive change in the lives of those we serve.”
Galloway added that the number of individuals and families served in 2012 had increased by nearly 20 percent from 2011. The Everyday Café in Fort Myers serves an average of 250 to 300 people each day as well as provides groceries for families in need through its Everyday Marketplace. CCMI’s homeless services provide basic human needs for our neighbors without a roof over their head and help get them into a safe, sustainable living environment.
“Two dollars can feed a family for a day, and every donation we receive, whether its $10 or $100,000, has an impact,” Galloway said. “This donor’s goal was to make a bigger impact in the Fort Myers area, and we are so appreciative they put his or her trust in us to make that happen.”
CCMI’s social service programs have expanded to include innovation classes and comprehensive case coaching and education, while serving more schools last summer with CCMI’s Mobile Food Pantry and adding more schools and students to its weekend backpack program. In the last year, CCMI has served 80,000 meals from its Fort Myers and Cape Coral Everyday Cafés and Marketplaces, 105,000 meals to homebound Meals on Wheels customers and fed more than 1,500 students each school weekend through its emergency backpack and school-pantry program.
CCMI’s Everyday Café and Marketplace concept makes food more easily available to everyone in the community who is hungry. The market model also decreases the stigma associated with standing in line for a hot meal or groceries and reduces significant waste in the preselected grocery bag model.
CCMI is an innovative nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization made up of social service entrepreneurs fighting to end homelessness and hunger in our community. The agency provides more than 15,000 meals each month through its Everyday Café and Marketplace and Home Delivered Meals programs. CCMI also educates 40 children in its Community Montessori and offers homeless and comprehensive case management services through its United Way Resource Houses.
CCMI serves Fort Myers and the greater Lee County area, including Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. CCMI works in partnership with United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades, Harry Chapin Food Bank and various community foundations as well as collaborating with fellow community and service groups including The School District of Lee County and numerous churches, businesses and community support organizations.
For more information, call 239-332-7687 or visit www.ccmileecounty.com.
