Smell the gourmet pizza. Savor a bite of steak. See the life-changing opportunities.
Visitors from the Community Foundation of Broward recently got a firsthand look – and tasted lots of delicious dishes – at Arc Broward’s newly completed Mary N. Porter Commercial Kitchen.
This professional teaching kitchen is the centerpiece of Arc Broward’s expanded culinary training program, where residents with developmental disabilities and life challenges learn new skills for employment.
The Arc Culinary program provides high-quality catering for parties, business lunches and other events, with revenues supporting their professional training and job placement efforts. And now, in the midst of an economic crisis, Arc Broward can provide career training opportunities for more local residents in the new kitchen – which was made possible with $250,000 of support from the Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund at the Community Foundation.
“The quality of the food they served was as nice as any restaurant,” said Foundation President/CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D., part of the small contingent of mask-wearing Foundation representatives who got to see the new kitchen in Sunrise. “The facility is amazing. The quality of the programing and the educational experience for the clients is so impressive. They are learning new skills that will enable them to take care of themselves.
“It’s a great legacy for Mary Porter.”
Arc Broward’s new kitchen is a powerful example of Mary’s commitment to building a better future for the community she loved. The endowed Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund at the Community Foundation provides a dedicated source of support for construction, renovations and other major capital projects that make life better for Broward residents.
Mary wanted to be able to support building efforts for crucial community programs, long after she was gone. So, Mary’s generous estate gift enabled the Community Foundation to become the only grantmaking organization in Broward with a dedicated source of endowed support for capital projects. And to encourage even more local philanthropy, Mary made it a challenge Fund – which means grants from her Fund are matched with additional fundraising by the organizations her Fund supports.
Now on Mary’s behalf, the Community Foundation finds exciting projects that make the greatest community impact and carry on Mary’s name. Our expert team vets building proposals and collaborates with a special committee, that includes Board members and former Board members, to recommend the most impactful projects. After our Board approves a grant, our team follows up to make sure grant recipients make the best use of Mary’s support.
We are proud to be stewards of Mary’s bold commitment to Broward, which is made stronger by the enduring power of endowment. And we know Mary would be pleased to see how Arc Broward and other dynamic projects are making a lasting difference for the community she loved.
To learn more about creating an endowed charitable Fund like Mary’s, contact Vice President of Philanthropic Services Nancy Thies at nthies@cfbroward.org or 954-761-9503.
