NETJETS US VOLUME 10 2019

“Our model helps children lead
happy and healthy lives.”
DAVID ALBERS
Now, the festival generates an average
of $10 million annually—more than $191
million to date—all of which is invested in
children’s services. NCEF awards grants
annually to approximately 40 well-qualified
nonprofit organizations and initiatives that
serve children in need through a range of
programs: early learning, nutrition, mental and
physical health, vision and dental services, and
activities to keep them energetic and engaged
after school and during summer breaks.
“We have become the blueprint for how
to change a community one issue at a time,”
says Cary, who serves as NCEF’s Chairman.
“It traces back 20 years when our founding
trustees committed themselves to improving
the lives of at-risk and underprivileged
children in our community.”
The transformation has been remarkable,
continues Cary’s wife, Debbi, who serves as
a foundation trustee: “NCEF has changed
the landscape of human services in Collier
County and, most importantly, the future of
275,000 children who have been served by
our grantees and strategic initiatives.”
Children receiving NCEF assistance live
in often-overlooked communities where
poverty is common. The majority of children
are of African-American, Latino, or Haitian
heritage; 100% qualify for free or reducedprice
school lunches; and approximately 20%
speak languages other than English at home.
They live in housing that, for the most part,
is substandard, such as dilapidated trailer
homes shared with extended family members
and rundown apartments and duplexes.
Because Collier County receives no
independent, tax-based, public financial
support for children’s social services, many
youths would be without quality child care,
after-school programs, medical and mental
healthcare, and even basic nutrition without
NCEF’s intervention. “We strategically
invest in programs because access to these
resources can change the trajectory of a
child’s life,” Cary says.
In Immokalee, a farming community,
there are several NCEF beneficiaries,
including the Redlands Christian Migrant
Association (RCMA), which provides
services and education to 6,100 children
in rural pockets throughout Florida. “We
value the nearly 15-year-long partnership
we’ve shared with NCEF as we serve the
farmworkers and other low-income families
of Immokalee,” says Isabel Garcia, RCMA
Executive Director. “NCEF grants help
us provide high-quality education and
comprehensive services to 1,000 Collier
County children each year. NCEF’s support
helps RCMA transform the lives of children
from birth to high school and beyond.”
Celebrating its 20th anniversary during
the 2019-2020 season, NCEF has brought
many nonprofit organizations together to
forge new, more effective paths toward the
common goal of making a lasting difference
for children in need, according to its CEO,
Maria Jimenez-Lara.
Another outstanding example of the
foundation’s impact can be found at the stateof-the-art
NCEF Pediatric Dental Center,
which has received more than 135,000
visits from young patients since it opened
in December 2008 in East Naples. With
clinical staff from the University of Florida
College of Dentistry, the center provides
comprehensive dental services for children
from birth through age 21. A mobile unit
visits schools in targeted neighborhoods,
providing dental sealants for second-graders
and screenings for third-graders.
“We reach many children who have never
had the benefit of proper dental care in
their lives,” says Jimenez-Lara. “The Dental
Center’s faculty and staff tell us that the
severity of the dental disease they observe is
like none they have ever seen.”
Children’s vision services represent one
more element of NCEF’s approach to target
the needs of the whole child. Approximately
20,000 children from low-income families
receive screenings annually; of the nearly
3,000 children given follow-up exams,
some 2,500 receive two pairs of prescription
lenses, one for home, the other for school.
According to school district data, 94% of
children with new glasses improved at least
one letter grade in two or more subjects, and
96% of children improved significantly in
behavior and attendance.
NCEF also invests in integrated
healthcare, which combines traditional
pediatric medicine with a mental health
component to help identify, at a much earlier
age, youths showing signs of emotional
challenges. “Research shows one in ten young
people in the United States will struggle
with mental health issues before age ten,
and at least half of them will never receive
help,” explains Jimenez-Lara. “Our model
treats ongoing behavioral problems and helps
children lead happy and healthy lives.”
Reflecting on NCEF’s accomplishments
during its first two decades, Cary sees a
thriving, sustainable model that helps both
the overall Collier County community and
thousands of children whose lives measurably
improve. “High-school graduation rates
are soaring, teen pregnancy and juvenile
delinquency are at all-time lows, and a
thorough safety net of strong, effective
nonprofits serves children like never before,”
he says. “The children benefit, of course,
but the community as a whole also benefits
when at-risk children are equipped to grow
up into responsible, contributing members of
society.” napleswinefestival.com
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