News & Events

Close-up of elementary student’s notebook
Partner Profiles

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation: Stewards of Learning

As one of the founding financial partners behind Future Ready Collier, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation has a uniquely empirical perspective on collective impact at work, as well as deep community connections that both speak to and evolve from such strategic, networked energetic investment. At the outset of the conversations that gave rise to Future Ready Collier, the Schulze Family Foundation, long led locally by Mary Beth Geier, saw the value of collaborative conversation, whereby each participant can openly say what they know that’s helpful, balanced by what they don’t know that they need help with. Coming together, sharing knowledge, and moving along a coordinated, forward-looking path are key characteristics of Future Ready Collier’s origins and ongoing success.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
back to school colored pencils
News Resources

CCPS Goes Back to School on August 31

Collier County Public Schools reopen for the year on Monday, August 31. This includes back to school for both in-person, on-campus learning and digital or other home-based options. CCPS created a webpage with plenty of helpful resources for parents. Make sure to read through and have all the information you need!

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
student carrying books
News Resources

Round-Up of Current Resources and Updates

Future Ready Collier is keeping watch over current resources and updates for families about the start of school and related topics. Read on for specifics, and share with those who would benefit from this information. Stay tuned to the Future Ready Collier website and Facebook page for future quick summary updates like this one. 

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
food pantry
News Resources

Collier County CARES Funding Distributions and Applications

Collier County has announced its plans for distributing funding received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Those eligible to apply include: nonprofits, hospitals, nursing homes, community health care and public safety assistance providers; licensed childcare facilities; individuals needing help with past-due rent, mortgage, utilities and childcare; and small businesses to relaunch and rehire. Application deadlines for Collier County CARES support vary by category. PPE kits may be included in requests and distributions. Future Ready Collier is committed to sharing important information like this with the community. Please alert anyone who may be in need and eligible. 

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
Back to School
College & Career Early Learning News Resources

School Reopening Updates

In any other year, August’s arrival means students and parents start to eagerly gear up for the school year ahead. As the onset of the 2020-2021 school year looms, however, many are wondering how best to navigate a world still dominated by COVID-19. This uncertainty applies as much to early childhood learning as to post-secondary schools. Future Ready Collier is keeping an eye on school reopening plans and safety precautions being adopted.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
boy reading book
Partner Profiles Resources

The United Way of Collier and the Keys: Amplifying Impact with Future Ready Collier

“How can we do better together?” This question posed during Future Ready Collier’s conceptualization remains a guiding principle of the network’s daily work. As a founding partner, the United Way of Collier and the Keys (formerly the United Way of Collier County) has been instrumental in Future Ready Collier’s evolution. Uniquely positioned as both a local grantmaker and direct services provider, the United Way understands the criticality of local connection. The collaboration engendered by and through Future Ready Collier has a compounding effect, enabling the United Way and similar entities to better understand and subsequently address regional need.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
back view of people with arms around each other
Resources

Sharing Community Resources

Even—or especially—during times of unprecedented disruption, Future Ready Collier seeks to be an asset for the community. A collective of over 60 educational nonprofits, agencies, and community stakeholders, Future Ready Collier’s mission is to support students throughout their educational experience. Importantly, this extends to an appreciation that academic success is contingent on factors outside the classroom. In addition to aggregating its own materials, Future Ready Collier receives and distributes resources from its partners.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
College & Career News Resources

College and Career Paths in a COVID World

A survey conducted in May 2020 by the Florida College Access Network begins to reveal some of the effects of COVID-19 on workforce and higher education. Most immediately relevant to Future Ready Collier, the pandemic is negatively impacting students’ post-high school plans. The data indicate that students already pursuing postsecondary education of some kind, and current or graduating high school students exploring their next steps, are being affected.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
Pathways students
Early Learning News

Pathways Early Education Center: Growing to Serve in Immokalee

Only an hour from downtown Naples, but a world apart, Immokalee is home to Pathways Early Education Center. In operation for more than 56 years, Pathways ably serves its mission of creating educational opportunities for Immokalee’s youngest and most at-need children, with curricula for infant through pre-kindergarten. Pathways is newer to Future Ready Collier than some of their peers, joining in 2018 when Beth Hatch assumed leadership. Their eagerness to contribute has been manifest since day one.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway
FRC leadership session brainstorm
News Success Stories

Future Ready Collier: The Promise of Collective Action

In assessing how to strengthen our communities, collaboration is a frequently raised topic—most commonly relative to its current insufficiency. Local stakeholders may bemoan the lack of cohesiveness, overlapping or unclear missions, competition, and siloing that keeps ideas and action from collective generation. In Southwest Florida, Future Ready Collier is an example of collective action happening in real time, to real effect.

Posted by Caroline Ridgway