Grace Place and the Chubb Classic. A Long-Lasting Partnership that Continues to Flourish
By Doug Milne
NAPLES, Fla. – When it comes to inspiring acts of heart and heroism in Southwest Florida, few things rival that of the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO. Sure, the competitive fire, talent level and storied histories of the golfing legends each year at Tiburon Golf Club are quite motivating. But, it’s far from the only factor that moves the needle of inspiration.
One of the most significant needle movers is an organization the Chubb Classic supports in many ways, including financially.
In 2004, in the Golden Gate community of Naples, educators giving of their time, along with other volunteers, put into motion a program would grow into something magnificent.
With two loaned rooms at the Golden Gate United Methodist Church and a bus to transport students, those caring volunteers launched a small after-school homework club consisting of 60 children. Encouraged as they were, those volunteers could’ve never fathomed the massive levels of interest and popularity Grace Place for Children and Families – an organization designed to transform lives through education and support – would experience.
Grace Place was founded on a simple but powerful insistence: education has the power to break the cycle of poverty. As local families struggled with low incomes, language barriers and limited access to resources, Grace Place founders saw an opportunity to build something that could serve the entire family, not just individual children.
That first year, the nascent homework club quickly generated interest and hope. In fact, it made such an initial splash that, in the second year of 2005, the organization began offering parenting classes for families with preschool children. That move laid the foundation for what would become the nationally recognized Bright Beginnings family literacy program.
By involving parents alongside their children, Bright Beginnings redefined early childhood education by empowering parents to be their children’s first and most influential teachers. Over time, the program became a cornerstone of Grace Place’s work, helping preschoolers enter kindergarten ready to succeed while giving parents the confidence and skills to support learning at home.
In ensuing years, Grace Place’s steady rise in popularity resulted in a more expansive reach across many levels. English as a Second Language classes grew into Adult Education curriculums which now include literacy training, digital and financial literacy, as well as preparation for U.S. citizenship exams. For school-aged children, after-school and summer programs — titled the Academy of Leaders — provide academic support, growth and mentoring from kindergarten through high school.
From nursery-aged kids to adults, Grace Place serves over 1,300 kids each year, up several hundred from just two years ago.
As the programs grew, so did the campus. After purchasing five acres of land in Golden Gate to a multi-million-dollar expansion that resulted in modern classrooms, community spaces and playgrounds, Grace Place today is a celebrated educational hub.
“I've been at Grace Peace for two years now and it's meant a lot to me, because I get to mix well and a lot with my community,” said student Joanna Louis. “I've gotten to spend community hours through Grace Place. They have also given me an internship, which means more job experience. And they've also been helping with school-related activities.”
“I've been at Grace Place for two years, but I'm senior now,” said 18-year-old Samuel Theophile. “It has meant everything to me, because when I first came here, I didn’t have any options to even speak English to be able to communicate with people like I am right now. They help me with everything…how to be confident in life…everything. It has meant so much to me.”
Once again this year, on Tuesday, Grace Place staff hosted an outing to Tiburon Golf Club and the Chubb Classic for nearly three dozen kids and teenagers to get an inside look at all that goes into putting on a professional golf tournament.
“Today, we’ve brought about 36 kids from Grace place who have never experienced this outing before,” said Colleen Durham, Director of Grace Place Donor Engagement. “They are high schoolers in our after-school program at Golden Gate High School, which is part of Grace Place.”
This year’s contingent included many students from Grace Place’s Tech Works and English Express cohorts. Those are students learning English as a second language, as well as those headed towards tech school or the workforce. The students toured the facilities, learned about the different careers and got a glimpse at the intricacies with the whole package.
“This provides them a great glimpse into different careers that are available,” said Durham. “It's extremely useful, because career exploration never ends, and so there's so much golf in Southwest Florida and then Naples. So, learning of the different careers that feed into this industry and that are available to them is incredibly helpful at this age.”
Today, Grace Place serves more than 1,300 students and families each year in the 4-square-mile area that is Golden Gate, part of Naples. Its all-encompassing approach – from childhood to adult education, literacy programs and food security – speaks volumes to its vision and belief that every family deserves access to the tools and opportunities needed to create a better future for themselves and thrive.
“I love the opportunities and the field trips it gave students like me,” Louis said. “From Golden Gate, we don't really have as much opportunities as other schools. Grace Place is just a great hand that reaches out to help students like me.”
Grace Place’s pre-school program differs from traditional ones in that Grace Place requires at least one parent to stay. The belief is that while a child is learning to read, write and speak in English, a parent is in the classroom, typically also learning how to read, write and speak English.
“My father is the only parent I have with me,” Samuel said. “My mom stayed in my home country. He didn’t know that much about Grace Place at first, but when he learned about it through friends, he signed me up. But, the more we got involved with it, he came to really love it a lot, too. It helped him work and everything like that.”
“My favorite part is that we include the whole family,” Durham said. “We educate the students, but we make sure to include and educate the parents when we can to really make it a family literacy center.”
In 2019, Grace Place became one of the first organizations to receive the Pearl Literacy Award from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Its nationally recognized Bright Beginnings program, a Grace Place Family Literacy Model®, serves preschool children and their parents. Grace Place School Age Programs, partially funded by the Florida Department of Education, provide after-school, summer and college access programming to K-12 youth.
“We've got our Bright Beginnings program with the preschoolers and the parents,” Durham added. “We've got afterschool programs for elementary, middle and high school kids. We have our College of Career Readiness Program as part of that. We also have our adult education program and our family food distribution program.”
“Grace Place has been a big help for my family, as well,” Louis said. “At the beginning of the school year, Grace Place gives backpacks and school supplies, so that was very helpful for cutting costs for my family.”
One change is that Grace Place discontinued its Friday Food Pantry, which was open to the whole community. It now directs its food inward. With that setup, Grace Place began its family food distribution whereby produce and non-perishables are sent home to families twice each month. Instead of it being open to the community, it's limited to Grace Place students and their families.
“We've also hired a Director of Career and Technical Education to help put more hands-on career exploration courses in our after-school programs,” Durham said. “Beginning with middle school, he's teaching manufacturing healthcare and technology, as those have been identified as high demand, high wage jobs. So, we’re really focused on getting some hands-on curriculum in those programs. He’ll then expand it to high school and elementary school, as well.”
So, while the stars and legends of the game are certain to again dazzle and motivate inside the ropes at this week’s Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO, the heart of the Chubb Classic outside the ropes helps crown countless champions, all inspired to forge ahead in positive and successful directions.
“Listening to some of these students talk about Grace Place and how many doors it's open for them is incredible,” Durham said. “I see and hear how many opportunities it provides for things like first volunteer experiences, first internships, first jobs. It has just been amazing. They now can see themselves going to college because of the assistance they've received at Grace Place. And, it’s not only because of their grades, but because of the whole process. It's really rewarding to hear parents talk about those opportunities the education has brought their kids. They’ve seen their children change in positive ways; they’re more outgoing, more confident, better at reading and math and all of those things. It's just all so great to see.”
