PENSACOLA, Fla. – May 11, 2016 – Today, after nearly nine months of brainstorming, fundraising, community education and work with various governments and local agencies, the Greater Pensacola Chamber Foundation’s Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) Class of 2016 unveiled its A Better Way to Give class project. The ceremony was held at 1:30 p.m. at Plaza de Luna on South Palafox Place.
Each year, LeaP class members vote on a project that will generate long-lasting and sustainable change in the Greater Pensacola area. Homelessness was identified early on as a challenge for which the class wanted to find a solution. After brainstorming and looking to other communities for inspiration, the class settled on A Better Way to Give, which recycles, revamps and installs obsolete parking meters throughout downtown to serve as a coordinated giving alternative to help the homeless.
“Leadership Pensacola gives passionate, civic-minded leaders in Northwest Florida the opportunity to channel what they learn into a real-life project,” said Greater Pensacola Chamber President & CEO Clay Ingram. “Their work strengthens our community and often creates long-term relationships between participants, program volunteers and partner organizations, making their support even more impactful. I commend the 2016 LeaP class for their efforts to better the lives of our area’s homeless.”
The EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless will serve as the fiscal agent and manager after the class’s conclusion. Nearly $100,000 was raised and presented to the Coalition during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. In all, 40 meters were installed the week of May 9, along Palafox Place and Main Street, near Community Maritime Park and around various parks and squares in the area.
“Homeless individuals have, unfortunately, become a largely ignored challenge in Pensacola, due mainly to misinformation,” said Amanda Hindsman, class project chair. “As a result, funding to help them escape the cycle of poverty is limited. Through this project, we will educate the public about the challenges they face while providing for them solutions to the seemingly insurmountable problems they face.”
Meter sponsorships were generously provided by: Armstrong Electric Company, Inc.; Baptist Health Care; Bradley “Beej” Davis, Jr. and Matthew C. Hoffman; Cat Country 98.7 and NewsRadio1620; Central Credit Union of Florida; Chick-fil-A Navy Blvd.; Cox Communications; Dave and Mary Hoxeng; Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan, Escambia County Clerk Pam Childers and Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson; Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon; Evan Levin; First Presbyterian Church of Pensacola; Fishbein Orthodontics; Fisher Cabinet Company; Grace Lutheran Church; Great Southern Restaurant Group; Greenhut Construction Company, Inc.; Gulf Coast Office Products; Gulf Power Company; Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union; Hanto & Clarke General Contractors; In loving memory of Eric Doelker; Innisfree Hotels; LeaP Class of 2016; Lee and Adrianne Collins; MMI Mechanical Contractors; Molina Healthcare; Morette Company; Olvera Family; Ready Mix USA; Sacred Heart Health System; Stan and Amy Connally; Steve and Denita Williams; STOA Architects; Studer Foundation; Studer Group, a Huron Healthcare solution; The City of Pensacola; Total Construction of Northwest Florida, Inc.; Warren Averett/Mort O’Sullivan and White Sands RV.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Leadership Pensacola concludes 2016 class project