Palm Beach Gardens – July 2009 – Place of Hope’s campus expansion received a generous infusion from the Honda Classic/Children’s Healthcare Charity. For its $10,000 donation, the Honda Classic/Children’s Healthcare Charity will have its name as a permanent fixture in the Peter & Fern Barsanti Family Life Center.

Located on Place of Hope’s Paxson Campus in Palm Beach Gardens, the Life Center will provide for the educational, therapeutic, and recreational needs of foster children in POH’s care, as well as provide space for various community-based programs.

Place of Hope (POH), one of the largest family-style child welfare organizations in Florida, provides emergency and long-term family-style foster care, family outreach and intervention; transitional housing and support services; adoption and foster care recruitment and support; and hope and healing opportunities for children and families who have been traumatized by abuse and neglect.

“We are thrilled to be able to support once again Place of Hope and also assist in the development of the Barsanti Family Life Center. Having a center for families to meet and gather with others is a terrific addition to POH and is a testament to the tremendous commitment Charles Bender (executive director of Place of Hope) and his staff have to make POH a much-admired and respected foster care environment. We cannot be happier to be able continue our commitment to assist POH,” said Ken Kennerly, executive director of the Honda Classic.

The Honda Classic/Children’s Healthcare Charity is supporting the Hope for the Future Capital Campaign, which kicked off in fall 2008. The campaign is comprised of three core components and three matching challenge grants – Joann’s Cottage will help relocate and expand emergency shelter space for pregnant or parenting foster youth (the $750,000 Martin/Kirkwood/Turri Fund provides a dollar-for-dollar match); the expansion of Villages of Hope will provide more transitional housing and support services for aged out foster and other homeless young adults (the $500,000 Lost Tree Village Charitable Foundation grant provides a dollar-for-dollar match) and the Peter & Fern Barsanti Family Life Center at the main POH Paxson campus (the $500,000 Barsanti Family Foundation grant provides a dollar-for-dollar match).

“Even when the economy is making campaigns such as our more of a challenge, the community finds a way to make good things happen for the children,” said Bender. “We are grateful and heartened by the progress being made by supporters like Ken Kennerly and the Honda Classic.”