The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Leadership Sarasota Class of 2018 has selected the Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center as the beneficiary of its class project. After an interrupted start due to Hurricane Irma, they know that it’s more important than ever to help Sarasota in a meaningful and long-lasting way. The 2018 Leadership Class partnered with The Community Foundation and The Giving Partners in order to request possible agencies for the year’s project. The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center was chosen out of 15 prospective projects driven by the tremendous work of the center and the value of the development of a serenity garden on the campus. The Glasser/Shoenbaum Human Services Center is dubbed the Campus of Caring because it houses 17 non-profit organizations focused on services for lower income, at-risk adults, children and families. The Center serves 45,000 clients a year. The Leadership team will utilize all the experience of the 40-member class with their expertise in design, engineering, landscaping, finance and planning. The team plans on making a big impact within a relatively small budget and will be proactively seeking in-kind donations of materials and features for the garden such as benches and shrubbery. The design of the serenity garden, through its multi-faceted elements, is intended to create a place of peacefulness, collaboration and reflection. The design will also be mindful of the time and cost for maintenance such that it won’t create a burden on the extraordinary staff of the facility.
Real estate is one of the greatest costs in a business budget. Our partnership with The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center allows more money to go towards our mission. And what better place to house our office than on a campus with nineteen other outreach agencies.
Collaboration is key to the success of our work. The Campus of Caring is a unique space where we can easily join forces with other agencies to make the best use of our resources and maximize our community impact. The affordable rent allows us to allocate more funds to our mission of transforming the lives of students and their families.
As a small organization with a staff of two, employee safety was a big consideration when we were looking for office space. We did not want our employees to be in a place where they were alone. Being on the GSHSC campus has been great because there is a whole community of like-minded professionals.
