Grove Rotary Club awards grant to Casa Valentina

Coconut Grove Rotary Foundation President Steve Carter, Danielle Fernandez and
Deborah Korge of Casa Valentina, Mayor Tomas Regalado,
 Grove Rotary Club President Don Kesler. Photo by Cynthis Seymour

The Rotary Club of Coconut Grove Foundation awarded a grant of $1,600 to Casa Valentina, which provides housing accommodations and support services to at-risk youth who have aged out of the foster care system. The grant will go toward funding a professional evaluation of Casa Valentina’s Work: Connect initiative, which helps resident youths develop the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

The grant check was presented by President of the Rotary Club of Coconut Grove Foundation Mr. Steve Carter accompanied by Mayor Tomas Regalado and Mr. Don Kesler, President of the Rotary Club of Coconut Grove to Deborah D. Korge, Executive Director and Danielle Fernandez, Employment Coach, of Casa Valentina at a luncheon held at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Mayor Regalado noted that he was familiar with the formidable challenges facing aged-out foster youth, having seen it personally when he was a City Commissioner whose district included Shenandoah where several foster families resided.

The Rotary Club of Coconut Grove provides service and financial support to initiatives within the community, as well as to various humanitarian projects in Colombia, Guatemala, and Bolivia through the Rotary International matching funds program. To date, The Rotary Club of Coconut Grove has funded after-school programs, youth sports for at-risk teens, health initiatives, and a Learn-to-Swim project for underprivileged youth.