NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Florida Center for Early Childhood recently received a $30,000 from the Bank of America Client Foundation. The money supports speech therapy, early childhood mental health services, and other elements for families at its two locations in Sarasota and North Port.
Sara Bosse said The Florida Center has helped her son Jackson in more ways than one.
"When we first started, [Jackson] was non-verbal, and had a lot of aversions," Bosse said. "He didn't want to do a lot of activities that were very hard for him. What's really nice is he can go to school, and they can also pull him from class to go to occupational therapy and speech. So, I'm not having to pull him out and him missing more school."
Florida Center leaders say the grant will help families substantially.
"It's a big help to the families, a big help to the children, and it's a big help to the staff," said Kim Williams, Director of Developmental Therapy Services.
She says families can also save a lot of money.
"It could be as much as a couple thousand dollars to four or five thousand dollars," Williams said. "It's important that parents get their children into these programs so they can work."
The center is a resource Bosse says she's grateful for every day.
"Simple things that [Jackson] was not able to do such as feeding himself, even. After working with him, he's able to do those things."
Williams said The Florida Center for Early Childhood received the money in December. The grant should help support 150 families.
