Impact the Palm Beaches is a philanthropic organization where women collectively give to nonprofits located in Palm Beach County to ignite change through their five core service areas: education, arts and culture, environment, health and wellness, and family. Each member donates $1,000 to create a pool of funds, and this year, at their 5th annual awards celebration, the total prize was $159,000: $100,000 to the winner, and the remaining $59,000 to be split evenly with the other 2 finalist organizations.
The organizations in the running were Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, The Lord’s Place, and The Center for Trauma Counseling. After each organization gave a 5-minute pitch the members of Impact the Palm Beaches voted and selected The Center for Trauma Counseling as the grand prize winner, but all three organizations are truly winners for what they’re doing in the community.
Habitat Humanity’s motto is “through shelter, we empower.” At the Impact Awards, we heard about their program that allows for seniors to age in place – which is when a person stays in the comfort of their home for as long as they can. Habitat provides critical home repairs for older adults who live alone or can no longer maintain their homes, things like fixing water heaters, replacing leaking roofs, and repairing degrading walkways, in order to maintain quality of life. Aging in place provides stability, comfort, and keeps housing costs affordable for these seniors in need.
The Lord’s Place is an organization that aims to break the cycle of homelessness for the most vulnerable people in Palm Beach County. They have been working in the area for over 40 years and their mission is to use their innovative, compassionate, and effective services to end local homelessness for good. In their pitch, they spoke about how essential their work is in a digital world that leaves out those who can not afford modern-day technologies. In their new focus, Project Next Gen, they are equipping homeless and formerly incarcerated job seekers with the technology skills to work and survive in today’s world.
The winner was The Center for Trauma Counseling, which serves residents of Palm Beach County who live with symptoms and disorders associated with trauma-related events and experiences. They provide prompt, effective mental health services for children, adults, seniors, families, and groups at an affordable rate. Their goal is to reduce the financial barriers to mental health treatment by offering a sliding scale of fees and other cost reduction strategies that reduce client out-of-pocket costs. The project that won them the grand prize of $100,000 is their Mobile Home Clinic, an RV that will be transformed into a mobile trauma center, so they can negate the issue of access to care due to clients not having transportation to therapy.
To date, Impact the Palm Beaches has invested $611,000 into the Palm Beach County area. Their inspirational mission and generosity has impacted countless lives by lifting up these Flawless organizations that are committed to making real change. Thank you to the women of Impact and Congratulations to all of the organizations involved!
