FORT MYERS, Fla. - Dec. 28, 2020 - The holidays and the new year are brighter for several Southwest Florida Families, thanks to a $20,000 gift donated to Community Cooperative by FineMark National Bank & Trust. With the donation, Community Cooperative has been able to help 8 families thus far with housing and other holiday needs.

"We are pleased to be in a position to give to individuals and families in need this holiday season," said Joseph R. Catti, Chairman and CEO of FineMark National Bank & Trust. "As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize it has been a very difficult year for many people in our community and we believe it is our responsibility to help those who are in need."

Community Cooperative's Building Stronger Families program is a family stability focused program that partners with the Lee County School District focused on homeless prevention. Community Cooperative social workers work with families with children under 18 that are homeless or on the brink of becoming homeless. The program works to help clients in need become self-sufficient and rebuild their lives with dignity via a two-generation approach to help meet the needs of children and adults simultaneously to foster both academic success and break the cycle of poverty.

"While our organization started more than 36 years ago to feed the hungry, we have learned that a meal alone does not fix all the problems," said Tracey Galloway, CEO of Community Cooperative. "The pandemic has pushed many hard-working families to the brink, and this generous support from FineMark lets us help more families in need for the holidays."

Families helped by the grant include:
· A single parent of four girls who is employed full-time, but couldn't afford the bills after her mother moved out.
· A family of four with an autistic teenager who were asked to leave their condominium because of noise complaints about the son.
· A family whose father is terminally ill with cancer and social security and disability don't cover bills for the family with six children.
· A full-time Publix employee for more than 10 years whose hours were decreased.
· A family with four children that recently began caring for an additional three children from the father's previous relationship due to DCF involvement.
· A single parent of six children whose husband died unexpectedly last year three weeks after they were married.
· An employed single parent with a teenage daughter who lost her housing.
· A single parent employed full-time at Walmart who moved with her 3-year-old daughter to Lehigh Acres from Pennsylvania to escape domestic violence.

For information on how to help, visit www.CommunityCooperative.com.

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