{"id":76408,"date":"2025-12-09T01:56:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/76408\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T01:56:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:56:08","slug":"gulfport-merchants-chambers-gecko-world-2025-grant-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/76408\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulfport Merchants Chamber’s Gecko World 2025 Grant Recipients"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"\"peopleKaren Thompson, the new president of the Sonia Plotnick Women\u2019s Health Fund, accepted the organization\u2019s award.
Photo by Trei Johnson<\/p>\n

The Gulfport Merchants Chamber (GMC) celebrated its annual Annual Holiday Party & Grant Check Presentation Dec. 4. <\/p>\n

Three nonprofit organizations received Gecko World grants for consistently giving back to the community through service, education, and hands-on support. <\/p>\n

During the presentation, Chamber President Scott Linde emphasized that each recipient met the requirement of being a 501(c)(3) that actively serves Gulfport. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese people are rock stars,\u201d Linde said, noting that several groups have earned Gecko World grants year after year.<\/p>\n

Sonia Plotnick Women\u2019s Health Fund<\/p>\n

Karen Thompson, the new president of the Sonia Plotnick Women\u2019s Health Fund, accepted the organization\u2019s award and highlighted its 28-year commitment to helping women access essential health care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been doing what we do for 28 years now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The fund assists women with medical expenses, supports lesbians pursuing college, and provides community education focused on women\u2019s health. Thompson explained that after COVID, the organization expanded into behavioral-health support. As a result, the stories they hear often move the board to tears. She thanked the Chamber for its ongoing partnership and this year\u2019s increased support.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"5The Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation also received funding to expand its work on pollinator conservation.
Photo by Trei Johnson<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation Expands Pollinator Corridors<\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation also received funding to expand its work on pollinator conservation.<\/p>\n

Foundation President Anita Camacho expressed gratitude and outlined plans to use the grant to build more pollinator corridors throughout Gulfport. The organization engages both youth and adults in environmental education and plans to return in February for the annual Arts Festival to bring back its popular butterfly exhibit.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"ACANDL Corps, represented by youth mentor Alexa Griffin and Dru Rabin also received a giant check.
Photo by Trei Johnson<\/p>\n

CANDL Corps Highlights the Power of Arts-Based Leadership<\/p>\n

Griffin described how their arts-based leadership workshops help young participants develop social, emotional, and early professional skills. She said watching students grow \u2014 both on stage and off \u2014 has been a meaningful experience for the teen mentors as well.<\/p>\n

Alexa, an 18-year-old senior at St. Pete Collegiate High School, plans to graduate in May with both a diploma and an A.A. degree. She will spend the following year abroad before pursuing her bachelor\u2019s degree and future creative projects.<\/p>\n

Commitment to Community Support<\/p>\n

The GMC closed the evening by reaffirming its long-standing commitment to strengthening Gulfport through partnerships with nonprofits that continue to uplift the community year after year.<\/p>\n

The Gabber Newspaper? We Go There<\/p>\n

In 1968, our founder, George Brann, started The Gabber Newspaper, then called the Gulfport Gabber, to hold Gulfport City Council<\/a> accountable. Read more of our city council coverage<\/a>, and learn about our policies on reporting, fact-checking, and funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karen Thompson, the new president of the Sonia Plotnick Women\u2019s Health Fund, accepted the organization\u2019s award.Photo by Trei…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[6110,2271,28015,43164,202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-76408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-gulfport","tag-gulfport-florida","tag-gulfport-florida-business-news","tag-gulfport-florida-merchants-chamber","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}