Staff from the Hyatt Regency Sarasota joined All Faiths Food Bank to serve food to visitors at its Sprout Mobile Farm Market on April 25. Executive chef Ryan Ward prepared and served a healthy dish made with fresh produce to local residents who come to All Faiths Food Bank’s “Sprout Route” to pick up fruits and vegetables.

The Jay K. Turner Fund at the Manatee County Community Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the Van Wezel Education Department’s Art Works for Schooltime - Grade Level Reading Partnership.

The Sarasota Southside Rotary Club recently donated $3,777 to Children First to purchase equipment for its Helen R. Payne Center. The grant paid for an outdoor sensory water activity table and other playground equipment. The SunTrust Foundation, meanwhile, recently donated $9,600 to Children First for two budgeting classes for parents and caretakers.

The Bradenton Rotary Foundation recently awarded $1,250 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast for its one-on-one mentoring programs in Bradenton. Big Brothers Big Sisters programs encourage children to set higher goals for high schools and college, improve their confidence in themselves and more. The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch also awarded $2,700 to the program and the Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Foundation awarded $10,000. The Women’s Sertoma Club on Venice, meanwhile, donated $1,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters' Decision to Win program at Venice High School. In this program, a mentor works one-on-one with a high school student on personal decision-making.

The new member class of the Junior League of Sarasota recently transformed an empty outdoor space into a sensory garden for Girls Inc. of Sarasota. The class split into four groups and designed areas that targeted different senses. The project included an herb garden, a music wall, a hopscotch and movement area and a water play section. Each group spent 15-25 hours of prep work and completed the work on Earth Day.