Individuals with Down syndrome, their friends and family and many other supporters marched on Oct. 22 during the 15th annual Manasota BUDS Buddy Walk, which took place during the Pumpkin Festival at Hunsader Farms. The organization enjoyed its most successful event to date, drawing more than 1,200 walkers and raising more than $95,000 to support programs and services for families touched by Down syndrome.

The Patterson Foundation announced this week that it will provide an additional $50,000 this year to support the National Council on Aging, which partners with nonprofits, government agencies and businesses to provide innovative community programs, services, online help and advocacy for older adults.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation recently awarded Embracing Our Differences a $40,000 grant to help fund its 2017 exhibition season, which runs April 1-May 31 in Sarasota’s Bayfront Park. The grant will also be directed to empower Embracing Our Differences' annual educational outreach programs and initiatives.

Caldwell Trust Company and its board giving program committee recently awarded $10,000 in scholarships to six candidates for a bachelor of science degree in nursing at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. Caldwell’s $5,000 contribution was doubled with a matching donation from board chair James Gabbert. Those chosen to receive the scholarships were Brandy Nichole Hauser, Nancy Urzua-Alba, Kathryn Beasley, Ashleigh Marie Dickson, Heather Sapp and Cassandra Lynn Moyers.

The Child Protection Center was recently awarded a $5,400 grant by Caldwell Trust Company. The funds are designated for the center's Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program. The grant will provide for 138 hours of police security during supervised visits and safe exchanges.

iTNSunCoast, a nonprofit that offers free rides to seniors and the visually impaired, will hold its first annual fundraising luncheon, Come Ride with Us!, at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Florida Studio Theatre's Court Cabaret, 1265 First St., Sarasota. The keynote speaker is Chris Farrell, a senior economic contributor on Marketplace, frequently shared on National Public Radio. He is also the author of Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life. Tickets are $75 and may be purchased online here.

The Kiwanis Club of Sarasota is holding a Veterans Day Breakfast, benefiting the Sarasota Kiwanis Foundation and Goodwill Manasota’s Veterans Services Program, 7-9 a.m. on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. The event will feature keynote speaker Rear Adm. Thomas Logan Malone, whose 30 years of U. S. Navy service was spent principally in nuclear attack and ballistic missile submarines, starting as a junior officer and rising to the command of a nuclear attack submarine. Tickets are $25.