Guadalupe Center to host '40 Hours of REAL Impact' on March 13-14

NAPLES, Fla. - Feb. 16, 2024 - PRLog -- Guadalupe Center is hosting "40 Hours of REAL Impact," a storytelling and giving marathon that illuminates the education-based nonprofit's 40-year history in Immokalee.

The 40-hour initiative, which runs March 13-14, will spotlight stories of success and testimonials from current and former students, as well as parents, supporters, mentors, teachers and staff. Proceeds raised during the giving marathon will support education programs designed to build a cycle of prosperity in Immokalee.

"Back in 1984, Guadalupe Center began transitioning from a soup kitchen into an education provider, and the organization has grown exponentially ever since," said Guadalupe Center President and CEO Dawn Montecalvo. "Our 40^th anniversary is a great opportunity to reflect on how far we've come and the thousands of lives positively transformed through education while also envisioning the impact we'll continue to make over the next 40 years."

The word REAL represents four pillars of the Guadalupe Effect:

• Resilience: Helping generations achieve REAL change.
• Empowerment: Strengthening the community to meet REAL needs.
• Achievement: Encouraging students to dream big and make REAL progress.
• Leadership: Leveraging collaboration to bring forth REAL solutions.

Annually, Guadalupe Center serves about 1,950 students from ages 6 weeks through college. It is one of the largest education providers in Immokalee and offers a nationally accredited Early Childhood Education Program, After-school Tutoring & Summer Enrichment Program and college-preparatory Tutor Corps Program. Guadalupe Center also offers Smart Start, a program that fosters academic success that focuses on parent-child interactions, language development and literacy skills, in addition to facilitating Collier County's Teenagers as Parents Program in Immokalee.

Stories of impact already gathered include testimonials from Nallely Segura, a 2023 Tutor Corps graduate who is a pre-med major at The Ohio State University, and Fredlyn Pierre Louis, a 2019 Tutor Corps graduate who attended North Central College and now works as a news associate at NBC and MSNBC. To date, more than 250 Guadalupe Center alums have earned college degrees and launched their careers in health care, education, business, engineering, computer science, criminal justice and other fields. Another 160 Guadalupe Center students are on college campuses nationwide pursuing degrees, and 125 high school students are on the path toward higher education.

The "40 Hours of REAL Impact" giving marathon starts at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13 and continues through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. Please visit GuadalupeCenter.org/40-years (https://www.guadalupecenter.org/40-years/) to learn more about Guadalupe Center and make a secure donation or contribute a story of success.