FRONT PORCH

The team in Neal Communities’ south region, which encompasses Lee and Collier counties, recently gifted $2,500 to Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, a private nonprofit agencythat administers the child welfare system in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties.

The donation is part of its 2018 charitable contributions and will help serve the 2,500 abused and neglected children in southwest Florida through Children’s Network of Southwest Florida.

“Providing quality care to our children is only possible through partnerships in our community,” said Nadereh Salim, CEO of Children’s Network of Southwest Florida. “One of our most valued partners is Neal Communities, a foster-friendly company who is known for building communities of excellence and caring for the families who live there. Their generosity is transforming children’s lives every day. Paula Terry, an employee with Neal Communities, and her husband are also one of our quality foster parents who help meet an incredible need by fostering and parenting our children.”

Founded in 2003, the nonprofit’s mission is to work with the community to protect children and preserve families. Children’s Network of Southwest Florida is responsible for over 2,300 abused and neglected children and delivers a comprehensive local system of care through subcontracts with more than 50 social service agencies. The agency also serves approximately 125 at-risk community children each month through its Diversion Program.

“This agency is extremely close to my heart,” said Paula Terry, who is an employee with Neal Communities and a licensed foster parent along with her husband. “Throughout the year and a half I’ve been a foster parent, the Neal team has supported us all throughout the process, welcoming the children that come in and out of our home and continuously supporting the local agency that helps give new life to disadvantaged children. It’s this team spirit and commitment to the community that makes Neal Communities such a wonderful company.”

Since September 2016, Paula and her husband have fostered four children through Children’s Network of Southwest Florida. Two of the children were reunited with their mother in June 2017. The couple also provides respite care, a short-term foster care, and has helped three children through this care.

In 2017, Neal Communities’ south region donated a total of $30,000 to local nonprofits in the Fort Myers and Naples region.

“Each and every year, our team is committed to contributing to the communities where we live, work and play,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Neal Communities’ south region. “We know that where you live matters, and Neal Communities strives to improve people’s lives by doing the right thing and lending a helping hand whenever possible.”