Category: Giving Back

Neal Communities Finance Director Pamela Curran started volunteering as a mentor with Take Stock in Children of Manatee County two years ago and had no idea how powerful the experience would be for her.

Curran’s friend, who works at Take Stock in Children, first convinced Curran to volunteer. She was introduced to a student that was in her junior year at Southeast High School. With a child the same age, Curran easily developed a bond with the girl. It wasn’t long after that her friend asked Curran if she was able to mentee a second student, another junior at Southeast High School. Both girls are now seniors graduating this month.

“They both have become an extension of my family,” Curran said. And while she didn’t mean for it to happen, both mentees also have become friends with each other and with Curran’s 17-year-old daughter.

Neal Communities is an avid supporter of the Take Stock in Children program in both Manatee and Sarasota Counties. As the largest privately owned home builder in Southwest Florida, Neal Communities has eight employees who, like Curran, volunteer as mentors through the program.

“The Take Stock in Children program offers our employees a way to directly enrich in a child’s life and prepare children for the future,” said Pat Neal, founder and president of Neal Communities. “We are happy to support a program that focuses on helping our youth succeed.”

The home builder recently was a $2,500 sponsor of the Take Stock in Children Sarasota County’s annual Celebration of Hope event, which is the program’s graduation ceremony for students completing the program and receiving the college scholarship with their college plans announced.

Neal Communities also donated $10,600 to Take Stock in Children of Manatee County to provide a single tuition-based college/technical college scholarship to a student in the Manatee County program.

“Companies like Neal Communities that encourage employees to mentor lead by example. They value the investment of time to change a child’s life and the community. Their employees share their professional work experience with students and broaden the possibilities available to young people,” said Diana Dill, development director and community partnership portfolio manager for Take Stock in Children of Sarasota County.

The Take Stock in Children’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty for low-income, academically qualified students by providing opportunities for a postsecondary education. The students, from middle to high school age, are matched with a volunteer mentor, provided college readiness services and a dedicated college success coach. Each student is awarded a college scholarship and provided with postsecondary support through degree or certification attainment.

While the program requires Curran to spend a minimum of 30 minutes a week with her students, Curran said she often spends much more time. She said they talk about more than just school and future education plans. “It’s just really to help them follow their path,” she said, using expressions like “a cheerleader”, “a motivator”, and “a shoulder to lean on” when describing the role that she plays as a mentor. “They teach me new things on a daily basis,” she said. “They motivate me to be the best mentor that I can be.”

Curran’s volunteer efforts were recognized. She was named Take Stock Manatee Mentor of the Year this past January.

Curran said the other employees at Neal Communities who mentor support each other’s efforts. She told a story about how a co-worker was planning to share a book about business leadership with his mentee. Curran said she ended up sharing the same book with her students. “We support each other in this role and give each other guidance,” she said. “It’s great camaraderie among those of us at Neal Communities who mentor.”

Neal Communities has been a community partner and supporter of Take Stock in Children of Manatee County since 2017. In total, Neal Communities has donated $29,200 to the organization. With a core belief that “Where You Live Matters,” Neal Communities has given more than $7.5 million to local charities throughout Southwest Florida and is committed to the communities where they live, work and build.

“Take Stock in Children is incredibly grateful for community leaders like Neal Communities for dedicating resources to ensure local students reach their greatest potential,” Dill said.

For more information about Take Stock in Children of Sarasota County, visit TakeStockSarasota.org. For more information about Take Stock in Children in Manatee County, visit TakeStockManatee.org. For more information about Neal Communities visit staging.nealcommunities.com/.

Neal Communities, the area’s largest private home developer, has donated a total of $10,000 to two local sports leagues to help them recover from Hurricane Ian.

Neal Communities donated $5,000 to North Port Junior Bobcats Pop Warner football league to assist them with equipment purchases, including replacement of football equipment lost or damaged by the hurricane last fall. The private home developer also donated $5,000 to Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball to assist them with repairing a storm-damaged dugout roof and the main building’s roof at the organization’s fields off Fruitville Road.

“It is nice that Neal Communities cares about the area and our local youth,” said Junior Bobcats President Harry Russom, who also is the land development manager for Neal Communities. Russom requested the funds through an internal process that Neal Communities has in place to support employees and their community service.

The North Port community was severely impacted by Hurricane Ian in September. After the harsh winds subsided, rising floodwaters further damaged homes and property. The North Port Junior Bobcats league’s football players and their families were negatively impacted and some even lost their homes, Russom said. In the aftermath, the league’s football equipment, including padding and helmets, were destroyed or lost.

“It was hard on people, especially those who had lost so much,” Russom said. “The funds are helping us to get the equipment that we need so that we can continue to play.”

The pop warner football league normally has about 125 football players spread throughout five different age groups, including ages six and under, ages seven and eight, ages nine and 10, ages 11 and 12 and ages 13 and 14. The league also has a cheer program with about 85 children. The organization offers both a fall and spring season and plays at North Port High School’s football stadium, called “The Preserve.”

“The area is growing and so are our youth sports teams,” Russom said. “Neal Communities’ tagline is ‘Where You Live Matters,’ which is one of the reasons that I came to work for the company. Their values align with my values and principles.”

Neal Communities has given more than $7.75 million to local charities throughout Southwest Florida and is committed to the communities where they live, work and build.

“Local youth sports leagues like North Port’s Junior Bobcats and Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball have a positive impact on the children in our local communities,” said Pat Neal, founder and president of Neal Communities. “We’re proud to support these organization’s efforts – especially to help them recover some of their losses after the storm.”

For Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball, the funds will be used to replace roofs on a dugout and main building at their fields near the corner of Beneva Road and Fruitville Road, said Rob LaGasse, a longtime coach for Babe Ruth Baseball.

“Our regular dues don’t always cover the full operation expenses, so we run fundraisers all year,” LaGasse said. “But nothing covers unexpected needs like the repairs to these buildings.”

LaGasse first started coaching for the little league 13 years ago when his son, Alex, got involved in baseball. Alex outgrew the program, but LaGasse stayed on as a coach. He said he enjoys working with the kids and teaching them about teamwork and being a leader.

“People don’t realize that learning to be a team player helps set kids up for success. They become future business owners and learn how to be leaders,” said LaGasse, who also is a pool designer for Waterscapes Pools & Spas, part of the Neal Communities’ family of companies.

Babe Ruth Baseball is for ballplayers ages 13 to 15 who want to continue their baseball playing experience beyond the age of 12. With both a fall and spring season, the players compete on standard 90-foot diamonds under official baseball rules used by Major League Baseball.

LaGasse said he is thankful for Neal Communities’ donation to help the Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball league fix their facilities. “It makes me proud to work here,” he said. “It’s truly a family-owned business and they care about their employees’ interests.”

For more information about Neal Communities, visit staging.nealcommunities.com/. For more information about North Port Junior Bobcats Pop Warner or to donate to the organization to assist with storm recovery, visit www.NPJrBobcats.com. For more information about Sarasota Babe Ruth Baseball, visit www.SarasotaBabeRuth.com, and to send a donation to assist with storm recovery, email caluer@mote.org.

Neal Communities, Southwest Florida’s largest local private home builder, has sponsored a series of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s recent programs to assist with world-class research, conservation of the area’s natural resources and promotion of science education.

Neal Communities was a $1,500 sponsor of Mote Marine’s Farm to Fillet luncheon on Feb. 12 at Mote’s Aquaculture Park. Neal Communities also will be a $2,000 sponsor of Mote Marine’s Party on the Pass on March 11 in Mote Marine’s courtyard and a $1,000 sponsor of Mote Marine’s Seasonal Tasting event on April 12 at Nathan Benderson Park. In October of last year, Neal Communities was a $6,000 sponsor of Mote Marine’s signature gala, Oceanic Evening.

In total, Neal Communities has provided Mote Marine $9,000 since October to help support research programs that focus on the understanding of manatees, sea turtles, sharks and coral reefs and on conservation and restoration efforts of those species and their ecosystems.

“We care about protecting and preserving the natural resources both on land and in our oceans,” said Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities. “Mote Marine is doing wonderful work as it relates to research and helping us to understand our underwater sea life.”

Mote Marine Laboratory is one of the oldest marine research laboratories in the Sunshine State. The lab first opened in 1955. While the Lab’s beginning years primarily focused on sharks, Mote’s research has expanded to include other areas of research such as studies of human cancer using marine models, the effects of human-made and natural toxic substances on humans and on the environment, the health of wild fisheries, the development of sustainable and successful fish restocking techniques and food production technologies and the development of ocean technology to help better understand the health of the environment.

With a core belief that “Where You Live Matters,” Neal Communities has given more than $7.75 million to local charities throughout Southwest Florida and is committed to the communities where they live, work and build. Over the years, Neal Communities has championed academic, athletic, cultural, environmental and philanthropic programs that support the arts, community, non-profit and educational organizations.

For more information about Mote Marine Laboratory, visit mote.org. For more information about Neal Communities’ community support, visit NealCommunities.com/where-you-live-matters.

Neal Communities, Southwest Florida’s premier, private homebuilder, donated $7,500 to support Sisters Sowing Seeds, a nonprofit organization that mentors and empowers teen girls in the community.

Neal Communities has supported the nonprofit organization since 2019, with donations now totaling $18,500. This is the largest donation made to date.

Sisters Sowing Seeds was founded in 2015 by Monica Donley, when she was a senior accountant with Neal Communities. The organization hosts tutoring and mentoring programs designed to help teen girls and young women succeed in school and life and strengthen their self-esteem. It offers programs both in-school and in the community.

Most recently, program participants gathered to identify and share their individual goals with one another. “Our quarterly session was created to motivate our participants to put their aspirations, dreams and goals into a visual form,” Donley said. “Our goal is to be accountability partners to one another. We envision an exercise ending in a celebration for accomplishing our goals – taking what may have seemed impossible and breaking it down into three phases and enjoying the process with a group.”

The $7,500 donation from Neal Communities will be used to fund Sisters Sowing Seeds’ programs, like its weekly middle school programs, tutoring services and counseling sessions for its students.

“We’re honored to continue to support Sisters Sowing Seeds, a wonderful organization that is empowering young women,” said Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities. “We’re also proud to assist Monica in continuing her impactful work.”

Neal Communities has a philanthropic culture and a core belief that “Where You Live Matters.” The latest giving is part of more than $7.75 million that Neal Communities has donated to local charities and causes throughout Southwest Florida.

For more information about Neal Communities, visit NealCommunities.com. For more information about Sisters Sowing Seeds or to donate, visit SistersSowingSeeds.org.

Neal Communities, southwest Florida’s premier, private homebuilder, frequently contributes to nonprofits and events in the locations where the company’s employees and customers live and work. The builder is sponsoring two upcoming events in the amount of $5,000 each.

The Manatee County Fair will be held January 12-22, 2023, at the Manatee County Fairgrounds, 1303 17^th St. W in Palmetto. Neal Communities’ sponsorship of The Fair dates back at least 10 years and supports the variety of activities at this family friendly event.

Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities said, “Supporting the Manatee County Fair brings back great memories for me. I always loved going to the county fair as a child growing up in Iowa, and I believe the Manatee County Fair is an opportunity for families to enjoy time together and celebrate the educational aspects of the industries that support our county as well as the entertainment at the fair.”

In addition to Neal Communities’ $5,000 sponsorship of the Manatee County Fair, Pat Neal is also personally purchasing steer and swine totaling $2,250 in support of the Manatee River Fair Association. This contribution is something that he has done for many years, and typically, he donates them to a local church.

Neal Communities is also sponsoring Palmetto Youth Center’s MLK Weekend Celebration in the amount of $5,000. Held January 13-15, the celebration includes a banquet, parade, talent show and church service.

The Palmetto Youth Center makes a difference in students’ and families’ lives through educational initiatives, mentoring programs, athletic and character-building activities.

Neal Communities has a philanthropic culture and a core belief that “Where You Live Matters.” The latest giving is part of more than $7.75 million Neal Communities has donated to local charities and causes throughout Southwest Florida. 

If you had walked into the Human Resources offices of Southwest Florida’s premier private homebuilder, Neal Communities, two weeks ago, you might have thought you were in a toy store. The office was filled with more than 100 packages for local children who might not otherwise receive gifts this holiday season.

Those presents were purchased by Neal Communities’ employees as part of the Salvation Army Angel Tree program. Employees who wanted to participate chose an angel card from the tree and purchased gifts for that child. Sixty-two Neal team members joined the initiative, which has been an ongoing annual tradition and has provided presents for more than 1,000 children over the years.

Employees from Neal Communities South Region in Fort Myers and Naples also joined together to help children in need by donating toys to Toys for Tots. The toy drive is run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve to distribute gifts to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them. This is Neal Communities third year participating in Toys for Tots.

“Every child deserves to experience the magic of the holidays,” said Ivory Matthews, vice president of community and governmental affairs. “This is a way many of us can come together to help other local families enjoy the season a little more and lift the financial burden for families in need.”

In a statement sent out to employees, Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities said, “All I want to say is thank you. Thank you for the culture of giving at Neal. Thank you for thinking of others besides ourselves. Thanks for helping to make this season happier for lots of boys and girls.”