Two $1 Million Grant Awards Announced for Henderson Behavioral Health and YMCA of South Florida

Community Foundation of Broward Awards a Total of $2 Million in Capital Campaign Grants from its Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund

 Submitted by Alina Quintana

     FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — (December 2, 2021) – Henderson Behavioral Health and YMCA of South Florida have each been awarded a $1 million capital campaign grant from Community Foundation of Broward and its Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund.

The Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund grant to Henderson Behavioral Health will support the completion of Henderson’s new, state-of-the-art 32,000-square-foot Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) to accommodate the growing number of people experiencing a mental health crisis in our community. The Fort Lauderdale facility will enable more emergency walk-in service, expand the number of beds from 23 to 48 and include a mobile crisis response unit and outpatient services.

The Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund grant to YMCA of South Florida will support the completion of the new L.A. Lee YMCA / Mizell Community Center in Fort Lauderdale. The new 64,500-square-foot facility will provide early childhood education programs, after-school summer camps, teen programs including youth in government and international engagement with local law enforcement. It will also allow for 10,000 square feet for Broward College to provide certification programs that lead to jobs, careers, and workforce development as well as a Black Box theatre for performing arts.

Mary Porter wanted her philanthropy to support building efforts for crucial community pro-grams, long after she was gone. After years of dedicated support for the community she loved, Mary left an estate gift of more than $40 million that enabled the Community Foundation to become the only grantmaking organization in Broward with a dedicated source of support for capital projects.

“For YMCA and Henderson, these grants will help them focus on programming and services and staffing and inspiration and not have to worry about raising money for a building,” said Community Foundation of Broward President/CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson. “All across Broward, you can find examples of Mary’s commitment to building a better future for the com-munity she loved. We are proud to be stewards of Mary’s bold commitment to Broward, which is made stronger by the enduring power of endowment.”