Bringing Hope and Smiles to Senior Citizens – Pace Center for Girls and State Farm donate over 2,100 Care Packages

St. Pete, FL – April 23, 2021. Pace Center for Girls (Pace), a nationally-recognized program that provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy, received an $85,000 grant from The State Farm Companies Foundation which gives charitable grants to nonprofit initiatives that help build up and meet the needs of their communities. The funding supports Pace’s service-learning program designed to help girls to engage in leadership development and give back to their local communities.

Pace Center for Girls at 21 chapters across Florida and 37 State Farm agents prepared and delivered over 2,100 COVID-19 care packages to local seniors through the service-learning program. In the Tampa Bay area – St Pete area, Pace girls and State Farm agents delivered more than 500 COVID-19 care packages to seniors.

“Working with Pace girls to give back to our community has been a rewarding experience,” said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst. “Senior citizens are more vulnerable than ever due to the pandemic and are experiencing increased isolation and loneliness. While we’ve been able to brighten someone’s day, our agents have also helped girls learn important life skills, such as organization, teamwork and the importance of giving back.”

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities. Local agents worked alongside Pace girls to give back to their community. In addition to developing and delivering the care packages, Pace girls were introduced to new career opportunities across a variety of industries including insurance, community service and elder care.

“At Pace, our girls’ service-learning experiences are closely tied to their development and future success,” said Tanya Hollins, Vice President Program Operations & Strategic Implementation for Pace. “Acknowledging the power of community and instilling the importance of community involvement supports girls’ healthy development. Generous donations and grants like this one from State Farm make programs like this possible, teaching Pace girls these valuable life lessons.”

For more than 36 years, Pace has impacted the lives of more than 40,000 girls and young women, helping them heal from past trauma and create a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy.

For more information about Pace Center for Girls, please visit pacecenter.org.