Neal Communities becomes largest-ever Big Backpack Event donor

Historic $11k donation adopts more than half the students to be served by Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida’s back-to-school celebration

Leonardo Garcia, the co-founder of The Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida, is pleased to announce that Neal Communities South Region has just become the single largest donor in the 17-year history of the Big Backpack Event. The Southwest Florida home builder collected contributions from staff, trade partners, and residents of its communities, and presented the record-breaking $11,131 at a “Big Fat Check” presentation at its Watermark sales office in Fort Myers on July 5.

Every year an estimated 12,000 people attend the event, and more than 2,000 students receive free backpacks and school supplies while celebrating diversity in our community. “The donation made by Neal Communities South Region will adopt more than half of the 2,000 students who will receive support at the Big Backpack Event on Sunday, July 31 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Harborside Event Center,” said Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida Executive Director Leonardo Garcia. “We are overwhelmed and extremely grateful for the generosity shown by Neal Communities South Region, which will serve to provide a meaningful and lasting impact on our community in need,” said Connie Ramos-Williams, a 17-year volunteer and past event chair for the BIG Backpack Event.

Neal Communities Southwest Florida Regional President Michael Greenberg said, “As a Southwest Florida-based company, Neal Communities recognizes the importance of helping students and families get off to a great start for the school year. We are so proud of the way our staff, residents and trade partners at our communities pulled together to support students in need.”

Admission is free to the Big Backpack Event, which has become the largest back-to-school outreach program in Lee County. In advance, community members and businesses are invited to participate in the Adopt-A-Student fundraiser. Each $10 donation provides a student with a new backpack and school supplies that include notebook paper, folders, crayons, glue, pencils and pens that will be presented to the students at the annual event.

Other sponsors for the 2016 BIG Backpack Event include WINK/MundoMax, Walmart, Jason’s Deli, Lee County Family News, The News-Press Media Group, CONRIC PR & Marketing, Beasley Broadcasting, D’Latinos, Fuller Online Solutions, HABA, the City of Fort Myers and Harborside Event Center. For more information on the Adopt-A-Student
program, or to become a vendor, volunteer or business sponsor, visit www.multiculturalcentre.org.

Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida
The Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida is a private non-­profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization established in Fort Myers with the purpose of promoting programs aimed at bringing people of different cultures together and culturally linking Southwest Florida with other communities around the world. For more information visit www.multiculturalcentre.org.

CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing
6216 Whiskey Creek Drive, Suite B, Fort Myers, FL 33919

This release was published on openPR.