Pace Center for Girls receives $20,000 grant

The PACE Center for Girls has received a $20,000 grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to make health and safety improvements to its facility on Schoolhouse Road in Fort Myers.

"We are very grateful to the trustees of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation for recognizing the great need we have to provide a safe, nurturing environment for our girls," said Executive Director Debra Webb.

The funds will be used to install a security system and improve the parking area of the 8,000 square foot facility, which became home to the PACE Center in February 2007.

Webb said the center has become a nurturing haven for the 52 girls arriving there each day from turbulent homes, troubled neighborhoods, and threatening surroundings and lifestyles.

The PACE Center for Girls is a non-residential delinquency prevention program, targeting the unique needs of girls 12 to 18 years old who are identified as dependent, truant, runaway, delinquent, or in need of academic skills. PACE is a Florida-based, not for profit organization and the only statewide prevention program for adolescent at-risk girls in the nation. Its mission is to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy.

PACE accepts referrals from the juvenile justice system, the Department of Children & Families, school personnel, community services agencies, parents, family members, friends and self-referrals. Goals are to intervene and prevent school withdrawal, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and welfare dependency in a safe and nurturing environment.

For more information, contact Webb at (239) 425-2366, ext. 23 or visit www. pacecenter.org.