Braden River Elementary students celebrate kindness and empathy during last year’s Bucket Fillers Reading Day, proudly holding up their copies of “Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children.
Embracing Our Differences has received a $33,000 Strategic Partnership Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to expand educational programs aimed at fostering kindness, respect and inclusion among local students.
The grant will support three areas: $20,000 for Unity Day, funded by the Allen Wirtz Nobbe and Jo Bowen Nobbe Fund; $8,000 for the Bucket Fillers Reading Day program, funded by the Libby Yungblut FOI Charitable Fund; and $5,000 for books for Bucket Fillers Reading Day, funded by the Robert and Willa Bernhard Fund for Books and Literacy.
“Art has the power to change minds, and education has the power to change lives,” said Sarah Wertheimer, president and CEO of Embracing Our Differences. “When combined, they create waves of empathy and insight that reach far beyond the classroom. Grants like these from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County make that possible. By supporting Unity Day and Bucket Fillers Reading Day, the Community Foundation is helping us empower young leaders, foster kindness, and build respect, understanding, and connection across our community.”
Unity Day, designed for high school students, promotes teamwork and leadership through cooperative workshops. Bucket Fillers Reading Day introduces young children in pre-kindergarten through third grade to lessons of kindness and empathy through Carol McCloud’s award-winning books. Together, the programs reach thousands of students each year across Sarasota and Manatee counties.
For 22 years, Embracing Our Differences has hosted annual outdoor exhibitions featuring 50 billboard-sized works of art and quotations celebrating inclusion and respect. With more than 4.8 million visitors to date, the exhibitions remain a cornerstone of its year-round programming, which also includes field trips, student clubs and teacher workshops. The 2026 exhibitions are scheduled for January 17 through April 19 in Bayfront Park in Sarasota and March 7 through April 12 in Poynter Park in St. Petersburg.
For more information, visit embracingourdifferences.org or call 941-404-5710.
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, a public charity founded in 1979, manages assets of $544 million across nearly 1,600 funds and awarded $56 million in grants and scholarships last year. Since its founding, it has granted more than $500 million to local nonprofits. More information is available at cfsarasota.org or by calling 941-955-3000.
Photo: Braden River Elementary students celebrate kindness and empathy during last year’s Bucket Fillers Reading Day, proudly holding up their copies of “Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children.”
