Englewood Community Coalition, Inc. was born in 2014 after a heartbreaking event involving local teens and alcohol shook our community. Since then, its Board has built strong partnerships with key prevention groups like Drug Free Charlotte County and Tobacco Free Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. Their network also includes county health departments, local schools, libraries, the Boys and Girls Club, plus faith-based and non-profit organizations working throughout Englewood.
Their mission is straightforward: they’re the united voice for Englewood across Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, working to promote health and wellness, especially by reducing and preventing youth substance abuse. They educate kids and parents, both in and outside of schools, and give them meaningful, mentored, substance-free activities outside of school. Creative arts have become a central part of this effort, offering something positive and engaging for young people to do.
The Englewood Community Coalition (ECC) is not just busy; they’re getting results. Since COVID, teen alcohol use dropped from 22% to 12% by last September. Every year, our youth surveys show fewer kids using substances and more kids understanding why it’s risky.
Executive Director of the Englewood Community Coalition, Kay Tvaroch says, “I wasn’t directly involved with the coalition at the start. I worked for another big nonprofit, but I remember when the alcohol-fueled accident changed everything here. Historically, alcohol has been tangled up with local culture. Old-timers remember the ‘Whiskey Corners’ nightclub, where people came from all over. Englewood has always been a fishing town, a tourist spot, a party place. That kind of culture means local teens face higher substance risks than kids in some small Midwestern town.”
Parents and the wider community knew something needed to change. Even though the CDC funded Drug-Free Charlotte County for prevention, county lines excluded Englewood. Tvaroch says the only solution was to, “start our own coalition—which we did with their mentorship, tackling all the paperwork, research, and surveys it takes to secure a government grant. By 2015, we’d earned a Drug-Free Communities Grant. That’s about when I retired from my old job and joined the coalition.”
These grants run for five years at a time, with renewal if you stay on target and hit the government’s benchmarks. “We stretched it to 10 years total,” says Tvaroch. “But grants don’t last forever. Our CDC funds officially run out this September.”
That steady funding allowed the Englewood Community Coalition to keep going, even through COVID and the hurricanes. “We didn’t chase new donations when so many people were struggling,” explains Tvaroch.
For ten years, including through COVID and three hurricanes, the CDC fully funded the Englewood Community Coalition. They didn’t ask the community for money during those tough years, but local churches and libraries backed them up with their spaces and staff help.
“It’s key for us to move forward and keep building on our successes,” explains Tvaroch. “The ups, downs, all of it. What works for us isn’t lecturing or just telling kids, ‘Don’t do drugs.’ Instead, we address the bigger picture: what in the community pushes local teens toward alcohol and drugs? We’re a tourist town with a lot of empty houses, so there isn’t that ‘everyone knows the neighbors’ feeling. That lack of tight-knit oversight means greater risks for kids. Add to that the fact that most of Englewood’s public events are centered around adults. There’s less for teens, especially outside of sports.”
For over a decade, their coalition helped drive a 12% drop in youth substance use across the peninsula. They launched Fun Night Done Right and D-FY (Drug-Free Youth Memberships) to support kids with positive alternatives. Three years ago, they started Englewood Creative Arts, offering free classes at both Englewood libraries and the Boys and Girls Club so kids have genuine, fun options, not just more “don’ts.”
The core purpose of the Englewood Community Coalition is to be the voice for the Englewood and Cape Haze Peninsula, always pushing for health, wellness, and keeping our kids substance-free.
Southern Nights at the Rotonda Hills Golf & Country Club
Because the Englewood Community Coalition’s CDC grant ends this September 2026, it’s time: they’re hosting Southern Nights at Rotonda Hills on November 14.
Tvaroch says, “This isn’t just another fancy fundraiser at the Rotonda Hills Golf & Country Club. It’s a lifeline for prevention and education efforts, leadership programs, and especially its creative arts for youth. Every dollar raised stays right here in the community, fueling projects that keep kids safe, strengthen families, and build a healthier Englewood.”
The evening features Southern cuisine, a Dixieland band, gambling tables, a live auction, dancing, and the opportunity to make an impact and change a child’s future.
Tvaroch explains, “Fundraising is not our strength. Plus, we’re up against other community events that weekend, so we need both sponsors and people at the event.”
Englewood Creative Arts
Their message is simple: creative opportunities for everyone. Arts for All.
When parents sign their children up for the Englewood Creative Arts programs at the library, they also get materials from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), brochures and guidance on talking to kids about alcohol, drugs, and healthy choices. Each week, kids take home something: a wristband, a trinket with positive, drug-free messages. “We don’t just preach at them; we help parents stay informed, one family at a time,” says Tvaroch. “Meeting parents face-to-face is the only reliable way to share these materials. Sending leaflets home almost never works—they just get lost in the shuffle.”
A few years ago, Tvaroch says their surveys found lots of athletic options for middle schoolers, but not much else. That’s when they teamed up with both Englewood libraries to offer free creative arts for youth, targeting ages 10 to 15.
High schoolers have more choices, but younger teens, especially those around fifth grade, need this outreach. They also support Red Ribbon Week and other school initiatives, thanks to strong school resource officers like Mark Arnold at Englewood Elementary.
“Mark was the first in Englewood trained through LEAD, a program for school resource officers that covers not just drugs, but a range of health and safety issues,” says Tvaroch. “Now, Charlotte County’s training its officers in this approach too—so we hope to see it spread across more schools soon.”
“I’m proud of how we’ve created genuine opportunities for all kinds of kids,” says Tvaroch. “Not every child wants to play sports. Many can’t afford the cost of private lessons or classes. Our arts program means more children have a safe, welcoming, and affordable place to belong.”
Tvaroch says her key takeaway is this: “I’m old enough to know how fast time passes. These kids will be leading Englewood before we know it. Our job is to keep them safe, healthy, and substance free—give them every tool, every bit of inspiration we can.”
“This is why we need community support now. We want Englewood’s next generation of leaders to be healthy, substance-free, and inspired—and we’re not slowing down.”
A few of Englewood Community Coalition, Inc. and Englewood Creative Arts Org.’s upcoming events:
– Carnival game at Pioneer Park after next Monday’s parade.
– Lemon Bay High School on September 4 and Lemon Bay Academy on the 11th.
– “Community Talks” at Christ Community Church on September 15, with guests from the Department of Health, our schools, and Drug Free Charlotte.
– Partnering in the Coastal Cleanup on September 19 with Keep Charlotte Beautiful and Tobacco Free Charlotte County.
– Free Fun Night Done Right Pizza Party for 10–15-year-olds at Christ Lutheran’s social hall on September 25.
Click here to check their website for more upcoming events, updates, and information about Southern Nights.
