NAPLES, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2021) – Moorings Park Foundation recently awarded The Immokalee Foundation a $10,000 grant to support career-focused educational programming and training through the foundation’s Healthcare Pathway program. The grant will provide program funding throughout the school year, as well as the summer.
Developed with industry experts and educators, the Career Pathways program includes four concentrations in Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management and Healthcare. All pathways follow a comprehensive curriculum that prepares the foundation’s students for in-demand, well-paying professional careers.
Healthcare Career Pathways students gain hands-on experience during a tour of Florida Gulf Coast University’s School of Nursing.
The Immokalee Foundation’s Healthcare Pathway provides students the fundamentals they need to pursue a career in healthcare. Through this program, students gain real-world experience by shadowing local professionals, learning the fundamentals of healthcare, and participating in hands-on activities. The summer camp is an opportunity for foundation students to gain valuable healthcare skills knowledge after the school year finishes.
“Moorings Park Foundation is dedicated to improving the possibilities for successful aging in Southwest Florida,” said Alan Horton, chair of the Moorings Park Foundation board of directors. “Our intention is that this grant enables The Immokalee Foundation to help us develop the workforce necessary to properly serve this population. We hope it educates more local people in healthcare fields like gerontology, exercise science and various areas of therapeutic care.” The Moorings Park Foundation grant is one of 22 local grants it awarded in 2021, totaling $500,000. All of these grants support successful aging and the workforce necessary to serve local senior citizens.
Students enter the program in sixth grade and begin exploring career opportunities with rotations in each sector, along with aptitude and interest evaluations. Parents also learn about career options and the postsecondary education needed to achieve a professional career in the student’s desired field. By high school, students have chosen their specific pathway and are immersed in the education and training needed for their pathway.
“The medical field is and will always be a necessity to our society, which is why I am willing to put forth all my effort to obtain my nursing degree,” said Gisselle Nava, The Immokalee Foundation alumna. “The Immokalee Foundation’s Healthcare Pathway gave me the fundamentals I need to earn my degree in nursing at Florida Gulf Coast University. I plan to return to the community of Immokalee, as well as other underserved areas, to assist with the lack of accessible medical services.”
Gisselle Nava
The Immokalee foundations healthcare career pathways students learn how to take someone’s blood pressure.
For more than 30 years, The Immokalee Foundation has provided a range of education programs that focus on building pathways to professional careers through support, mentoring and tutoring, and life skills development leading to economic independence. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, becoming a mentor, its signature events, volunteering as a career panel speaker or host, making a donation, including the foundation in your estate plans, or for additional information, call 239-430-9122 or visit https://immokaleefoundation.org.
