Open House and Celebration

The public is invited to a 2024 Giving Challenge Open House & Celebration from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on April 9 at NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties’ You Are Not Alone (YANA) drop-in location off Tuttle Avenue in Sarasota. Several organizations participating in the Giving Challenge will be providing information tables and activities for all ages. The Open House & Celebration will feature engaging, hands-on activities, including stations for arts and crafts, painting, gardening, yoga and meditation sessions, and more. Local musicians are invited to bring their instruments and participate in an open jam session. In addition to NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties, the event also will feature information and activities from the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, Community Assisted Supported Living (CASL), Centerstone, Meals on Wheels Sarasota and the Women’s Resource Center. A food truck by the British Open Pub will be serving from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. More than 700 organizations throughout the region will be participating in the 2024 Giving Challenge from noon to noon on April 9-10, 2024. The 2024 Giving Challenge is presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation. The online fundraising event is designed to pair philanthropists with nonprofit organizations making a difference in the region. NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Today, NAMI consists of more than 600 local affiliates, including NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties, that work in communities to raise awareness and provide support and education not previously available to those in need. NAMI opened its You Are Not Alone (YANA) drop-in center off Tuttle Avenue two years ago to offer a safe space for its programs and a daily drop-in center for people on their journey to mental wellness. For more information about the Open House and Celebration or about NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties and its programs, contact Katie Booth, YANA Operations Manager, at katie@namisarasotamanatee.org. For more information about the 2024 Giving Challenge, visit www.GivingChallenge.org.