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Intracoastal Bank and the Snyder family added $10,000 each.
Edited at 5:08 p.m. April 15, to correct the name of Michele Ligon Snyder.
A 5-year-old girl experiences terror for the first time in her life, when her dad comes home drunk and almost kills her mother. She and her sister are pulled from their home in the middle of the night, but Mom can’t afford to stay away for long, either, so they end up right back in danger. Abuse is a fact of life.
That was girl was Laura Gilvary.
How might her childhood have been different with more community resources to help?
That question motivates Gilvary to advocate for United Way. On April 14, at the Women United Flagler’s Power of the Purse, at the Hammock Dunes Club, she represented Intracoastal Bank, where she is senior vice president of consumer banking, to share her story. With tears in her eyes, she said: “I was raised in extreme, extreme conditions.”
One attempt to help provide resources to nonprofits in Flagler County was officially launched on April 14: the Flagler Endowment Fund. The first of its kind to be administered by United Way of Volusia and Flagler Counties, the first $250,000 for the endowment was donated by United Way, in partnership with the Community Foundation.
Intracoastal Bank donated $10,000 to the cause as one of the fund’s founding members.
Bob and Michele Ligon Snyder also donated $10,000 as founding members, bringing the total now to $270,000.
Bob Snyder told the crowd that he and his wife moved to Flagler County 27 years ago. During his career, Snyder helped oversee the planning and construction of the hospital that is now AdventHealth Palm Coast, on State Road 100, and was later the director of the Florida Department of Health in Flagler County. Michele Ligon Snyder is a retired administrator of group homes for the developmentally disabled and currently a volunteer with Guardian Ad Litem.
When he met with United Way President Courtney Edgcomb and learned about the concept of the Flagler Endowment Fund, Bob Snyder said, “It just made great, great sense to us. Why would you not want to improve and benefit the place that you call home?”
Edgcomb explained to the crowed that the goal is to grow the endowment to $6 million in future years, giving the United Way about $250,000 in annual giving power — forever.
“Just imagine what that could mean for the Flagler County community,” Edgcomb said. “It could mean a new roof and safe shelter for a family fleeing violence. It could mean more mental health services for youth who are in crisis. It could mean fully funded classroom grants or weekend food packs for students who go home to empty pantries. It could keep the lights on for a small nonprofit doing mighty work. These organizations that are the heart and soul of Flagler County. That's the kind of lasting, meaningful change we're reaching for.”
The United Way Board of Directors (full disclosure: In my role as Observer publisher, I am also on the board) approved the Flagler Endowment Fund, as well as a $20,000 donation, to be distributed in 2025-2026, all in Flagler County.
That is on top of the $2.6 million awarded to 105 nonprofits in the region, which includes Flagler.
“We've supported the Flagler Education Foundation, making sure students have what they need to succeed in and out of the classroom,” Edgcomb said of past donations in Flagler County. “We partnered with SMA Health Care to bring critical behavioral health services to those who need them most. We've empowered the Family Life Center, giving survivors of domestic violence a safe place to turn. We've stood with Flagler Cares, connecting residents with life-saving resources. We've helped the Flagler Beach United Methodist group pantry keep families fed, and we have built alongside Flagler Habitat for Humanity creating safe, stable homes, and brighter futures.
“These are not just programs,” she continued. “They're lifelines, and your support is what makes them possible.”
Gilvary and Snyder both encouraged others to donate as well.
“There is somebody out there begging for that help,” Gilvary said.
To donate, visit flaglerfund.org or contact Sheila Pillath at spillath@uwvfc.org. Checks may be payable to: Community Foundation and United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties, Inc., and can be mailed to 1530 Cornerstone Blvd. Suite 210, Daytona Beach, FL 32117.
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