Empowering Arts Grant Award From Gulf Coast Community Foundation Fuels Embracing Our Differences' Year-round Educational Initiatives

Sarah Wertheimer, the executive director of Embracing Our Differences, recently announced that the organization has received a $50,000 Empowering Arts Grant Award made possible through the Charlotte Ellis Charitable Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The grant will support various aspects of the organization’s year-round educational initiatives and strengthen its mission.

Wertheimer noted that in 2024 alone, 2,048 educators and 55,357 students participated in the organization’s annual exhibition and educational programs, affirming Embracing Our Differences as one of the largest educational initiatives in southwest Florida. 

“Providing resources to educators and students remains our top priority,” says Wertheimer. “We are deeply grateful that Gulf Coast Community Foundation shares our commitment to education and supports our efforts to positively impact the lives of students and educators in the region.”

The grant will help fund EOD’s Make-A-Day-of-It! program, which offers free bus transportation for thousands of students and teachers to visit EOD’s annual outdoor exhibition and other arts and cultural venues. Wertheimer added that the grant will also support Embracing Our Differences' ongoing teacher workshops and intensives, equipping local educators with skills, strategies, and resources focused on arts appreciation and character development. 

“Gulf Coast Community Foundation proudly stands behind Embracing Our Differences and their important mission of promoting inclusion, kindness, and respect,” stated Gulf Coast’s President and CEO, Phillip Lanham. “Through the transformative power of the arts, Embracing Our Differences educates and inspires to create a better world. The organization combines large, beautiful, impactful artwork with educational programs, and we are honored to support their vision by providing transportation to their exhibition and backing their educational opportunities. This is in line with Gulf Coast’s vision of thriving communities with opportunities for all.”

For 21 years, Embracing Our Differences has delighted viewers with its annual outdoor display of 50 billboard-sized works of art and accompanying quotes. This high-profile art exhibition draws on the passion and perception of artists, students, and writers, to create powerful statements of inclusion, kindness and respect. The scale and impact of this open-air art show has continued to grow, attracting more than 4.8 million visitors since its inception. EOD’s annual exhibition is the heart of a year-round program of activities using art as a catalyst to create awareness and promote diversity.

Embracing Our Differences’ next outdoor exhibition runs Jan. 19-April 13, 2025, in Bayfront Park, Sarasota; and March 1-March 31, 2025, in Poynter Park, St. Petersburg.

For more information about Embracing Our Differences, call 941-404-5710, or visit www.embracingourdifferences.org.