CARING FOR
CAPE CORAL
2018 Charity of Choice: Cape Coral Caring Center
T
here’s a small building in Downtown Cape
Coral that houses a charity with big goals.
From the outside of the Cape Coral Caring
Center you might not understand what goes
on inside.
This year, the Cape Coral Caring Center is the Association’s
charity of choice - meaning funds raised from our Golf
Tournament, Fishing Tournament, and Networking Mixers
will go towards their mission. At the head of the pack is Julie
Ferguson, the Executive Director. We asked Julie to tell us a
little more about the Caring Center.
Q: For anyone who’s never heard of the Cape Coral
Caring Center, tell us about the organization.
The Cape Coral Caring Center is an emergency food pantry,
we help people when they are experiencing things such as
serious illness or sudden job loss. We give food and we give
it generously to give people breathing room to have time to
get out of their emergency before they have to think about
how to get food again. Food is the most critical thing we
do, since it is life-sustaining, but we also help with utility
bills, clothing vouchers to the Kiwanis Thrift Stores in Cape
Coral, and bus passes to help with a job search. We give
holiday dinners and we also provide Christmas toys to our
clients with children. The CCCC has a fun event where we
provide complete backpacks for school age children, as
well as lunch and haircuts. The CCCC is a happy place to
be. Although we offer sympathy and empathy to our clients
who are struggling, we want them to leave refreshed and
with a smile on their face, so they can face their problems
head-on.
Q: How did you first get involved with the Cape Coral
Caring Center?
I answered an ad in the newspaper for a job at the Cape
Coral Caring Center. The Not-for-Profit world was new to
12 RPCRA.ORG | JUL/AUG 2018
me, so seeing all the wonderful things going on at the
Center was a little overwhelming and humbling. The first
client I interviewed was a lady who had been a victim of
abuse. She and her children had not eaten in several days.
When one of her little girls saw a can of vegetables in the
bag we were giving them, she asked if that was for them
and when I said “Yes,” that little girl smacked her lips and
got so excited. That was 18 years ago and I have tears in my
eyes right now thinking about them.