Today, Children in Crisis, Inc. and Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center received grants totaling more than $22,000 from the Taco Bell Foundation to support more than 100 youth in need in the Panhandle of Florida. The funds will go towards much needed personal computers, mental health services, and other supplies and programs that educate and inspire that next generation of leaders.
“We are honored to partner with the Taco Bell Foundation in championing the educational dreams of our young people,” said Sean Tuohy, CEO of RGT Management, Inc. along with his wife Leigh Anne Tuohy and their family foundation, Making it Happen Foundation, who connected these organizations with the Taco Bell Foundation. “The vision we share with the Taco Bell Foundation is one in which every young person has access to quality education and the resources they need for a successful future.”
Children in Crisis, Inc. and Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center are two of more than 400+ youth-serving organizations across the country that will receive a portion of the 10 million dollars in grants being presented by the Taco Bell Foundation this year. The grants are an example of the Taco Bell Foundation’s mission to fuel young people’s boldest educational ambitions.
“We are proud to support like-minded organizations through our Local Grants Program,” said Jennifer Bradbury, Executive Director of the Taco Bell Foundation. The Making it Happen Foundation strongly feels together with these organizations, we can work to break down barriers so students nationwide can continue creating and innovating. This $10 million is being invested in our local communities to a group that we hope will be our next educators, innovators, leaders and great success stories.
About Taco Bell Foundation
Taco Bell Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity that educates and inspires the next generation of
leaders through programming like the Live Más Scholarship and the Local Grants Program. Since 1992, the Taco Bell
Foundation has reached more than 4 million young people across the country and has awarded more than $110 million
in grants and scholarships, focused on education and career readiness. In 2015, Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation
launched the Live Más Scholarship, a program aimed at empowering the nation’s young innovators and creators. In May
2021, the Taco Bell Foundation awarded $7 million in Live Más Scholarships to 420 students. For more information visit
TacoBellFoundation.org.Children in Crisis, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of caring people, working together to provide homes and
keep brothers and sisters together. They give a home to the abused, neglected, and abandoned children of their
community. Before Children in Crisis, there was no Emergency Shelter in Circuit One (which includes Okaloosa, Walton,
Escambia, and Santa Rosa Counties in Northwest Florida) for young children removed from an unsafe environment on
short notice. Without CIC and the stability it brings, many foster children would be moved from home to home, some as
many as ten times per year. CIC has given a safe, loving home to over 975 children since 2008. Their neighborhood is
growing, their campus is now built up of an Emergency Shelter, five-family foster homes and Opportunity Home, with 8-
studio apartments for the young adults that age out of Foster Care. In addition, they have a clubhouse and
Administrative Offices. For more information or to support Children in Crisis, Inc., please visit www.childrenincrisisfl.org.
The Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC), a non-profit organization, provides services in a child-friendly
environment to help identify, treat and support children in abusive situations. ECCAC helps prevent child abuse through
education, protects child victims from future abuse, and provides resources at no cost to restore the lives of the impacted
child and the child’s family. They are located in Niceville, FL, with a second center, the Pierce Family Children’s Advocacy
Center, in DeFuniak Springs, FL. Children are not housed at either center, and all services are provided at no charge. ECCAC
serves Okaloosa and Walton counties in Northwest Florida and houses representatives from the Florida Department of
Children and Families, Child Protection Team, State Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement, and licensed mental health
counselors. In ECCAC’s 21-year history, over 15,000 children have received more than 170,000 services at no cost. For more
information or to support the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center please visit www.eccac.org. If you suspect abuse,
call the Florida Abuse Hotline 1-800-96-ABUSE.
