Grace Place for Children and Families is a faith-based nonprofit neighborhood education center teaching literacy, language and life skills to at-risk children and working poor families in Golden Gate city.  Although Grace Place was founded by the Methodist Church, the organization does not require staff, board members, volunteers, students or families to come from a particular faith background.  

Currently, over 800 students are enrolled in Grace Place's three educational programs: Bright Beginnings, Student Programs and Adult English Language and Literacy.  These programs help our students achieve success in their personal and professional lives.  To support a positive learning environment, Grace Place established a weekly food pantry that serves 200 families in need.

Grace Place is located in the heart of Golden Gate city, which is a four square mile community east of Interstate 75.  Golden Gate city is roughly nine miles from downtown Naples.  Golden Gate city has been identified by the Naples Children and Education Foundation as the highest pocket of need (outside of Immokalee).  Over 85 percent of the families we serve have a household income of less than $20,400.  These families are the working poor of Naples.  They work low-wage positions in area hotels, hospitals, lawn care companies, and in housekeeping to etc.  Over 99 percent of the families we serve, English is not the primary language spoken at home.  Spanish is spoken by 75 percent of our families and 24 percent speak Creole.  Almost half of the elementary children are identified as Limited English Proficiency by the public schools in Golden Gate city.  These families struggle to help their children succeed in school due to their limited education; 88 percent of the families served by Grace Place have less than a high school education, 35 percent have less than a 5th grade education and almost 30 percent are functionally illiterate.  Grace Place has established itself as a trusted resource in this community.  Grace Place is the only nonprofit education center located in Golden Gate city.  

Grace Place is highly respected in the community.  It is a volunteer driven organization wherein there are over 220 “regular” volunteers who give their time weekly.  The average “regular” volunteer is volunteering two to four hours a week. There is also a pool of 500 volunteers who give their time at some point throughout the year.  

Watch the Grace Place video:

• Understand our core programs and what they are accomplishing
  
• Meet our children and families and hear their success stories
  
• See our campus and our vision for the future
  
• Hear from our Community Partners
  

Thank you to Ken Sneeden and Associates for producing this wonderful video about Grace Place!