Transforming futures at Gargiulo Education Center

More than 50 students arrive by bus after school from Naples Park Elementary School, North Naples Middle School and Aubrey Rogers High School. ANDREA STETSON / FLORIDA WEEKLY

A group of children sit at a long table doing homework and learning lessons from teachers. It’s the same table where some children are eating their afternoon snacks. Behind them, others are preparing food since this table is actually in the kitchen. Other children head outside to sit beside the parking lot for a quieter place to study and get tutored.

The Gargiulo Education Center in North Naples has gotten so crowded that children and teachers are cramming into every bit of space. They built makeshift walls in the central area to house the two donated flight simulators. They built some more half-walls to create a small office space. Over 50 kindergarten through 12th-grade students come after school weekly for homework help, tutoring, counseling, job training, an entrepreneur apprentice program, and more. They are the children and grandchildren of migrant workers who are exceling because of the extra help and support they get there.

This month, the center held its annual fundraising gala, but this time, it was the kickoff to raise money to build a new center. The current building is 2,500 square feet. The new center will have a 4,000-square-foot building and, in phase two, another 3,000-square-foot building.

The middle school students are the last to arrive. When they get to the center, it gets even more crowded as they share the kitchen and study area. ANDREA STETSON / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Mary Asta, the executive director, believes they need about $3 million. She said the new facility will allow them to expand what they can offer to the migrant community and beyond.

“We will be offering more services, both for the children and the families,” Asta began. “We have partners now we could not utilize due to the lack of space. There are physicians that want to give pro bono work and dentists, but we don’t have room now. We want to do cooking classes and budgeting classes, and we want to have classes for the parents, too.”

When the center opened in 2000, there were about 20 students. Back then, the center focused on giving children healthy snacks, homework help, and a safe place to stay until their parents returned from the fields or packing house. When Asta took over in 2017, she expanded that to include programs that help the children see a brighter future. She has volunteers who come to the center to teach art, music and technology. Volunteer counselors help youngsters deal with emotions. She arranged for students to be part of the Young Eagles program and take flights in a small plane from the Naples airport. She secured flight simulator donations so those interested in an aviation career can practice. Children have shadowed chefs and executives at local country clubs to see various careers. Asta also takes them into the community to volunteer.

Children at the Garguilo Education Center get free tutoring and homework help, Monday through Friday. Now there are so many students there, the small center does not have enough space. ANDREA STETSON / FLORIDA WEEKLY

“The parents are seeing what the kids are learning, and it is giving them hope,” Asta said. “Currently, we serve mainly Gargiulo Farms Inc. children, but those that have moved out of poverty are still sending their kids to us. They are making sure their kids still get to attend. The benefits that they see at the center are worth it for them. Recently, we added other latchkey kids that don’t work for Gargiulo Farms Inc., but sometimes they are in a much more dire situation because they are not migrants, so they don’t get the benefits the migrants get. The school bus drivers see other latchkey kids, and they literally get off the bus and ask if these kids can come too, and of course, we don’t turn them away.”

ASTA

Sources of support

Eloy Ricardo, fire chief at North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District, has stepped in to help. Since the new education center needs to be built near the current one so the parents and children can walk from the Gargiulo housing to the center, their land options are limited. Ricardo found unused property in that area owned by the fire district.

“When I went over there and saw what she was doing, I wanted to help,” Ricardo said. “The property was going to be an EMS station, but since we are already building a station nearby, they don’t have to use that property. That property became available. I am humbled that I was in the right place to be able to provide that information.”

RICARDO

Ricardo feels it is essential to help build a bigger center in this mission.

“It is such a needed area,” he stressed. “What they are doing is amazing to me. There are a lot of kids in that area that rely on that place after school. These are kids that would be home alone after school if that place was not working. I just think that kids need a place to learn, study and keep busy and stay positive. This relationship is for life now. This is a blessing to have that education center in that area.”

Jose Hernandez was the first migrant worker to become an astronaut and go into space. As a child, he migrated with his family from Mexico to California, constantly moving with the crops. A recent movie called “A Million Miles Away” is about his life. Hernandez came to the gala as the guest speaker and stressed his support for the center.

“It is a message of empowerment,” Hernandez said. “Kids need to see role models that look like them, speak like them and come from the same socioeconomic backgrounds. I want them to walk away saying, ‘If he can do it, so can I.’ It is an empowerment process. I take this ability to inspire kids very seriously. Hopefully, we are planting seeds for the next generation of explorers.”

Larry Olmedo (right) works with Ian Martinez as the young boy participates in the volunteer Read to Rabbits program at the Gargiulo Education Center. There is not enough room inside for the program so children sit on a bench just outside the doors. The parking lot is just inches away and vehicle traffic can often be heard along the nearby street. ANDREA STETSON / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Hernandez spoke of perseverance. He applied to NASA 12 times and received rejection letters 11 times before his acceptance. He spoke of working longer and harder than his colleagues to achieve the same success.

“Always do more than what is asked of you,” he told the audience. When people at NASA complained about the hard work, I said, ‘You don’t know hard work until you have picked cucumbers for 50 cents a bucket.’

Hernandez wants the children at the Gargiulo Education Center to do so much more with their lives, so he is now a strong supporter of the education center.

“I saw the current center and it is a great center, but it is small compared to the amount of people,” he said. “I think they do an amazing job given the limited resources they have, so I hope this center gives them the ability to expand services and early childhood learning. These kids deserve more. How can we give them more? By building that center. I want to be invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”

A Collier County School Board member, Stephanie Lucarelli, attended the gala to show her support.

“I am passionate about supporting people and organizations that support our students,” Lucarelli said. “It is exciting to see so many people come out in support of Collier County students. We are so fortunate to live in a county where support philanthropy for students is such a priority.”

“We are supportive of the Gargiulo Education Center and their work to support Collier’s migrant families and students,” added Lisa Morse, CCPS senior director of strategic engagement & initiatives. “Collier County Public Schools services migrant students through our school-based programs and family-based services, and we believe supplemental services benefit the academic achievement of this needy population.”

The effort also has the support of several upscale communities. Greg Schott, a Cypress Woods Golf and Country Club resident, has been a huge supporter.

“To afford them with the opportunities in the program, I feel great about it,” he said. “I know that this thing is important to them. These families are migrant workers and everybody would like to call a place home. I think (this new center) would be good for the community and the folks that they serve.”

A bible study group of more than 100 members at Mediterra has been dedicated donors, too.

“I have been there many times,” said member Donna Cook. “The kids had bad teeth, so I started the Harry John Dental Fund there. I arranged for dental students to come to the center and take care of the kids. Mary (Asta) knows what she is doing, and she does a great job. She really loves those kids, and they love her.”

Cook looks forward to having the new center where dentists can come and provide more services for the students and their families.

“We will continue to contribute,” Cook stressed. “It is going to be ongoing.”

Gala Gains

More than 150 guests attended the “A Table at Le Cirque” gala. They enjoyed a meal designed by the owners of the famous New York Le Cirque restaurant, munching on lobster salad, primavera pasta, braised short ribs, beef tenderloin, sunchoke and celery root puree along with an assortment of vegetables and then Crème Brulee and chocolate truffles for dessert. They learned more about the Gargiulo Education Center, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit that has been serving atrisk migrant and latchkey children for 24 years, providing academic, STEAM, and financial lessons, entrepreneurial, social, emotional, nutritional and health services at no cost to the families.

Guests listened to speeches by Hernandez, Asta and Marco Maccioni, co-owner of Le Cirque. They saw a rendering of the new center. Gargiulos has contracted with David Corbin Architects to design the new building. They also got to hear the personal story of how the Gargiulo Education Center helps these children.

Ashley Pimentel, 18, spoke at the gala, praising the center for helping her achieve her goals. She just won a scholarship to FGCU.

“It is not the easiest life,” Pimental said. “My parents were always working at the tomato factory, trying to give us the best life possible. My older sister practically raised me because my parents were not there. They were always working. Seeing my parents not able to show up to special events because they were working broke my heart. But their number one rule was always, do well in school. My mother was always pushing me to be a better person. Every day, I work hard for my parents so they could get out of poverty. I would not be here without the help from GEC. The support is just heartwarming. It is not just an after-school center where they help with homework. It is a place of opportunities.”

To learn more, visit gargiuloed.org or www.gargiuloed.org/the-difference-we-make for a short video or call 239-596- 1975 ¦

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