Avow Kids Receives $182,500 From Naples Children Foundation
Date postedAugust 17, 2026
Grant will expand free grief and emotional wellness services for children and families across Southwest Florida.
NAPLES, Fla. (August 17, 2026) – Avow has been awarded a generous grant of $182,500 from the Naples Children Foundation founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival to strengthen and expand Avow Kids, the organization's nationally recognized pediatric grief and emotional wellness program. The funding will increase access to free, evidence-informed mental health services for children ages 5–17 experiencing grief, trauma, and major life transitions, while enhancing clinical capacity, program evaluation, and community outreach. As a leading provider of comprehensive, no-cost pediatric grief support, Avow Kids offers licensed counseling, peer support groups, music therapy, expressive arts, therapeutic camps, and family-centered programming. Services are available in schools, at Aunt Janet's House on the Avow campus, and throughout the community, ensuring children and families have access to compassionate support wherever they need it most.
In 2025, Avow Kids provided 2,741 therapeutic services to children in Collier County, including 1,291 individual, in-person counseling sessions. The program served 542 unique children, representing a 95% increase over 2024, demonstrating the growing need for specialized grief and behavioral health support for children and families throughout the community. As a program funded by donations and grants, NCF's support enables Avow to continue its mission of aiding the community through life’s most challenging transitions.
"Children should never have to navigate grief alone. The right support at the right time can change how a child sees themselves, how they connect with others, and how they move through the rest of their lives. Through the partnership with Naples Children Foundation, we are expanding access to specialized care that empowers children to heal, equips families to move forward together, and creates lasting change that will be felt across our community for years to come," said Dana Anderson, Director of Avow Kids.
About Avow:
Since 1983, Avow has served Southwest Florida as a nonprofit hospice. Today, Avow’s nonprofit companies provide palliative care for individuals facing chronic or serious illness, hospice care, bereavement support services for children and adults, and Medicare-certified home health care. To learn more about the scope of service provided by Avow, call 239-261-4404 or visit www.avowcares.org
About Naples Children Foundation:
The Naples Children Foundation, the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival,
creates transformational change and improves educational, emotional and health outcomes for
vulnerable children in Collier County. Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCF has impacted nearly 90 of the most effective nonprofits in the local community, providing 385,000 children with the services and resources they need to succeed. Through bold investments, collaborative partnerships, and data-driven solutions, NCF supports programs that ensure every child can thrive. NCF’s unique approach, which bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community – one issue at a time.
creates transformational change and improves educational, emotional and health outcomes for
vulnerable children in Collier County. Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCF has impacted nearly 90 of the most effective nonprofits in the local community, providing 385,000 children with the services and resources they need to succeed. Through bold investments, collaborative partnerships, and data-driven solutions, NCF supports programs that ensure every child can thrive. NCF’s unique approach, which bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community – one issue at a time.