Chico’s Donation to The Heights Foundation Honors Bruce Gora

Fort Myers, FL, January 28, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The Heights Foundation has been working tirelessly to raise the balance of funds necessary to complete the Harlem Heights Cultural Arts and Community Center and bring it into use. At last December’s Dinner Under Construction, an event honoring the late Bruce Gora, one of his former clients, Chico’s FAS committed to a $10,000 donation to the building fund. The evening of the dinner Chico’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jones increased that donation, offering gift cards for 10% for every $1,000 donated that evening. The gift card total alone equaled $15,000.

"Chico’s has a long history of supporting important community projects such as this," said Adam Hinds, Chico’s Senior Director of Operations. "We are delighted to have been able to help with The Heights Foundation building project because of its importance to the community and because of our relationship with Bruce Gora and Gora-McGahey architects."

When architect Bruce Gora began work on the design for the Harlem Heights Cultural Arts and Community Center he had no idea that the building would be his final design. The building is representative of Bruce’s body of work as an architect; unique, with areas of whimsy, and totally suited to the function for which it was designed.

“During the more than 20 years that Bruce designed buildings in Southwest Florida, he developed close friendships with many of his clients,” said Kathryn Kelly, Executive Director of The Heights Foundation. "Those friends have been stepping forward and helping us to bring Bruce’s final project to completion."

Thanks to the support of donors like Chico’s the event raised $140,000 and the new Gora Art Gallery is named in perpetuity in Bruce Gora’s honor.

About Harlem Heights and The Heights Foundation
Located off Gladiolus Drive and bordered by Summerlin Road and McGregor Blvd., approximately 1,200 children live within the boundaries of Harlem Heights. Most of the residents are economically challenged and many are unemployed. According to the 2000 census, over one-third (36%) live below the Federal poverty level, a rate that is 100% greater than the Lee County average. The Heights Foundation is a grassroots organization that works to break the cycle of poverty in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. The Foundation’s mission is to promote family and community development, support education and wellness, and provide the benefits of the cultural and expressive arts. The Foundation is working to build a cultural arts and community center in Harlem Heights.

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