Annual Report 2017-2018
SUNFLOWER CREATIVE ARTS
25 Years Supporting the Healthy development of Children through Play, Nature and the Arts
25 YEARS OF PLAY
25 years ago, in a small classroom with 8 children, Susan Caruso pioneered an early childhood program steeped in play, nature and the arts. She instinctively knew what research has supported – Play is a legitimate right of childhood, a crucial building block of children’s physical, intellectual and social development.
“We play to make sense of the world, to find our passions, to understand ourselves and others… and for the pure joy it brings to our lives. We are driven to play as humans… and yet, play is disappearing.”
– Susan Caruso, Executive Director and Founder, Sunflower Creative Arts
HOME FOR SUNFLOWER
In 2015, we purchased our current home in Delray Beach, with indoor and outdoor classrooms, a team of skilled, playful teachers, and a lush nature playscape, allowing us to serve more families, as well as providing a launching pad for advocacy and community initiatives.
HOME FOR SUNFLOWER
In 2015, we purchased our current home in Delray Beach, with indoor and outdoor classrooms, a team of skilled, playful teachers, and a lush nature playscape, allowing us to serve more families, as well as providing a launching pad for advocacy and community initiatives.
Some Key moments in Sunflower History
1993 – First Seedlings class centered around child-led play, process-oriented art, nature, music, parent support and embracing the whole child.
2003 – Designated scholarship fund started to help low income families.
2008 – Launch of Sunflower Roots & Shoots club, a youth-led community action and learning program of the Jane Goodall Institute.
2012 – Sunflower’s We Love Shakespeare! troupe performs its 10th full length play, Twelfth Night.
2015 – Sunflower officially opens for classes in Delray Beach.
2018 – Susan Caruso presents two sessions at the U.S. Play Coalition’s Conference on the Value of Play.
“There is nothing like the feeling of being a Seedling… it is the courage to always be who you are, the inner strength to listen to your heart. Play, nature and the arts open young minds and hearts to the world around them. It’s where the passion begins! A play based way of learning helps each child find what uniquely makes them a genius!”
-Sophie Michael, a member of the first Seedling class and a current Seedlings Teacher.
25 YEARS PROGRAMS FOR ALL
- 233 families participated in classes ranging from parent/child to preschool to camp and after school
- 66 Children enrolled in our signature Seedlings Preschool
- 27 Children and parents were enrolled in our Little Seedlings program, a transitional program that bridges the gap between parent/child classes and the Seedlings Preschool
With your support, we have continued to increase our educational programming. This year, we delivered 108 hours of parent education and launched our first Sunflower Big Read with Discovering the Culture of Childhood by Emily Plank. We continued our partnership with Lynn University College of Education, inviting future teachers to observe our play-based education model in action.
With your support, we have continued to increase our educational programming. This year, we delivered 108 hours of parent education and launched our first Sunflower Big Read with Discovering the Culture of Childhood by Emily Plank. We continued our partnership with Lynn University College of Education, inviting future teachers to observe our play-based education model in action.
“The experiences my children have had at Sunflower Creative Arts have gone way beyond having a fun place to play. Having a place where they belong, where their love for nature, art and play is encouraged, and seeing how they thrive outside of that environment has been truly affirming to our family’s beliefs.”
-Natasha Ahles, Sunflower parent, and member of the Sunflower Play Initiative team.
25 YEARS PLAY COMMUNITY
Former Sunflower families return year after year for our community programs, including our renowned Ice Castle Festival and Play Day, knowing first hand that play is a building block of academic success and a joyful childhood.
“What stuck with me over the years was when Susan [Sunflower Director] said that when children play it forms hooks in their brain to hang new experiences on, so that when they learn new things in school, and as they get older, they can relate it back to things they have already experienced.”
-Karen Epstein, former Seedlings parent and current Sunflower volunteer
We continue to support play by hosting free community events. Over 850 individuals and families participated in: Gather in the Garden – monthly potlucks in our outdoor classroom and nature playscape / BYO Picnic to the Beach / Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside!) family nature exploration / Our annual Ice Castle Festival & Play Day / Our brand new Pop-Up Playful Builds
25 YEARS ADVOCATING FOR PLAY
In honor of Sunflower’s 25th Anniversary, we’ve launched the Sunflower Play Initiative to raise awareness of the many benefits of child-directed Play.
As part of the Play Initiative, Sunflower’s Pop-Up Playful Builds have sprung up throughout our community offering fun, direct, hands-on experiences to children, families, caregivers and educators.
Why is the Play Initiative so critical?
The American Association of Pediatrics has declared that play is not frivolous- it is fundamental to health and critical to the development of 21st century skills such as problem solving, collaboration and creativity. Still, play is rapidly disappearing from childhood! Never has the need to advocate for play been more critical.
A Home for Sunflower Capital campaign
Capital gifts allow Sunflower to shift funds from mortgage payments to programs and advocacy efforts such as the Sunflower Play Initiative. Our remaining goal is $620,000. We are grateful for all our capital campaign donors who have already joined us in this effort.
At our annual Hop, Skip & a Jump-A-Thon, you helped raise $25,827 for Sunflower programs with over 280 donations from 70 participating teams.
In just 24 hours, during Great Give 2018, you helped raise over $15,000 to support Sunflower’s need-based Scholarship Fund, which is also supported by a generous $20,000 grant from the Batchelor Foundation. Your support allowed us to award over $38,000 in scholarships during the 2017-2018 school year.
In just 24 hours, during Great Give 2018, you helped raise over $15,000 to support Sunflower’s need-based Scholarship Fund, which is also supported by a generous $20,000 grant from the Batchelor Foundation. Your support allowed us to award over $38,000 in scholarships during the 2017-2018 school year.
6,000 hours
Volunteers donated nearly 6,000 hours of their time and talents to support Sunflower and the power of play-based learning
25 YEARS YOUR GENEROSITY
Financials July 2017 – June 2018
Thank you for your generous donations.
“I believe play is important for children because it builds countless skills you can’t acquire elsewhere, such as: social skills, engineering skills, and the overall expansion of one’s imagination.”
-Kofi Meghan, former Seedling, Seedlings summer camp counselor, high school student at Pine Crest Preparatory School.
Thank you to our first Silver Sponsors, celebrating 25 years of Sunflower!
2017 – 2018 Sunflower Circle Members
Thank you for supporting Sunflower through our monthly giving club
Kristina Biehl
Dilcia Burgos and Joshua Borthwick
Marybeth Busby
Susan Caruso
Simone Chin and Mahesh Neelakanta
Genevieve and Shawn Cipes
Meryl Davids and Gary Landau
Joyce Doppelt
Barbara Cuomo Feehan
Claudia Flores Flamm and Jeff Flamm
Lynn Jones
Elisa and Alan Leavitt
Tayler Mariner and Martin Lee
The Pleasants Family
Lia Schultz and Tyrone Halfhill
Sue and Bob Shattuck
Anna Sullivan
Batya Weisskoff
2017 – 2018 Donors
Danielle Ahles
Natasha and Justin Ahles
Claudia Alarcon
Lisa and Steven Aliperta
Lawrence and Jill Allingham
Jennifer Alvarez
Amy and Edgar An
Christine Andreadis
Katherine Andreadis
Samara and Petro Andreadis
Vasiliki Andreadis
Anonymous (19)
Amanda and Bernard Arapoglou
Sara Armold
Stephanie and Jeff Arsht
Lauren Atchison
Kelly Austen
June Backer
Charlotte Bahm and Jennifer Minogue
Dana-Lynn Ballou
Valerie and George Balsama
Juliana and Francesco Barbati
Paul Barke
Diana and Juan Barone
Carlee and Jeremy Barr
Michelle and Patrick Barrett
Dana Bathurst
Danielle and Thomas Baugh
Allen Baum
Brandi Beane
Kristina Beatty
Benny’s on the Beach
Mark Bernstein
Carole Berthiaume
Jason Beukema and Whet Travel Family
Tamara Biehl
Emily and Bryce Billings
Larry Billings
Ryan Bogert
Charlene Boldrin and Billy Nikolakopoulos
Claire Bollettieri
Callie and Matthew Bosch
Whitney and Neil Bourdelaise
Ronald Bradley
Sandra Bravo
Julie Bretz
Christene Brewer
Teri Brick
Brooke Brooks
Stacy Brown and Steve Goldner
Pam Brown
Christine Buchan
Matthew Buchholz
Hamon Burkhardt
Jannick Burkhardt
September Burkhardt
Tiffany Burkhardt
Melissa Burney
Mary Cadwell
Kayla Caldwell
Shawna Camilleri
Ileen P. Carter
Angelo Caruso
Casa Mannabliss
Michelle Cash
The Chalvadakis Family
Dave Chapman
Dorothy Charbonneau
Velvet and Chris Chong
The Churey Family
Rouslange Ciceron
Shannon and Frank Cid
Gaetano Cipriano
Trisha Cires
Clothpromotions Plus
Marcela Colina
Douglas and Kathleen Colson
Linda and James Colucci
Christine Cooksley
Donald Cramer
Audrey Crisan and Steve Burstein
Teresa Cummings
Jacqueline Cusaac
Angelina Dattini
Marcia and Carol Deaktor
Merideth Dee Larrieux
Lindsay deLaneuville
George and Amy Demetriou
Jeanette and Dr. Mark Denker
Ljubica Dimitrova
Mary and Kevin Dombrowski
Andrea Doyle
Logan and Marshall Duane
Susan Duane
Susan and David Dubbin
Kimberly and Jeremy Dudley
Millicent and Michael Dudley
Julie Eggleston
Laynee Elgart
Meredith and Jesse England
Erica Englund and Robb Page
Karen and Bill Epstein
Erin Erickson
Jill Erwich and Vincent Nero
Tammy Fender
Ilana Foglia
Barbara Fuller Powers and Ralph Powers
Nora Furman Furman
Joe Gaglianello
Mary and Joseph Gaglianello
Jeff Gantman
The Garcias
Sherida Gayle
Kate and Chris George
Cecilia and Ron Geraci
Deidre and Ron Geraci
Steve, Barbi and Peter Gerald
Diana Geren
Annette and Jason Gerlitz Appel
Melissa Gerstl
Lisa and Michael Glas
Lisa Glass
Amy Glenn
Nathan Good
Elena Gorkovenko
Victoria and Vince Green
Jaime and Brett Greenberg
Alice and Bob Gridley
Pola Griffin
Barbara Haensel
Julia Haensel
Amy Hanlon
Emily and Jeff Hanlon
Jeremy Hanlon
Jon Hanlon
Kathy Hanlon
Faith and Blake Harkcom
Kristin Harkness
Greta Harman
Heather Harris
Josh, Rosie and Chapman Harris
Nikki Hartman
Waly Hartung
Renee Haubner
Veronica Hirsch and Bryant Smith
Cindy Hirsch
Donna Hixson
Vincent Hoag
Liz Hogan
AnneMarie Holmes
Linda and Chris Hugues
Kenneth Hummel
Kelly and Daric Huntt
Laura Huot
Paula Hurley
Michele Iemolo
Angela and Dante Ionata
Chantal Jensen
Heather Jensen
Amy Joanides
Dana and Brad Johnson
Natalie Jones Pantaleón
Monica Jordan
Christina and Paul Joy
Pauline and Gerry Joy
Keith Kanouse
Kimberly Kanouse
Rea and Kyle Kanouse
Kayak Lake Worth
Tracey Kayne
Julie Kelly and Barry Goldman
Victoria Kenney
Virginia Kinsey
Amanda and Rob Kirk
Robin and Steven Klein
Mary and Greg Krevko
Lauren and Luke Kyle
Judy LaBo
Rabbi Marc Labowitz and Family
Diana LaCarubba
The Langfords
Julie Lape and Carlos Cordero-Loza
Brooke and Mike Lavelle
Bonnie Lavelle
Irena Lawrence
Avi Leavitt
Marco Lee
Nicole Leidesdorf and David Marulli
Katherine Leneave
Julie Ann Levin
Rachel Levy
Elizabeth and Steve Licht
Jennifer and George Ligeti
Martin Lipschultz
Jessica Lopera and Michael Foelster
Pam Lucia
Kiara Maldonado
Cynthia Manning
Kevin Manning
Kevin Manning
Michael Manning
Evangelia Marangakis
Michael Marnell
Ashly Martin
Hal Martin
Loren and Michael McArdle
Courtney McCook
Lora and Jim McCoy
Meade Peers McCoy
Dylan Peers McCoy
Courtney McDeavitt
Jessica and Brian McDeavitt
Sheila McGuire
Casey and CJ McLaughlin
Saskia Meckman and Fares Khalidi
Susan Mentzer
Carolyn Miller
Amanda and Jason Mintz
Harriet Misselhorn
Emily and Mark Mitchell
Irfan Mohammed
Kathleen Moore
Mia and James Moore
Courtney Mullen and David Francisco
Alan Murray
Jessica and Austin Murray
Lillian Murray
Ryan Murray
Perambur Neelakanta
Julie, Cassie and Jim Nicholas
Joy Nissley
Danielle and Darrell Noonan
Joan Nova
Jason Novak
Lynn Noyes
Margaret Noyes
Jennifer O’Neill and Dennis Yarbrough
Maxine Ofsowitz
Christopher Ohanian
Judi Ohanian
Bruce A. and Macy C. O’Neill
ONET
Janine and Jared Opper
Suzanne Overholt
Joyce Page
Wayne Paglieri
Paradise Bank
Courtney Parmenter
Erika and Andres Pedroso
Mette, Emma and Andrew Petersen
Sherri and Kenny Pickett
Allison Porter
Lauren H Pottinger
Michelle Powe
Evonne Powers
Jennifer and Francisco Prettel
Lisa Pumper
Amy Rathburn
Jeremy Raymer
Robert Raymer
Danielle Rebuck
Jennifer Reilly
Elaine Reinoso
Monica Reyes
Sherry Rienas
Susan Rinder
Emma Risley and Scott Schereschevsky
Talia and Kristofer Roberts
Marty and Yaniv Rogge
Courtney Roog
Catherine Rose
Audra and Roberto Rovegno
Royal Life Centers
Kimberlie Saint Louis
Courtney Salamone and Joe Snider
Patricia and Robert Schaaf
The Schneider Family
Shannon Schnuerer
Tara Schreiber
Irena Scope
Cindy Searing-Paz
Tricia and Bill Seery
Barbara and Brad Seigfreid
Elizabeth Selya
Michele Service
Ilysia Shattuck and Stephen Charbonneau
Arielle Shira
Sasha and Ian Shtulman
Shtulman Family Chiropractic
Val Silidker and Jay Flanzbaum
Lenore Silidker
Adena Simmons
Colette Singer
William Singer
Ani and Adam Smith
Cynthia and David Smith
Taylor Snyder
Cynthia Sossei
Vanessa and Dave Spector
Cindy Sperling
Jarin Stanford
Antoniya Statelova
The Stein Family
Lindsay Sternberg
Ellen and Marshall Stone
The Stone Family
Eugene and Frances Student
Matthew Student
Dorota Szladewska and Ernesto Salas
The Tatge Family
Claire and Michael Teller
Maria Tempesta
Christine Templeton
Jenna Thayer
Tilson PR
Alishia Timmons
Maria Torres
Dolores Tortora
Angela Towne
Steph and Brian Trew
Brandy and Terry Truex
Meaghan and Paul Trust
Anna Tsapina
UA Cups
Ronald Vitello
Jackie Wagener
Peggy Wagner
Jerry Wagner
Marjorie Waldo
David Warr
Janice Watson
Elizabeth Weber
Lisa Wheeler
Leanore Williams
Charlie and Lee Williams
Sylvia Winsberg Jameson
The Woodburns
Tehmina and Erik Wytenus
Dennis J. Yarbrough
Aimee Yu
The Zacks Family
Rosa Zerpa-Nesvacil
Jennifer and Peter Zoole
Karen Zummo-Hurley
Every effort has been made to acknowledge contributions correctly and completely from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Should you discover an error or omission, please call us at 561 501-6615.
A Home for Sunflower Capital Campaign Donors
* Indicates 2017 – 2018 Donor
Amy and Edgar An*
Keith Backer
Sharon and Scott Baker
Carlee and Jeremy Barr
Kim and Mark Bauer
Jill and Walter Baum
Bridges, Marsh & Associates, Inc.
Stacy Brown and Steve Goldner
Mike Budd
Ileen P. Carter
Angelo Caruso
Steven Caruso
Susan Caruso*
Danielle Casale
Carlee Cohen and Jeremy Barr
Mary L Cohn
Nikki and Daniel Dean
Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency
Kerri and Steve Deitsch
Jeanette and Dr. Mark Denker
Suzanne Deutch
Dockerty Romer & Co
Susan and David Dubbin
Stephanie and Aubrey Dunham
Wynna and Gary Dunmyer
Carmen and John Edelson*
Dionne Ekendiz
Meredith and Jesse England
Karen and Bill Epstein and family
Rebecca Follo and J. Thomas Bentley
Barbara Fuller Powers and Ralph Powers
Kate and Chris George
Lisa and Michael Glas
Glidden Spina and Partners
Connie and Barry Gluck
Victoria and Vince Green
Jaime, Brett, Suzie & Sierra Greenberg*
Margaret and William Greenfield*
Kristin Harkness*
Sharon and Richard Holt
Astrea Hupfel
Angela and Dante Ionata
Sylvia and Michael Jameson
Rosemary Justice
Patricia and Paul Kilgallon*
Candy and Martin Kopczak
Marcia Lazar
Le Petit Prince
Luciana and Eran Levy
Elizabeth and Steve Licht
Jennifer and George Ligeti
Martin Lipschultz
Little Seedlings Class of 2014-15
Tayler Mariner and Martin Lee
Lora and Jim McCoy
Meade Peers McCoy*
Kirsten McKeen
Thomas and Denise McMurrain
Marlene McMurrain McKay*
Saskia Meckman and Fares Khalidi
Mendelson Consulting
Natalie Mitchell
Katie and John Murphy
Nationwide Interpreter Resource, Inc.
Native Choice Nursery
Native Green Cay Nursery
Rosario and Ernest Orphanos
P&G Finance, Inc.*
Michele and Tom Peel*
Charlotte Pelton & Associates, Inc
Virginia Perez
Gretchen Perry and Rick Leger
Evan Phalon
Ami Polonsky
Helena Redman
Nicole and Omer Reiner*
Emma Risley and Scott Schereschevsky
Sharon Rosenthal and Roy Trachtenberg
Dany Schaper
Kathleen and Spencer Seery
Ilysia Shattuck and Stephen Charbonneau*
Sue and Bob Shattuck
Shauna of the Star
Ellen and Marshall Stone
Laura and Mark Swauger
Dorota Szladewska and Ernesto Salas
Elisabeth and Ken Teelucksingh
Christine Templeton
Maria and Manuel Vergara
Patricia Werhahn and Richard Viens*
Geraldine and Patricia Werhahn
Young Dentistry*
#RememberPlay
Board of Directors, 2017-2018
Jennifer Ligeti, President
Edgar An, Ph.D., Vice President
Susan Dubbin, Treasurer
Victoria Green, Secretary
Susan Caruso, Executive Director
William L. Epstein
Lora Peers McCoy
Sunflower Staff
Susan Caruso, Executive Director
Ashley Caskill, Office Administrator
& Family Liaison
Jaime Greenberg, Communications Director
Meade Peers McCoy, Director of Special
Projects and Strategic Initiatives
Ilysia Shattuck, Operations and
Development Director
Dorota Szladewska, Financial Director
Sunflower Teachers
Sophie Backer
Michelle Barrett
Annette Gerlitz Appel
Irena Lawrence
Liz Licht
Tricia Seery
Michele Service
Haidor Truu
Annike Venoy
