TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Leadership Florida presented The Immokalee Foundation with its 2024 Florida Impact Award at its Annual Meeting in Charlotte Harbor earlier this month.

The Florida Impact Award recognizes a business or nonprofit organization that has created a specific project or body of work whose impact is currently transforming the future of its region or beyond and has the potential to transform Florida as a whole.

“We are honored to recognize the outstanding work being done by The Immokalee Foundation and its Career Pathways Program,” said Wendy Spencer, president and CEO of Leadership Florida. “Their work is making a significant impact on the lives of students they work with as well as their community as a whole.”

Though The Immokalee Foundation introduced career-based programming in 2007, the Career Pathways Program was launched in 2018 to better prepare middle and high school students to pursue the postsecondary education best suited to their career goals. Since the program’s inception, 100 percent of its students have graduated from high school with a postsecondary plan to pursue a professional career. Ninety-three percent graduate with a postsecondary certificate or degree, with the majority earning a four-year bachelor’s degree.

The Immokalee Foundation is also garnering national attention as a model for education and career success. Excelencia in Education—a national data-driven initiative that recognizes programs and organizations with evidence of accelerating Latino student success, recognized the Career Pathways program as a "Program to Watch."

“The Immokalee Foundation pioneered and developed the award-winning Career Pathways Program to acknowledge that students need more than academic support,” said Noemi Perez, president and CEO of The Immokalee Foundation and a member of Leadership Florida’s Education Class 8. "We are proud to be 100% aligned with Leadership Florida's mission 'to create opportunities for experiences that are inviting, inspiring, and of lasting value.' It is truly an honor to be the recipient of this year's Impact Award.”

About The Immokalee Foundation: For more than 32 years, The Immokalee Foundation has been preparing the next generation of leaders through a 100% focus on education, career readiness, and professional development for students in Immokalee—from kindergarten through postsecondary education. The Foundation provides new pathways to success and financial independence through robust programming that prepares students for well-paying, in-demand professional careers in Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management and Healthcare. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, become a mentor, volunteer as a career panel speaker or host, donate, or include the Foundation in your estate plans, please call 239-430-9122 or visit immokaleefoundation.org.