Staff Report

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Taylor’s Closet, a nonprofit organization with a mission to empower teenaged girls in need, was awarded a $45,000 grant by the StrikeForce 421 Giving Circle, a group of 100 Christian women committed to donating $100,000 annually to life-changing programs.

The grant will help Taylor’s Closet expand its outreach to empower hurting teenaged girls by engaging in a healthy dialogue about important issues that affect each of their lives while they shop for free designer clothing. Specifically, the funds will go towards the creation of a mobile boutique called “The Bloom Bus,” an entirely new concept to allow the organization to help girls who do not have access to transportation or live further away from its location at 200 NW 2 Street in Pompano Beach.

“We are grateful for the generosity of StrikeForce 421 whose grant will make it possible for Taylor’s Closet to acquire and create a mobile space to reach girls who might not otherwise be able to participate in the organization’s programs,” said Greg Martin, Principal with Avison Young, a commercial real estate services firm, and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Taylor’s Closet.

During the past few years, Taylor’s Closet has partnered with Fort Lauderdale High School and seen tremendous results with the girls who attended its programs for a one- year period. More than 90 percent of participants experienced improvements in the areas of attendance, behavior, and GPA. “It is our hope that with The Bloom Bus, Taylor’s Closet will be able to reach more girls and achieve the same impactful results,” continued Martin.

September of 2016 marked the official launch of The Bloom Club and The Bloom

Bus project. In hopes of raising an additional $55,000 to complete exterior and interior renovations, The Bloom Bus will officially open its doors at Fort Lauderdale High School in January of 2017.

“We will spend the next few months turning the bus into a beautiful mobile store which resembles our current store in Pompano Beach, to ensure that each girl who enters the mobile store will immediately feel special and loved,” added Linda Giambattista, Executive Director of Taylor’s Closet.

In addition to awarding $45,000 to Taylor’s Closet, StrikeForce 421 presented grants to Sheridan House Family Ministries ($29,000), First Care Women’s Clinic ($22,000), and Heart2Heart Senior Outreach ($16,000) – for a grand total of $112,000.

With the mission to greatly impact local Christian ministries, StrikeForce 421 is a network of 100 women who pull together to give over $100,000 in grants annually in support of ministries that touch the lives of children on a daily basis. “Rather than leaving little impact to an abundance of ministries, our goal is to fund entire projects that could take a few ministries’ influence to a whole new level,” said JoAnne Daudt, Founder of StrikeForce 421.