Community Foundation Urges Monroe County Residents to Volunteer With Local Nonprofits

The Community Foundation of the Florida Keys is calling on residents to look beyond their checkbooks, arguing that volunteer time is among the most valuable resources the region's nonprofit sector receives.

The appeal came through a column published in Keys Weekly, written by foundation staffer Elizabeth Brown, who drew on her own experience to make the case. "My first day with the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys was three years ago," Brown wrote. "I had volunteered to come down before my official start date to help with the Unsung Heroes event. The term 'blown away' is an understatement."

The scale of the Keys' nonprofit ecosystem surprises many people, Brown noted. "Well over 200 nonprofits are headquartered in or serve the Florida Keys," she wrote. "Most operate entirely with volunteers or with very small paid staff. That means volunteers, from board members providing strategic vision to those greeting guests at fundraisers, are essential to our community's success."

Central to the foundation's recognition efforts is Unsung Heroes, a signature program the foundation describes as a lunch and award ceremony. At the most recent event, the foundation honored 88 volunteers nominated by 95 Keyswide nonprofits. Those honorees, Brown wrote, represent the full breadth of community need: "These volunteers, some full-time and some seasonal residents, feed our neighbors, protect our waters, support the arts, mentor youth, care for animals, and more. Their impact reaches every corner of the Keys."

Brown framed the program as more than a celebratory occasion. "Unsung Heroes is more than just a celebration," she wrote. "It is part of how the foundation helps build capacity for our nonprofit partners by shining a light on the people who make their work possible."

The foundation extends that recognition year-round through a partnership with Keys Weekly Newspapers, which publishes an Unsung Hero Volunteer of the Week feature every Thursday. "Recognition matters," Brown wrote. "Gratitude fuels service.