Indian River Club members hosted a poolside soiree to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Head, Heart & Hands community outreach program with a Grant Ceremony and a special Founders Circle Celebration last Friday afternoon.

Since its inception, HHH has donated more than $500,000 to local charities, each year increasing funding from an inaugural $40,000 to this year’s $146,500. Ed Perry, HHH grant coordinator, explained that funds are raised through donations and an annual golf tournament, with 100 percent of proceeds becoming an investment in the community through grants to nonprofits.

This year 17 recipients received awards ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 for programs supporting children, education, senior care, services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the homeless, and career mentorship for those segments of the population most in need.

“There were 42 proposals, and all 42 of them had merit and value. These are 17 that really show the soul of Indian River County,” said Perry, adding that they were distributing more grants this year than ever before.

Members of the grant proposal committee presented checks to the recipients before handing them the microphone, so that each nonprofit representative could share information about their overall mission and the individual programs the grants would be funding.

Head, Heart & Hands was presented to the Indian River Club community as a framework for community outreach five years ago, explained Marybeth Cunningham, HHH board president.

“The speaker series is the ‘head’ part for learning about our community, philanthropy defines the ‘heart,’ and ‘hands’ represents a coordinated volunteer effort,” said Cunningham. “Thus Head, Heart & Hands.”

Services are provided countywide, with a focus on the South County area where the Indian River Club is located. Residents have adopted the Indian River Academy elementary school for the ‘hands’ part of the equation, with 80 people recurrently volunteering to provide more than 500 hours of support each month.

After the check presentations, Cunningham raised a glass to toast the founders and donors, adding, “I’d like to congratulate and thank all the agencies that are here today. You guys do great work in this community. You take care of our kids, our seniors and people in need.”

As the sun began to set and the evening air cooled, guests mingled over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and listened to Vero Beach High School Jazz Band performers, while discussing the impact HHH has had on the community through the work of the nonprofits they support.