Beneficiaries

2026 Southwest Florida wine & Food Fest

$3 MILLION RAISED DURING LIVE AUCTION

Southwest Florida Children’s Charities, Inc. celebrated a record-breaking milestone at the 17th Annual Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest, raising $3 million during the Live Auction on February 28, 2026. Since its founding in 2009, the organization has now generated more than $35 million to advance pediatric healthcare for children and families across the region.

The largest impact of the evening came during the Fund-A-Cause paddle raise, sponsored by the Cameratta Family, which generated an extraordinary $855,000 in seed funding to establish a new Center for Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in association with Lee Health and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

The Center for IDD will centralize essential services, coordinate care across more than 50 community partners, train future providers, and advance research—becoming a first-of-its-kind waypoint for families navigating a complex system of care. This new hub will provide diagnosis, treatment, and critical resources, helping families remain together and closer to home in Southwest Florida.

By the Numbers – Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
(Based on CDC Statistics — U.S. population)

1 in 6 children experience a developmental disability
1 in 10 children live with a rare disease
1 in 31 children are diagnosed with autism

Over the Past 17 Years

MORE THAN $35 MILLION DONATED

Through the generosity of the community and trustees, SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc. supports local pediatric health care initiatives in Southwest Florida.

Over the years, funds raised at the SWFL Wine & Food Fest have benefited nearly 20 organizations including our biggest beneficiary, the Golisano Children’s Hospital. SWFL Wine & Food Fest has help to fund many initiatives including equipment for GCH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the new SWFL Children’s Charities Eye Institute, expansion and equipment for many programs including pediatric oncology & neurosurgery at the children’s hospital including the most recent with pediatric outpatient surgery center coming to our region, education of our local nursing students and more to enhance pediatric healthcare in our region. Truly a gift!

CONTINUED SUPPORT

Funds from the 2025 SWFL Wine & Food Fest continued to support Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to help keep children close to home for care through a new outpatient surgery center located on HealthPark campus. Funds will also help with the expansion of the SWFL Children’s Charities Nursing Simulation Lab at Florida SouthWestern State College to help better educate students going into pediatric care.

As the needs of the children in our community change, so will our giving strategies. Southwest Florida Children’s Charities is committed to affecting change in the lives of Southwest Florida children specifically in the area of healthcare. By providing technology, supporting health care education and continued funding Golisano Children’s Hospital initiatives, SWFL Children’s Charities is changing lives, for the better.

SWFL Children’s Charities Eye Institute of Golisano Children’s Hospital

SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., donated $3 million to open the new Eye Institute of Golisano Children’s Hospital. For children in Southwest Florida suffering with serious eye conditions, their world is blurry and dark. But things got a little brighter with the recent opening of the brand-new Eye Institute of Golisano Children’s Hospital in Fort Myers. Wait times are down from 277-days to about six weeks and new ophthalmologists have been hired and are serving children.

Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida

The mission of Southwest Florida Children’s Charities, Inc. is to advance the health care services for children throughout the five-county region and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida is the main beneficiary. Parents will find comfort, knowing America’s newest children’s hospital offers the most advanced care and tools available – right here in Southwest Florida.

FSW student scholarships

At SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., the mission is to positively impact the health and lives of children, and the trustees believe that there is no better place to start than with future healthcare professionals. SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc. has donated more than $1 million to Florida SouthWestern State College to benefit the programs and students within FSW’s School of Health Professions.

Having donated $1.75 million to FGCU since 2007, SWFL Children’s Charities continues to support the next generation of pediatric health care professionals. SWFL Children’s Charities also funded the new Counseling Center at FGCU that opened in 2019 to help train new mental health professionals and serve our community.

The College of Health Professions and Social Work at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is cultivating the next generation of pediatric health professionals in our community. The College’s success is backed by hard numbers including a national board passing rate of nearly 100 percent, and equally impressive job placement for graduates.

One can already see how funds dedicated to FGCU are nurturing to the pediatric health profession in Southwest Florida with FGCU students and graduates volunteering, interning and working at Golisano Children’s Hospital.

To date, SWFL Children’s Charities has donated more than $27 Million to the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The hospital opened in 2017 and has been named one of the top 10 children’s hospital in the country!

Our community, especially our children, are deserving of the highest quality healthcare services available. Since its inception twelve years ago, the mission of SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., has been to positively impact the health and lives of children in Southwest Florida, and the main beneficiary of its funds has been the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. Through our annual signature event, the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest, the money raised went toward building the new family-centered children’s hospital that is now providing new and expanded medical services and subspecialty services to children from Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. To date more than $27 million has been donated to Golisano Children’s Hospital including $3 Million to build the SWFL Children’s Charities Eye Institute of SWFL, help bring pediatric neurosurgery to our area and other life-saving care to our region. SWFL Children’s Charities is now the largest donor to the Golisano Children’s Hospital that was completed in 2017.

Steering future health care professional in the right direction, SWFL Children’s Charities has donated $1.4 Million to FSW since 2007.

At SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., our mission is to positively impact the health and lives of children, and we believe that there is no better place to start than with future healthcare professionals. SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc. has donated more $1 million to fund programs at Florida SouthWestern College (FSW) within the School of Health Professions. The dollars given are used to purchase equipment, technology, software and for advanced training, or to award scholarships to qualifying students within the School of Health Professions program at FSW with an interest in children’s healthcare. The commitment from SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc. helps to ensure that these students receive the education and hands-on training they need to serve the vital role of helping to care for the health and well-being of children in our community.