The Darden Restaurants Foundation recently awarded a $100,000 grant to the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C). P.E.C. is the organizer and presenter of the annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities (ZORA! Festival) and the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts (The Hurston). The grant will be used to support the organization’s general operations and educational programs.
“We are thankful for the generous support of the Darden Restaurants Foundation,” says P.E.C. Executive Director N.Y. Nathiri. “We are so fortunate to have the legacy established by Zora Neale Hurston and the Town of Eatonville to use as a backdrop for cultivating strong arts and humanities programming. This grant ensures our ability to positively impact the community’s cultural landscape.”
“Darden Restaurants has been a long-time supporter of P.E.C.,” said Julio Suárez, director of diversity outreach for Darden. “We are pleased to be able to help enhance the educational programs that P.E.C. offers for the community.”
“The P.E.C. community programs are significant components of our community’s arts education.  In a time when programs like these are being drastically reduced in our schools, it means so much to have companies like Darden step up to ensure its future. Education is the key to a stable community,” said P.E.C. Board President Johnny Rivers.
The Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.), is a non-profit, tax-exempt historic preservation and arts organization whose mission is: to enhance the resources of Eatonville, Florida, the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the United States and the hometown of writer, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston; to educate the public about Eatonville’s historic and cultural significance; and to use the community’s heritage and cultural vibrancy for its economic development. P.E.C. also presents the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts (The Hurston) located in Eatonville, at the P.E.C. administrative office.
For more information, please visit www.zorafestival.com or www.zoranealehurstonmuseum.org.
For more information on the Darden Restaurants Foundation, please visit www.darden.com.
