Beverly Fanning first met her mentee, Vonte Parris, at a Naples Children & Education Foundation event in 2020. Vonte, an avid football player, was in his senior year of high school and staying at Rob’s Cottage at Youth Haven, a shelter for at-risk teenagers. She was a football fan, and he played running back; they bonded quickly. Over the next several months, she stayed in touch with Vonte and Youth Haven. With her financial support, Vonte was able to play in a post-grad football program at the prestigious athlete prep school IMG Academy in Bradenton. Now, the budding athlete is on the roster at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Though Beverly only moved to Naples full-time three years ago, people who know her will tell you she gives and gives and gives. Her Beverly B. Fanning Foundation has donated to charities locally and throughout the South, including in Atlanta, where she lived for 40 years and raised her two children. Naples Children & Education Foundation, Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, St. Matthew’s House, Immokalee Foundation—naming all her beneficiaries would take up much of this page.
She walks the walk, too. After Hurricane Ian, she bought pizzas and sandwiches from local restaurants and then drove around to heavily impacted communities to distribute food to essential workers. When shelters and hotels were full, she opened her doors to a family whose home had flooded nearby. She also housed an out-of-town lineworker (whom she met via a Facebook post from his mother) in need of a warm bed.
This month, she plans to team up with T-Michaels Steak & Lobster House to provide free dinners for vets and first-responders on Vetera ns Day. She loves helping wherever she can. “You develop so many lifelong friendships, and that’s what makes it all worthwhile,” she says. —J.P.