About the Royal Palms
In the summer of 2002, two local women envisioned a group that would unite the young women in their community through friendship and service. That group is the Royal Palms of St. Lucie County. The group has grown to more than 100 members, who are dedicated to serving women and children in the Treasure Coast.
The Royal Palms initial focus was on women and children in St Lucie County; they collaborated with other nonprofits, such as SafeSpace, Pace Center for Girls, and Hibiscus House to distribute funds back into the community each year. They also developed an emergency funding source referred to as Honorable Mentions, in which Royal Palms members could identify people in need that could receive a $500 donation directly. Additional opportunities were identified through the years, including a collaboration with Indian River State College Foundation where the Royal Palms provide scholarships to women in need as well as a community outreach, known as Prom Towne, for local high school girls to receive a free Prom dress for Prom.
In Fall 2017, the Royal Palms had the opportunity to directly assist a local family with a disabled child through hard times and this became the vision of the Royal Palms future. The 2018-2019 service year was the start of a new program for the Royal Palms, one that expanded our area of opportunity to the Treasure Coast--including Indian River, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, and Martin Counties, and we now provide assistance for all individuals and families within that area that are experiencing a crisis or unforeseen circumstances. Each fall and spring we adopt 5 local families during our service drive. We continue to provide three Indian River State College scholarships and host an annual Prom Towne.
The 1st Prom Towne was held in the spring of 2013 with the idea of collecting prom dresses and providing them to young ladies for free so they could have a dress for prom. The event has grown in the last 8 years and we now have all of the local high schools involved. Each year the high schools donate prom tickets for us to host a drawing from the girls in attendance. Prom Towne has become a very special day of lifting these young ladies up and making them feel beautiful without worries about how much it costs. They can come and get a free prom dress, no questions asked, along with many other items that get donated to us. It is one of our most precious community events. Over 100 girls left with a dress last year!
We are always looking to expand our organization and membership. Our new membership bash is typically held near the end of July to gear up for the new season that starts in September.
