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Uncommon Friends Foundation reports rising visits, new museum and school curriculum plans
Summary
The Uncommon Friends Foundation told the Fort Myers City Council its Burroughs Home tours and events are up about 30% from last year; the foundation received a $25,000 marketing grant and plans a virtual museum and updated school curriculum.
Mark Collins, executive director of the Uncommon Friends Foundation, presented the foundation’s annual activity report to the Fort Myers City Council, thanking staff for quick hurricane repairs and saying the Burroughs Home is reopening with expanded programming. "We got our certificate of occupancy on Tuesday," Collins said, and the property is now offering docent-led tours Tuesday through Thursday and special community events in December.
Collins said events are up about 30% over last year — partly because visitors displaced by recent hurricanes used Burroughs Home programming — and described a $25,000 grant from the BCB earmarked for marketing that will support a new biweekly podcast and promotional work. "This will allow us to start a biweekly podcast called Uncommon Conversations," he said, outlining a plan for Tuesday episodes focused on businesses and Thursday episodes for more challenging conversations.
The foundation also told council it is moving a portion of the Uncommon Friends exhibits to a virtual museum and opening a locally centered gift shop at the Langford-Kingston Home. Collins said the group aims to stabilize operations and reinstate school curriculum components, noting partnership discussions with FGCU faculty for curriculum work. Council members thanked Collins and staff for rapid hurricane response that enabled reopening.
Looking ahead, the foundation plans more family and community events and to leverage the marketing grant to increase outreach; Collins said a family free day at the Burroughs Home is scheduled for Dec. 21 and that the gift shop will focus on Fort Myers and Lee County merchandise.
