Florence Katzenberger, the family school liaison at Leesburg Elementary School, knows the needs of its students.
From washing clothes to providing weekend food bags, Katzenberger has worked to meet those needs for years.
Ahead of the 2025-26 school, she got assistance from Addition Financial Foundation — a nonprofit that has helped impact education throughout Central Florida since 2019 with its Renovate to Educate program.
This year, the foundation has revamped the renovation program to boost its impact and reach more students by working to provide “need spaces” to four schools.
Leesburg Elementary — a school that has a 6% population of homeless students and 100% student population on free or reduced lunches — was one of four schools chosen to receive a “needs space,” along with Engelwood Elementary in Orange County, Lakeview Elementary in Osceola County and Millennium Middle in Seminole County. The foundation, which was founded by teachers in 1937, worked with the school districts to identify schools that would most benefit from the program.
Cristina Lehman, executive director of the Addition Financial Foundation, said the nonprofit budgeted about $30,000 for the year to transform or create the dedicated “needs spaces” at schools that are stocked with food and personal items for homeless or low-income students and their families.
Work on the Lake County school “needs space,” which took over five weeks, was completed in time for the new school year.
Lehman said over 22 volunteers clocked over 200 volunteer hours at the school.
“Ms. Flo has no problem getting the donations; it’s just about getting everything organized so distribution will be easier,” Lehman said. “As a former educator, I know the needs that teachers and students face. By focusing on ‘needs spaces,’ we aim to support the entire school community and ensure that every student has access to essential resources.”
Items included in the already existing resource space at the school range from pajamas, shoes, socks, bicycles, toiletries, nonperishable food, backpacks, notebooks and much more. The foundation worked to collect all the items, purchasing shelving to help the distribution process for the incoming school year.
Cassie Roach, project manager for the Renovate to Educate program, said the work the nonprofit does is based on the needs of the school.
At Leesburg Elementary, more money was spent on furniture compared to other schools, with an estimate of $5,000 being spent. Roach said with all the work they do, “it’s always all about the kids.”
“We hear about the dreams that the teachers have and why they don’t come true. It’s always about the resources. We have the resources to make this an environment where the students feel comfortable.”
Lehman said the foundation is working to get the school a donated stackable washer and dryer set to help students who need to wash their clothes.
“The work we are doing is supporting their entire family and the entire community,” Lehman said. “Seeing it all come together and showing (Katzenberger) and the students how important they are, it’s incredible. (The community) deserves a beautiful space.”
Kacy Wolfe, Leesburg Elementary’s incoming principal, said she is excited for families to enter the space where they are comfortable.
“It takes all of us to ensure our students are successful and it’s clear to me this community is a partnership,” Wolfe said. “We can uplift them through clothing, personal hygiene and other resources provided to them through the community.”
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
