By Kyle Coppola
Sunshine Community Trust Awards $22,000 To Lake-Sumter State College
LEESBURG, FL – The Sunshine Community Trust continues to grow its commitment to education and student success in Lake County, announcing an expansion of its annual giving for 2025.
Building on last year’s inaugural grant, which provided scholarships at Lake Technical College, the trust has doubled its impact this year with two significant contributions. Lake Technical College will receive an additional $15,000 toward its scholarship fund, ensuring continued support for students in a variety of technical programs. Additionally, the trust has awarded a $22,000 grant to Lake-Sumter State College, which will support scholarships for the school’s nursing program, helping to train the next generation of health care professionals.
“We are grateful for this generous grant to support scholarships for our nursing students,” said Dr. Laura Byrd, interim president of Lake-Sumter State College. “We are continuing to grow our programs to meet the growing needs for nurses and health care professionals in our community. Scholarships make a huge difference in the lives of our students. Our students who receive scholarships are more likely to stay enrolled and graduate on time. I appreciate organizations like the Sunshine Community Trust and United Southern Bank, who are making a real difference in our community when they invest in the lives and futures of our students.”
Established in 2023, the Sunshine Community Trust was created to support students pursuing postsecondary education in Lake County. With its continued growth, the trust is expanding its reach, offering new opportunities to support education and other charitable initiatives through the stewardship of generously donated funds.
“United Southern Bank has always been deeply committed to serving our community,” said Greg Nelson, president of United Southern Bank. “Through the Sunshine Community Trust, we are investing in the future—helping students access the education they need to succeed and strengthening the local workforce.”
To learn more about the Sunshine Community Trust or to make a contribution, please visit https://www.unitedsouthernbank.com/sunshine-community-trust.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
