  Dear Readers:
The 2006 hurricane season is upon us, and brings to the forefront the Foundation’s work with the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. We are proud to announce that the Fund was recently honored with the Humanitarian Award at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference on May 10. This is attributed to our efforts to distribute funding to long-term recovery organizations and nonprofits, share knowledge with and among recovery groups, launch new cost-effective programs for hurricane recovery and engage leaders within and outside the State of Florida. We will continue to rebuild and share our best ideas with others. By instilling a culture of preparedness in Florida, our citizens will be better equipped to rise above any crisis.
We know hurricane recovery can take up to five years and we work to keep recovery moving. During the month of April, the Foundation conducted hurricane recovery and grant-writing workshops for a number of nonprofit and faith-based groups, in conjunction with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiative's regional conference. Additionally, in April, thanks to the generosity of Home Depot, we granted $1 million to nonprofits struggling to recover from the devastation of Huricane Wilma. And we constantly seek innovative and cost-effective ways to make recovery dollars stretch.
Local residents working together with local organizations help families regain their stability and safety, and much of the credit goes to faith, community and neighborhood based programs. It was with great honor that I spoke at this year’s National Voluntary Organizations in Disaster (VOAD) conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. VOAD serves as a point of communication among voluntary organizations engaged in disaster response. I was pleased to speak with leaders in this field about the Fund’s program, Neighbors to the Rescue™, which is now active in six Florida counties, and growing. This program helps match the needs of families through use of a “virtual warehouse” on the Internet and is making great strides in allowing neighbors to help neighbors find housing, clothing, transporation and a multitude of needs.
With the 2006 hurricane season upon us, we ask that you partner with us. Some ideas:
- Allow your employees to give to the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund via your matching gifts program
- Place a link on your company website to www.flahurricanefund.org so that your employees will have a list of shelters in times of emergencies and/or places to donate or volunteer
- Call us at (850) 410-0696 if you need assistance with preparedness plans or might be interested in implementing a Neighbors to the Rescue™ in your community for your employees
Volunteer Florida Foundation's mission is to strengthen volunteerism and community service, which includes many activities in our state.
I hope you enjoy reading the latest news in this issue about all of our programs, and that you will share it with your friends. Together we can continue to foster a spirit of community in Florida.
Sincerely,
Liza McFadden
Barney Bishop
Chairman, Volunteer Florida Foundation
Associated Industries of Florida
Kevin Bakewell
AAA Auto Club South
Laura Branker
AmeriChoice
Maureen Cestari
Comcast Cable
David Griffin
GRIFFIN & HART, LLC
Lynda Keever
Florida Trend
Shaun King
Shaun King Foundation
Liza McFadden
Volunteer Florida Foundation
Mark Merrill
Family First
Michael Olenick
Attorney, Carlton Fields Attorneys at Law
Alfred Sanchez
YMCA of Greater Miami
Wendy Spencer
Volunteer Florida
Gwynn Virostek
Washington Mutual
Carl Weinrich
Sarasota Family YMCA, Inc.
Liza McFadden
President - VFF Administration
Fonda Anderson
Senior Vice President, Communications, Marketing & Development
Kay Kammel
Senior Vice President, Programs
Anita S. Rodgers
Senior Vice President, Training and Instructional Design - Florida Mentoring Partnership
Roosevelt Alexander
Director - Florida Hurricane Relief Fund
Roxann Campbell
Director - Governor's Family Literacy Initiative
Theresa L. Corral
Mentoring Coordinator - Florida Mentoring Partnership
Elaine Howard
Special Assistant to the Vice President - VFF Administration
Shae Humphries
Public Relations Assistant - Communications, Marketing & Development
Alicia Joyner
Director, Special Events and Governor’s Points of Light Award Program
Teecy Matthews
Director, Florida Mentoring Partnership
Linda McBrier
Program Assistant, Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative
Mark Nelson
Director of Special Projects and Special Assistant to the President
Jennifer Salcone
Staff Assistant
Jana Sterling
Director, Family and Community Involvement - Florida Hurricane Relief Fund
Michael Thompson
Program Assistant, Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative
Tracey Van Hook
Event Marketing Director - Communications, Marketing & Development
Volunteer Florida Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen Florida by meeting community and family needs through volunteerism and community service. The Foundation serves as a catalyst by bringing groups together in partnership to leverage assets to their maximum effectiveness. Program partners include nonprofits, community organizations, national associations, faith-based groups, the private sector and state government. A 501(c)(3) organization, VFF manages five programs: the Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative, the Florida Mentoring Partnership, the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, the Governor’s Faith-based and Community Initiative and the weekly Points of Light awards for volunteerism.
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 At this year’s National Day of Prayer Rally On May 4, Governor Jeb Bush announced the signing of a bill to create a Faith and Community-based Advisory Council within the Executive Office of the Governor. The new law passed by the Legislature this session creates a 25-person council. The new Council will serve as advisors to the Governor and Florida Legislature on Florida’s comprehensive effort to enlist, enable, empower and expand the work of volunteer faith-based and community organizations. The Council will provide annual recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on 12 key areas to encourage government and faith-based communities to work together to improve social service assistance to Floridian s. Click here for more.
 On May 3, Donald Wilford and Adam Hutchinson of Jacksonville were awarded the first annual Spotlight Award by MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership in Washington, D.C. Wilford (mentor) and Hutchinson (mentee) were one of six pairs of mentor/mentees who received the award.
The Spotlight Award honors outstanding mentoring pairs that exemplify the powerful impact mentoring relationships can have on the lives of young people. The pair was selected from nearly 200 nominations received from across the country. They were matched more than two years ago through the State Attorney’s Office Jailed-Juvenile Mentor Program of Jacksonville. When they first met, Adam was incarcerated. During weekly visits, Don encouraged Adam to study for his General Education Diploma (GED), which he completed. Don has opened doors for Adam in the construction industry. Adam now works for a plumbing contractor and is in school to become a certified plumber.
During the awards ceremony, MENTOR unveiled its strategic plan for effectively recruiting mentors nationwide, titled, “The National Agenda for Action: How to Close America’s Mentoring Gap.” The plan includes many of the outreach suggestions Florida has already implemented through the Florida Mentoring Partnership. Click here for more
 The Florida Hurricane Relief Fund has given $500,000 in grants to Florida’s crab and lobster fishermen through the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. On April 26 a check was presented to the organization, which will serve as a fiscal agent to assess needs and make direct grants to assist crab and lobster fishermen in replacing traps lost to last season’s hurricanes. The announcement took place at the Grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes for Hurricane Protection at the St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Key West. Liza McFadden was joined by The Reverend Deacon Peter Batty, Mayor Morgan McPherson, Major Skip Russo of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and John Brabson, chair of the Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Advisory Board. Click here for more.
The Annual Teen Trendsetters Reading Mentors™ Summit is scheduled for July 27 and 28 in Orlando and the location of this year’s summit will once again be the Wyndham Orlando Resort. Each year, teens are recruited to serve as mentoring leaders in their communities, trained on how to best mentor third graders in reading and supported to recruit other teens to join their local programs. During summit, teens are introduced to a specialized 40-Minute Mentor curriculum developed by Volunteer Florida Foundation. The materials provided guide teens and are enhanced by three selected readers from Scholastic. The training guide ensures that teens know what to do when tutoring their students. The Summit provides teens and adults with a foundation for the upcoming school year. To learn more about the program and the annual summit, Click here for more.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters State Association of Florida is seeking a full-time, state-wide Chief Executive Officer. Click here for more.
The Florida Hurricane Relief Fund has received the 2006 Humanitarian Award at the 20th Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference. The Fund was presented with this award in honor of its outstanding achievement in keeping long-term hurricane recovery strong in Florida. Since the Fund’s inception in 2004, more than $23 million has been raised through the private sector and encumbered in grants to more than 300 organizations in Florida active in recovery.
Fresh Ministries of Jacksonville, Florida was named first-place winner of the FASTEN Partners in Transformation Award on May 15, 2006. They received the award in the category of Long-Term Disaster Recovery for their program “Women to the Rescue” which was later used as the platform for the creation of “Neighbors to the Rescue" by the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. Second place honors were given to Pine Island Long-Term Recovery of Bokeelia, Florida. The Pine Island group has been providing assistance to its residents since the destructive 2004 hurricane season. Through a network of volunteers and donations from various sources, they have helped to rebuild and repair many homes. The third place winner in the category of Emergency Disaster Response was Pastoral Ministries of Central Florida in Lake Placid. They partnered with the Red Cross to aid needy migrant and African-American families in Central Florida’s rural areas after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. More than 400 sugar cane workers and their families received food and shelter after losing all of their belongings and their jobs. Pastors from the organization also served as counsel to these families following their devastating loss. They continue to be a source of support for families in this area who have not gotten back to normal life. Click here for more
Step Up For Students, the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program will award 8,000 new scholarships for the 2006-2007 school year to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Click here for more.
What if up to 26 percent of each purchase you made went to your favorite worthy cause? Your shopping at hundreds of online stores helps a cause close to your heart with each purchase. Click here for more.
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(March – May 2006) |
The Governor's Points of Light Award recognizes a Florida resident or organization that demonstrates exemplary service to the community. Award recipients are announced each week. A panel of judges composed of leaders in the areas of volunteerism and community service evaluate all nominations and make recommendations to the Governor. Volunteer Florida Foundation manages the program. For more information, or to nominate, go to www.VolunteerFloridaFoundation.org
March 22, 2006
Jordana Contrucci
Hollywood
Jordana Contrucci, a teenager from Hollywood, is founder of the Kiss Program, which leads food drives that collect nutritional snacks for local Boys and Girls Clubs. Jordana coordinates these drives with local private schools and encourages students to donate food and clothing to worthy causes. She also volunteers with the Prestige Club where she recruits student volunteers to plan the club’s annual picnic. Last Thanksgiving, over 1,000 needy families were fed because of her efforts.
March 27, 2006
Zach Bonner
Valrico
Zach Bonner, age 8, is from Valrico and actively raises money and gathers supplies and donations for hurricane survivors and needy families. When he was told of a local family whose father had been left blind in a random shooting, he began asking for cash donations by cutting a hole in a bucket with the family’s picture on the outside. By standing on the curb in his neighborhood with the bucket, he raised more than $4,000 which was matched by a local bank. He has also gathered food and supplies for hurricane survivors since the 2004 season. Through his efforts, over 27 truckloads of food and supplies have been gathered and given to his neighbors in need.
April 5, 2006
Shelton Quarles
Tampa
Shelton Quarles, a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a spokesman for “All-Pro Dad”, a family-oriented organization that offers parenting advice and promotes the importance of family. A father of three, Quarles speaks each year at the “All-Pro Dad Father & Kids Experience” at Raymond James Stadium, encouraging fathers to take an active role in parenting. In 2004, Shelton also founded the IMPACT Foundation, which teaches local youth sportsmanship and athletic skills during annual football and golf clinics. Additionally, he is a two-time sponsor of the “Homes for the Holidays” program, which presents a single mother with a down payment on a new home.
April 11, 2006
The Regal Swan
Kissimmee
Founded in 1999, The Regal Swan is a team of volunteer researchers in Kissimmee who provide swan keepers with current information regarding the humane care of captive swans. More than 25 individuals comprise the research team, including veterinarians, educators, photographers and other professionals. The team was the first to successfully vaccinate swans against the deadly botulism toxin and West Nile virus. With the help of the Orlando Science Center and Florida State University, the research team was also the first to photograph swan blood and feathers, identifying abnormalities in swans that are shared by humans. The Regal Swam team also develops science, math and reading curriculum for both children and adults using data from its research.
April 17, 2006
Phyllis Wiedewitsch
North Port
Phyllis Wiedewitcsch of North Port has coordinated disaster recovery volunteers at Peace Lutheran Church since Hurricane Charley struck Florida in 2004. She provides disaster relief volunteers with a place to rest and three hot meals a day. She is also actively involved with the Homeless Shower Ministry which provides meals, haircuts, showers and clothing to the homeless, and volunteers with the Community Footcare Outreach Ministry, which works with local podiatrists to provide free foot care. Her other community service activities include coordinating the annual Christmas Outreach Dinner at Peace Lutheran in Port Charlotte and teaching a ladies Bible study in a local doctor’s office. | | 
April 26, 2006
Patricia Santucci
Sanibel
Dr. Patricia Santucci of Sanibel creates emergency preparedness programs to assist the Southwest Florida Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) with emergency response. In 2005, Dr. Santucci served as the volunteer medical director of the Southwest Florida MRC, where she taught an enhanced version of the American Medical Association’s core disaster life support course. She develops recommendations for the MRC’s disaster behavioral health response programs to meet the needs of MRC members in this area. Santucci, who is a psychiatrist, presented the committee’s recommendations of disaster mental health at the annual National MRC Leadership Conference in April, 2006.
May 3, 2006
Barbara Murray
Merritt Island
Dr. Barbara Murray of Merritt Island is a faculty member at the University of Central Florida. She developed “C.A.R.E. (Canine Assisted Reading Education) to Read,” a program that targets elementary students that read below grade level and are not receiving instructional support. Through the use of “Petagogy,” a method of instructional delivery and communication developed by her program, she and her team motivate children to read through the use of registered therapy dogs. The program, which receives no outside funding, is currently in use in over twenty-six schools in three Florida counties and Wyoming.
May 10, 2006
Girish Sastry
Winter Park
Since 2004, Girish Sastry of Winter Park has tutored high school students at Crooms Academy in Sanford for the SAT exam. Every Sunday, Girish serves as a mentor for students who cannot afford costly test preparation programs, even designing a website with online quizzes to help give students an edge. Since 2002, Girish has also volunteered at the Russell Home for Atypical Children. He helps children with daily tasks like eating, and devotes time to teaching them how to sign their names, a necessity in signing legal paperwork.
May 17, 2006
Dr. William Hale
Dunedin
Dr. William Hale of Dunedin founded the Upper Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens Foundation and the Florida Geriatric Research Program, which examines health factors related to aging. Dr. Hale’s research has established the basis for better understanding the effects of aging on the population, with studies concentrating on health issues that affect the elderly such as pneumonia and heart disease. Since retired, Dr. Hale continues to volunteer for many other organizations which he initiated or served as a board member, such as the United Way of Pinellas, the Pinellas County Medical Society, Florida Blood Services, Suncoast Family YMCA, and Senior Citizens Services, among others.
May 24, 2006
Darius Graham
Tallahassee
Darius Graham of Tallahassee is a 2005 graduate of Florida A & M University and is founder and CEO of “Books All Around,” a national program that promotes the creation of libraries at local community and recreation centers. In addition, he is also involved in several other volunteer programs including the Spring Break Cultural Exchange and Service Learning Project and the Community Improvement Advisory Council with the City of Tallahassee, among others. He was recently elected to the 2006 USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team and was also selected as a 2006 Florida Gubernatorial Fellow.
May 29, 2006
Donna Lorman
Orlando
Donna Lorman of Orlando is president of the Autism Society of Greater Orlando, which provides individuals with autism a network of opportunities to become active members of the community through support, education and advocacy. The mother of a teenage son with autism, Donna dedicates much of her time to increasing public awareness about the condition by spearheading numerous activities for ASGO. She coordinates and raises money for the annual “Sea of Dreams” at Sea World Orlando for adults and children with autism. She also organizes the annual “Fire and Iron” motorcycle ride where firefighters and police officers in Florida raise money for autism research.
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If you would like to submit a story idea or receive information on how to become a sponsor of the Volunteer Florida Foundation e-newsletter, please contact Fonda Anderson at Fonda.Anderson@vfffund.org.
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