Good News Friday: Good Deeds - June 20, 2014
More than 150 attendess raised more than $6,500 to support the Food Bank of Manatee at the organization’s second annual White Party, which was held on June 5, part of the food bank’s White Out Hunger Campaign.
Star Wars Night comes to McKechnie Field on Saturday, July 19, when the Bradenton Marauders host the Clearwater Threshers in a baseball game to benefit the Center for Building Hope in the fight against cancer. The Marauders will dress in jerseys custom made to resemble the uniform of iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett, which will be auctioned off during the game and autographed at the end. Single game tickets can be purchased at the ticket office, online at BradentonMarauders.com, or by phone be calling (877) 893-2827.
The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation has awarded Forty Carrots Family Center a grant of $26,000 to purchase a van and materials, enabling expansion of the community outreach component of its Parenting Program, On Wheels. The program travels into the community five days per week, fostering parent-child bonds, preventing child abuse and increasing school readiness. On Wheels currently reaches families via two vans that travel throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties daily making parenting education and mental health services accessible.
Center For Sight donated more than 20 vision-restoring cataract surgeries for uninsured Manatee County patients without the means to pay on June 4 and 11 at its surgery facility in Sarasota. Under the direction of David W. Shoemaker, M.D., Center For Sight’s nationally acclaimed ophthalmologic and optometric physicians, William J. Lahners, M.D., Joshua W. Kim, M.D., and William L. Soscia, M.D., along with a full team of nurse-anesthetists, medical technicians, nurses and administrative staff donated their time and experience to the cause.
Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee was awarded a grant for nearly $33,700 from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation to upgrade its computer hardware and software to help track meal preparation, client information, transportation, volunteers and donations.
Neal Communities has become a major sponsor of Embracing Our Differences by contributing $10,000 for the upcoming season, funds which will be directed toward EOD’s educational outreach initiatives.