Good News Friday: Good Deeds - Oct. 3, 2014
Guest speaker Linda McCloud, principal at Cranberry Elementary, and Aundria Castleberry of All Faiths Food Bank met up at the Hunger Action Summit to celebrate the success of summer food assistance programs.
All Faiths Food Bank’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger provided more than 1.5 million meals to more than 15,500 children and their families. During the summer, All Faiths Food Bank, in partnership with others, expanded the service capacity of established food distribution sites, added nine new mobile pantries, increased Sprout Routes, implemented a new summer backpack and snack program, and, working closely with the school districts, provided additional resources to expand the breakfast and lunch programs and add a new supper option for kids.
Gateway Bank employees raised more than $7,100 for the American Heart Association’s local Heart Walk that took place on Sept. 20 at Sarasota’s Payne Park. Bank president and CEO Shaun P. Merriman challenged his 41 employees to recruit 30 walkers and raise $150 each; the team exceeded the fund-raising goal by almost 60 percent, placing them second in total donations raised by an individual team. Merriman personally placed fourth for the top individual fund raiser.
Chiles Restaurant Group raised more than $1,500 for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. From Sept. 8-21, $1 from each grouper sandwich and adult burger sold at The Sandbar, The BeachHouse and Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant and Pub was donated to the nonprofit to connect vulnerable children to effective nutrition programs like School Breakfast and Summer Meals.
First Bank offices in Manatee County will serve as donation sites for new and gently used books for Manatee Reads! Fall Annual Book Sale, which takes place Nov. 1 at First Bank’s Village Green branch at 7051 Manatee Ave. W. From now until the middle of October, new and gently used books can be dropped off at the following First Bank locations:
Bradenton: 2412 Cortez Road W.; 9819 Cortez Road W.; 4601 Manatee Ave. W.; 7051 Manatee Ave. W.; 415 53rd Ave. W.; 3005 53rd Ave. E.
Longboat Key: Centre Shops 5390 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Palmetto: 995 N. Haben Blvd.
Today at 5 p.m., The Kiwanis Club of Sarasota, Longboat Key Kiwanis Club and Siesta Key Kiwanis Club will assist in a service project at Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities. High school Key Clubs and The AKtion Club will install a new butterfly garden and information center near the Haven Industries building. For more information, contact Marla Doss at (941) 355-8808 ext. 224.
Clare Controls, a provider of home automation lifestyle packages for residential and commercial applications, joins philanthropic forces with Building Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit that provides homes to combat wounded veterans and their families. An area provider of residential technologies, homeNETservice will also participate in the delivery of an electronic lifestyle package for the new home of U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Deslauriers and his family. The Clare team has worked with the family to design and install a home automation system to meet the needs of the Deslauriers’ lifestyle.
Thirty PGT Industries employees spent a day volunteering at Children’s First North Port to make improvements to the campus, including landscaping, painting and tinting windows.