A response team from Lakewood Ranch's ShelterBox has been deployed to assist those in Fiji suffering in the aftermath of the Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston. The strongest recorded storm to ever make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere, Winston has deeply affected the 900,000-plus people living in Fiji. ShelterBox has activated its response team to the island nation to conduct assessments. While data is still being gathered, what is known is that thousands of homes have been destroyed, dozens of people have been killed and the Fiji government has made an official request for international assistance.

The Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern at The District at University Town Center recently presented the Payton Wright Foundation with a check for $2,850 generated from proceeds during its grand opening. Nearly 600 people stopped by to dine and donate to the foundation, which aids families who are seeking treatment for pediatric brain cancer.

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program’s Bay Guardians volunteers will remove nuisance exotic vegetation from Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 27. If left unchecked, invasive vegetation can lead to erosion from banks along waterways due to loss of the native plants that stabilized the bank. This makes invasive vegetation in Red Bug Slough a problem for the whole Sarasota Bay watershed. Sediment can wash from eroded banks in Red Bug Slough into Phillippi Creek, which flows into Sarasota Bay.

On Thursday, March 3, Goodwill Manasota will celebrate the opening of its newest retail store. The new Cass location, at 7241 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, will be open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. The location includes a drive-through for donations.

The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund, a philanthropic organization dedicated to enhancing life in and around Lakewood Ranch, will present the 2016 C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian of the Year Award at The Disco Ball Gala on Saturday, March 19. This year’s recipients include Donald and Vanessa Baugh, owners of Vanessa Fine Jewelry in Lakewood Ranch, and, posthumously, Richard Fawley, former president of Fawley Bryant Architects, Inc.