Posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, November 1, 2010
Dentist buys candy back
Here is a great article for people who have extra candy they don't want in Tampa:
TAMPA - If you have too much Halloween candy lying around, a Tampa dentist is ready to take it off your hands. Dr. Mark Goodnight is taking a stand against sweets with a candy buyback. He's shelling out a dollar per pound of candy to fight tooth decay, and to provide a treat to our troops serving overseas. The candy must be un-opened. Dr. Goodnight will be buying candy until Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at two locations: 3223 South Dale Mabry Ave and at 6538 Gunn Highway. He then plans to ship the candy to Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to troops overseas. Click here to view more.
Monday, August 30, 2010
African American Fraternity Leaders Challenge 1,000 Members to Become Big Brothers
Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi continue their commitment to youth through support of Big Brothers Big Sisters
Largo, FL, (August 25, 2010)- The nation’s three largest African American fraternities are asking their brothers to lead the movement to put boys on the path to success. The fraternities’ challenge to each of their brothers? Become a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters!
Leaders from Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi, which collaborated last year as national partners of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the country’s largest donor-supported volunteer mentoring network, sent letters to their fraternity members suggesting that now is the time for change. They outlined a 2010 goal for at least 1,000 fraternity men to become Big Brothers.
Engaging the African American community as a partner and recruiting male mentors is a priority for Big Brothers Big Sisters as children of color, specifically African American boys, disproportionately represent children waiting to be matched with mentors.
In a joint letter, distributed electronically to their fellow members, the three national fraternities made this call to action:
We have before us, a rare opportunity to demonstrate the unique power of our organizations to make change happen, for real. We are in fact the most significant gathering of Black male leadership available for service to the nation. We are in a meaningful and growing relationship with the best youth mentoring organization in history, Big Brothers Big Sisters.
As of March 16, 2010 there are 7,453 young Black boys who have stood up and stated they want a Big Brother. There are tens of thousands of active Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi men who are capable of answering the call of these vulnerable youth. Beyond the confines of our membership, we provide leadership in our churches, places of work and communities. Let us now call the entire community to action and once and for all explode the myth that all Black men are “missing in action” when it comes to being engaged where we worship, work and live.
Our 2010 goal is impactful and doable: A Minimum of 1,000 Fraternity Men Become Big Brothers. With a win for our community in 2010 we will set ourselves up to do more in 2011 and beyond.
The great news is that no one man has to step up for 1,000 boys. We are calling for one man to stand with one youth. As each man engages across our country, we will together bend the long arc of the moral universe toward justice. Our eventual goal is to find a mentor for every one of those nearly 7,500 kids who are waiting for the right kind of man to emulate. A man like you!
We are moving forward brothers. Men are becoming Big Brothers, now. Men are leading on Big Brothers Big Sisters boards, now. Men are building careers at Big Brothers Big Sisters, now. Men are contributing financially to Big Brothers Big Sisters, now. What are you going to do? You have to do something or we will not realize our collective vision if more men are not stepping up as mentors in focused one-to-one relationships. Gentlemen, the very future of the fraternal system as we currently know it is at risk of becoming irrelevant, if we stand by idly and do nothing.
We are the ones to love mankind, achieve and see it through. Brothers let us get this done. Start something big and be a Big Brother! Getting involved with this historic alliance compliments and does not replace our current programs. Go to MentoringBrothers.org to take action today.
In order to be men our boys must see men; Alpha, Kappa and Omega men!
Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.
33rd General President
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Dwayne M. Murray, Esq.
31st Grand Polemarch
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Warren G. Lee, Jr.
38th Grand Basileus
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
Big Brothers Big Sisters is proud to serve as a partner with these leading fraternities. Locally, Big Brothers Big Sisters is searching for volunteers from all walks of life to mentor a child. There are more than 1,000 boys in the Tampa Bay area alone hoping to be matched with a Big Brother. To find out more about Big Brothers Big Sisters in your community and how you can begin to impact the life of a child, visit www.bbbspc.org or call 727-518-8860
About Big Brothers Big Sisters serving Pinellas, Hernando & Citrus Counties
Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to improve children’s odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County serves Pinellas, Hernando, and Citrus Counties. For more information, visit www.bbbspc.org.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Pinellas County Volunteers Needed to Make a Big Difference with Big Brothers Big Sisters
Largo, FL (August 13, 2010) – Who taught you to tie your first shoe? Who went to the first game you ever played in? Big Brothers Big Sisters is currently seeking volunteers to be a part of many “firsts” for children right here in Pinellas County. There are more than 200 children on the waiting list hoping for a Big Brother, Big Sister, or Big Couple. By investing just a few hours a month, volunteers can make a life changing impact on a child.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County is in dire need of mentors, especially male and minority mentors. There are more than 200 boys on the waiting list waiting to be matched with a positive role model. More than 74% percent of children waiting for a “Big” are boys, but only 34 out of every 100 inquiries to volunteer come from men. Now more than ever, Big Brothers Big Sisters needs male volunteers to step up and help kids.
Economic circumstances have created a greater need for more families to have professionally backed long-term mentoring support. Single-parent homes, neighborhoods with gangs and crime, poor role models and poverty can lead a child to despair, lack of self-worth and ultimately poor choices. In addition, there are an increasing number of children being raised by relative caregivers in Pinellas County. These caregivers are unexpectedly faced with the challenge of raising children with time and resource constraints. Fortunately there are people who are willing to step up and provide these children with a positive, caring role model.
Mentoring is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and simple things a volunteer can do. For as little as one hour a week, volunteers can add joy to the life of a child, and ultimately, contribute greatly to his or her potential. Together, “Bigs” and “Littles” do simple, everyday activities, such as going to a sporting event, playing a game, going to a park, or watching movies.
Research shows that having the positive influence of a “Big” makes a real difference in the life of a child. “Littles” experience improvements in academic performance, behavior and relationships at home and elsewhere, according to independent studies. In Pinellas County, kids matched with a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” are 96.5% less likely to become involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice. “Littles” have also demonstrated better success in school with a 96% promotion rate to the next grade level.
Since 1967, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County has been helping our communities’ most vulnerable children through the power of a relationship with a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister”, giving kids the support and care they need to make good choices. When a carefully screened adult volunteer is matched with a child at risk, the path to their future is repaved with hope.
You don’t have to change your life to change the life of a child.
Help Big Brothers Big Sisters change the lives of children and learn how you can make a difference by going to www.bbbspc.org or by calling 727-518-8860
---
About Big Brothers Big Sisters serving Pinellas, Hernando & Citrus Counties Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to improve children’s odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County serves Pinellas, Hernando, and Citrus Counties. For more information, visit www.bbbspc.org
Flowers To Eat is an independently woman owned business, maker of delicious and unique fruit and vegetable arrangements right here in the Temple Terrace community.
It was the first fruit bouquet store to open in Temple Terrace in the fall of 2004. The owner, Ruth Doroslovac had created arrangements for her family events and then gone to Washington D.C. to train with Food Network chef and winner, James Parker.
Coming back to Temple Terrace, she opened her store offering only 8 fruit bouquets. But when customers asked for chocolate covered strawberries, she responded by creating many unique arrangements using gourmet dark, milk and white chocolate. She also added apple wedges and her famous Banana Bites™.
With the downturn in the economy over the last few years, Ruth saw many people who had willingly or unwillingly left corporate America and were looking for a small business in which they could showcase their creativity. In November of 2009, Flowers to Eat began offering classes to teach budding entrepreneurs the tips and techniques of making bouquets like the ones that they offer. Hands on classes have become very popular and attracted students ready to start their own new business and have come from as far away as Taiwan, Turkey, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Now people in many countries are enjoying Flowers to Eat type of bouquets and the store owners are expanding their product lines to create their own variations using the fruits and vegetables that are popular in their countries.