For Good

Gates Foundation Tracks Progress In Hillsborough County Schools

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Buzz

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July 20, 2010

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced $335 million in grants to school districts across the country last November. Hillsborough County was awarded the largest of four grants: $100 million.For the next seven years, the grant will help fund staff development, testing, salary and various start-up costs to promote teacher excellence, according to a recent update in The Washington Post.Teachers will undergo yearly evaluations based on how well students progress and observation from principals and peers. A reconstructed pay scale -- optional for veteran teachers but required for new teachers -- will consist of four tiers and reward high performing teachers regardless of educational training or years of experience.Read the complete story.

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New Port Richey Surgeon Heads To Nepal With Outreach Program

By Matt Spencer

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June 29, 2010

A group of orthopedic surgeons from states across the country, including Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona and Maryland, will embark on a week-long trip to Nepal to perform knee replacements for women in Kathmandu. Dr. Jennifer Cook, an orthopedic surgeon at Florida Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine Center in New Port Richey, is a member of Women Orthopaedist Global Outreach, the nonprofit agency planning the excursion. The trip will employ the help of 150 volunteers and cost $300,000 to make. Cook and volunteers will be hosting golf tournaments and casino nights to raise money. Read the complete story.

Thrift Store To Benefit Autism Opens In Tarpon Springs

By Matt Spencer

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Buzz

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June 22, 2010

A Pinellas County couple has opened the American Autism Thrift Center on U.S 19 as a way to raise money for the American Autism Foundation. The nonprofit business, featuring items ranging from clothing to kitchen appliances, came to fruition through funds raised during a benefit at Craig Park in Tarpon Springs. Read the complete story.

Morton Plant’s New Pavillion Offers One-Stop Breast Care In Clearwater

By Missy Kavanaugh

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Development News

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June 15, 2010

Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater has started construction on a building dedicated to breast health. When finished, patients will find one-stop care for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Construction is slated to be complete in May 2011.The 103,500-square-foot, four-story Axelrod Pavillion will house the Susan Cheek Needler Breast Center, the Carlisle Imaging Center and the Comprehensive Breast Care Center of Tampa Bay. An oncology resource library and Cancer Patient Support Services will also be housed in the new building. "By creating a new outpatient center on the Morton Plant Hospital campus, we will be able to better centralize certain imaging and diagnostic procedures while providing more space for our comprehensive breast health services," says Hal Ziecheck, the hospital's chief operating officer. "It will give patients more convenient access to imaging services in a centralized location."The imaging center provides a full range of imaging services, including X-ray, MRI, PET/CT, ultrasound, DEXA and mammography. The Breast Care Center offers the services of Dr. Peter Blumencranz and Dr. Kathleen Allen, both of whom specialize in treating breast cancer.Creative Contractors of Clearwater is handling the construction. According to Josh Bomstein, Creative Contractor's VP of business development, the Axelrod Pavilion will be Pinellas County's newest and greenest medical office building. "Following the first rule of medicine, this building will 'do no harm.' It will be energy and water efficient with healthful materials to provide a superior indoor environment for patients and doctors alike."The Axelrod Pavillion is named for Shirley and Harvey Axelrod, supporters of the Morton Plant Mease Foundation.Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Hal Ziecheck, Morton Plant; Josh Bomstein, Creative Contractors

Sarasota Youth Fitness Guru Breaks Guinness Record

By Matt Spencer

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Buzz

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June 15, 2010

A crowd of 278 people recently gathered at the Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota and broke the Guinness World Record for "the most people doing jumping jacks together." The event, "Jumping Jacks For a Cure," was sponsored in part by the American Cancer Society and Sarasota fitness guru Heather Hackett's organization I Train Your Kids. Funds raised from the event were donated to the ACS to help the fight against breast cancer. Read the complete story.

Giving Spirit At Eckerd College In St. Petersburg Reaches New Highs

By Nancy Vaughn

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Arts

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June 1, 2010

What do you do with a $25 million gift? Match it, of course. At least that's what one private college in Pinellas County just did. After only four years, Eckerd College has successfully fulfilled the $25 million Collier Challenge. In May 2006, Miles Collier, board of trustees chairman for Eckerd College and managing partner of Naples-based Collier Enterprises, and his wife, Parker, gave $25 million to Eckerd College. This was the largest gift in the history of Eckerd College, a nationally acclaimed private liberal arts college in Florida. A member of Eckerd College's Board of Trustees since 1988, Collier served as chairman from 1992-1995, and regained his role as chairman in July 2000 and has been serving ever since.The Collier Challenge matched all gifts and pledges of $25,000 or more to the priorities of "Many Experiences, One Spirit: The Campaign for Eckerd College," which includes the sciences, the arts, student life and the College's endowment. Since the campaign's launch more than $73 million has been raised and Eckerd is on track to reach its total goal of $80 million this year. "With more than a year left in the Campaign, we are well-positioned to fulfill our campaign goal, and the generosity and foresight of the Colliers was an immensely important motivator," says Donald R. Eastman III, president at Eckerd College.One of the campaign priorities is the $30 million Center for Molecular and Life Sciences building. The 51,000-square-feet building will house teaching and research laboratories. Groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for May 2011, with a completion date of August 2014. Helmar Nielsen, Eckerd trustee, pledged a generous $500,000 to establish The Lloyd W. Chapin Faculty Development Program. After 31 years as Eckerd's dean of faculty and vice president for Academic Affairs, Chapin is retiring on June 30. Nielsen's pledge was doubled by the Collier Challenge to $1 million.The Collier Challenge has proved to be successful as the number of $25,000 commitments by alumni and parents doubled in less than four years, and participation from Eckerd faculty and staff set records with 97 percent of faculty and 76 percent of staff making commitments.Writer: Nancy VaughnSource: Donald R. Eastman III, Eckerd College

Sister’s & Company Donates $10K To United Food Bank Of Plant City

By Matt Spencer

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Buzz

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June 1, 2010

Plant City specialty retailer Sister's & Company has presented a $10,000 donation to the United Food Bank of Plant City as part of Brighton's Feed Our Friends fundraiser. Sister's & Company is one of several retailers across the country who participated. The retailer, which also operates a Dade City location, sold a limited-edition collection of jewelry that was designed specifically for the fundraiser. Click here to read the complete release.

Sarasota’s Oscar Scherer Park Adds ADA-Compliant Trail At Lake Osprey

By Missy Kavanaugh

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Development News

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May 25, 2010

Sarasota County's Oscar Scherer State Park is opening a lakeside nature trail that meets the needs of those who require special accommodations to enjoy its eco-amenities.The half-mile trail circles Osprey Lake and provides ADA-compliant accommodations that include six-foot-wide trails big enough for two passing wheelchairs, guide rails for the visually impaired and a gentle slope that is free of obstructions. The trail itself is laid with marl, a substance comprised of clay and calcium carbonate, that provides the stability of asphalt with the flexibility of sand. The trail also features ADA-friendly benches placed at locations around the lake that provide the best view of the lake and wildlife such as the endangered scrub jay.According to Russell Delaney, president of the Friends of Oscar State Scherer Park, the trail is the first of a four-part series of redevelopment throughout the park that includes installing a littoral shelf along the lake's circumference to enhance shore-bird fishing and survival, a fishing pier and a boardwalk. When the park received a gift of $50,000 from Lee Wetherington Homes, the decision was made to go forward with the trail."We could not have done this without Wetherington," explains Delaney. "Their gift allowed us to start making plans. We already had one ADA-compliant trail. It generated so much interest and gets so much use we decided to tackle this to provide another ADA opportunity for the community. Florida has a lot of sandy trails. And they are not just hard on wheelchairs. They are hard for people with bad knees and young families with strollers. This new trail makes it possible to provide a much larger population with access to the park."Writer: Missy Kavanaugh Source: Russell Delaney, Friends of Oscar Scherer State Park

HuB Fund Aims To Change Sarasota By Adding Up Small Donations, $1 Plus

By Nancy Vaughn

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Entrepreneurship

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May 25, 2010

Matt Orr and Rich Swier, co-founders of The HuB Sarasota, the creative think tank and tech-business incubator, have now set their sights on creating change in philanthropy.The duo launched The HuB Fund in May to encourage charitable giving to community projects that are innovative, sustainable and drive economic growth. The HuB Fund has been established at Gulf Coast Community Foundation and will rely on micro donations that will make a large impact on creative growth and development in Sarasota.Our theory is that there are small donors who can afford maybe $100 a year and believe in the community that we live in and want to see changes occur. The HuB Fund will produce the ripple effect from minor donations that can make instrumental changes in the community," says Orr.Orr and Swier want individuals to know that they can make a difference in their community and spark change by contributing anything they can. There will be no need to just wait around for the government or legislation to implement the change, people can contribute and make the changes occur. Orr points out that $100 each from 10,000 people equals $1 million, enough to impact change. Some creative HuB-sponsored projects that have helped to change such creative economic growth include: s/ART/q for local contemporary artists; I Love Downtown, a campaign that supports patronage of downtown Sarasota merchants; and the Fringe Film Festival which showcases and supports local filmmakers. "We'll be paying attention to what the community needs," says Orr. "We want the money to be housed in a 501(c)(3) and it has to be granted out to 501(c)(3)s. It's a transparent process that's here to help the community.All donations made to The HuB Fund are tax-deductible. To learn more or to donate to the fund, visit hubsarasota.com.Writer: Nancy VaughnSource: Matt Orr, The HuB Sarasota

Sarasota Neurologist Shares His Humanitarian Mission In Haiti

By Matt Spencer

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May 18, 2010

Dr. Michael Meriwether, a 61-year-old Sarasota neurologist, shared his emotional 10-day trip to assist Haiti's earthquake relief effort in a recent article for the Bradenton Herald. Meriwether joined the effort through Lumiere Medical Ministries, a Christian mission group in North Carolina, after hearing about it from his office manager. Read the complete story.