5k - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T11:55:08Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/5kSanta joins cheer squad — St. John Paul II High School, Boca Raton — Dec. 14https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/santa-joins-cheer-squad-st-john-paul-ii-high-school-boca-raton-de2019-12-31T15:27:22.000Z2019-12-31T15:27:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960922083,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960922083,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960922083?profile=original" /></a><em>The 10th annual ‘It’s a Wonderful Run’ 5K race drew 440 registered participants ages 4-89. Seventy-eight volunteers prepped hot pancake meals in the cafeteria for the well-conditioned field. ABOVE: The school’s cheer team added Santa to its lineup at the event. (l-r) Gabriella Jones, Raina Demarest, Maya Maczynsk, Santa, Ashley Fernandez and Hannah Fiore. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p></div>Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving volunteershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/thanksgiving-thanksgiving-volunteers2019-10-29T22:00:00.000Z2019-10-29T22:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898052,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898052,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960898052?profile=original" /></a></strong></span><em>Debbie Englert and Audrey Taranda of Boynton Beach serve meals to people in need at the Soup Kitchen of Boynton Beach, which on a typical day feeds about 400. The group also uses volunteers to distribute food for the holiday. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Helpers describe why giving back is a tradition for them</strong></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Margie Plunkett</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>What could be better than a golden turkey and all the sides on Thanksgiving? Add an act of kindness and it’s a perfect day.</p>
<p><br /> Thanksgiving is a popular day for volunteering, as charitable organizations host dinners and fundraisers, and many people get in the spirit of giving back. Volunteer opportunities come in many forms, from serving guests or walking dogs to helping out at the annual Turkey Trot. Charitable organizations value volunteers, noting that they’re critical for the nonprofits’ existence. But beyond Thanksgiving, there are 364 more days in the year that volunteers are needed.</p>
<p><br /> Dale Pratt and her family, of Boca Raton, have been volunteering on Thanksgiving for about a decade. At the start, “I didn’t expect how much we would get out of this, how good it would feel,” she said.</p>
<p><br /> The Pratt family volunteers at the annual Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services Thanksgiving dinner for 700 guests who are generally seniors or adults with disabilities and might otherwise be alone. This year the dinner, a celebration served up on china and cutlery, is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center.</p>
<p><br /> The two families who underwrite it — Edith Stein, and Etta and Raymond Zimmerman — join the celebration and visit with the guests.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960896488,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960896488,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960896488?profile=original" /></a><em>Volunteers at a previous Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services Thanksgiving dinner included (clockwise from front) Naomi Steinberg, JFS President Danielle Hartman, David Pratt, Matt Levin and Richard Steinberg. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><br /> “We started doing it because it sounded like a wonderful thing — feeding so many people in the community who weren’t going to have that kind of Thanksgiving Day,” Dale Pratt said.</p>
<p><br /> Dale, 52, and her husband, David, 55, have prepped, plated and served food, among other assignments. Their children, Andrew, 22, and Julia, 20, have pushed wheelchairs, brought pies and engaged guests.</p>
<p><br /> “Sometimes you’ll find we’ll be dancing with people if they want to get up and dance — or chatting with them,” Dale Pratt said. “They look forward to talking with you, engaging with you. You want them to feel like you’re there for them. It’s beautiful.” <br /> JFS President Danielle Hartman said that “for many people like the Pratts, it is a highlight of their year.” For the guests, it’s more than just a meal: “We send them home with a full belly and a full heart.” Whether for guests or volunteers, the event “makes a lasting impact on everybody.” That makes a lot of people want to give back. “Sometimes, so many people come to volunteer, we have to turn them away,” Hartman said.</p>
<p><br /> Go to <a href="http://www.ralesjfs.org/gobble">www.ralesjfs.org/gobble</a> to check on Thanksgiving volunteering. For year-round info, call 852-3333.<br /> If the JFS is already full for Thanksgiving, it can suggest other opportunities throughout the year — whether for a few hours one day a year or for a few hours every week.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898272,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898272,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960898272?profile=original" /></a><em>Shelley Franco, a volunteer at Tri-County, walks Princess Tuka, a Labrador mix. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p>Thanksgiving volunteering isn’t always centered on a meal.</p>
<p><br /> Tri-County Animal Rescue, for instance, welcomes volunteers to give a happier day for pets that are between homes. The Boca Raton center rescues, rehabilitates and cares for pets as it seeks permanent homes for them.</p>
<p><br /> Tri-County counts on volunteers all year for such duties as dog-walking and socializing cats in the cat room. Volunteers working with the dogs must first take a three-hour class and with cats a half-hour class.</p>
<p><br /> Shelley Franco of Deerfield Beach, a regular volunteer and volunteer coordinator at Tri-County, comes to the shelter on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p><br /> “You don’t know if families will come, and I want to make sure the dogs will have a walk,” said Franco. She said it’s important to be there for the animals, knowing that they’d love to be in homes of their own.</p>
<p><br /> It also helps to walk off some calories. That’s important because both pets and Tri-County helpers enjoy a roast turkey feast on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p><br /> To volunteer at Tri-County, call 482-8110.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960897875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960897875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960897875?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960897875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"></a><em>Missy Agnello hands out T-shirts at last year’s Town of Palm Beach United Way Turkey Trot. Proceeds go toward feeding people in need in the county. <strong>Photo by Capehart</strong></em></p>
<p><br /> A fast-paced volunteer activity presents itself at turkey day races.</p>
<p><br /> Missy Agnello of Palm Beach has volunteered at the Town of Palm Beach United Way Turkey Trot since it was still a neighborhood run — before it became official. “It’s a great event,” she said.</p>
<p><br /> Agnello finds it satisfying that her effort helps serve thousands of holiday meals in the county.</p>
<p><br /> Volunteering, participating in and sponsoring the 5K race — which starts at 7:30 a.m. in Bradley Park — helps provide Thanksgiving Day meals through about two dozen partner agencies that serve Palm Beach County, including Alzheimer’s Community Care, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County.</p>
<p><br /> United Way estimates its proceeds ahead of the Thanksgiving Day run and writes checks that help the agencies provide holiday dinners to people in need.</p>
<p><br /> This year, about $50,000 is expected to feed more than 6,000 people throughout the county, according to Aleese Kopf, director of marketing and communications.</p>
<p><br /> The Turkey Trot has about 50 volunteers on Thanksgiving and could always use more. “It can be a challenge to get people to wake up at 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to help us set up a race,” Kopf said.</p>
<p><br /> Agnello, 58, is typically onsite at 6 a.m., helping participants pick up their packets at the registration desk. She and other volunteers also work at water stations and direct the runners as well as hand out medals and clean up after. The early start lets Agnello volunteer and still get home in time to do what she needs to for her family’s dinner. Her husband, Michael, 60, and daughters — Allison, 28; Emily, 26; and Mickie, 21 — have been regular participants in the race.</p>
<p><br /> It became part of the family tradition: Her children would go to the race, stop for a Starbucks coffee on the way home and then settle in to scope out the Black Friday sales — or now, the online sales.</p>
<p><br /> People interested in volunteering for the race can call 655-1919 or email kristenperrone@palmbeachunitedway.org.<br /> Delray Beach will have its 33rd annual Turkey Trot 5K at Anchor Park, 340 S. Atlantic Blvd., on Nov. 23 and also needs volunteers. <br /> For details, contact Danielle Beardlsey at 243-7277 or beardsleyd@mydelraybeach.com; or visit <a href="http://www.victorysportsmgt.com/event/dbtt19">www.victorysportsmgt.com/event/dbtt19</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p><br /> Some organizations don’t need help on Thanksgiving Day, but they need food donations and may need help in the days leading up to it.</p>
<p><br /> The Soup Kitchen in Boynton Beach may still need volunteer help 7 a.m. to noon the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when it expects to distribute 1,000 frozen turkeys, roasting pans and fixings for the holiday meal to registered families. And it’s still welcoming donations of frozen turkeys.</p>
<p><br /> Executive Director Enrique Zuanetto said the kitchen serves its regular meal on Thanksgiving, but it has more than enough volunteers. Far fewer guests come that day — maybe 60 compared to the usual 400 in a day — because most have received the frozen turkey meal to make at home.</p>
<p><br /> Zuanetto points out, though, that the Soup Kitchen needs volunteers every other day and welcomes those interested to sit down with him and talk about what opportunities would work for them.<br /> To inquire about volunteer opportunities, call 239-3173.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> •</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898859,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960898859,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960898859?profile=original" /></a><em>Volunteers pack meals for Boca Helping Hands during last year’s pre-Thanksgiving event. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">•</p>
<p><br /> Boca Helping Hands has a Box Brigade that will distribute frozen turkeys and dinner fixings on Nov. 18 in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach to people who have registered. It will partner with Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Addison on two Thanksgiving Day meals for those in need who have registered. Boca Helping Hands has enough volunteers for those events, but is looking for people to host fall food drives.</p>
<p><br /> To donate, or for year-round volunteer opportunities, call 417-0913 or visit <a href="http://www.bocahelpinghands.org">www.bocahelpinghands.org</a>.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">•</p>
<p><br /> Thanksgiving may be a more popular time for volunteerism because people have a little more time then, said Karen Swedenborg, development manager at Boca Helping Hands. “A lot of people just want to give back.”</p>
<p><br /> These are just a few of the organizations that welcome volunteers throughout the year. Contact organizations that interest you to determine what opportunities they offer.</p></div>Philanthropy Notes: Junior League leaders announced for coming seasonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-notes-junior-league-leaders-announced-for-coming-sea2019-07-02T19:59:23.000Z2019-07-02T19:59:23.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960870880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960870880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960870880?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960871854,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960871854,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960871854?profile=original" /></a><em>ABOVE: Serving on the Junior League board are (l-r) Krista Downey, Alexandra Chase, Emily Schachtel, Laura Wissa, Ann a, Pam Schanel, Sue Gibson, Felice Shearer, Julie Rudolph and Sarah Cohen.</em> <br /><em>BELOW: The management team includes (l-r) Aimee Shaughnessy, Jeana White, Natasha Rawding, Felice Shearer, Kathryn Sexton, Nadia Islam Spivak and Sarah Kudisch.</em><br /><strong><em>Photos provided by CAPEHART</em></strong></p>
<p>The Junior League of the Palm Beaches has named its 2019-20 board of directors and management team.<br />Leading the cause is President Laura Wissa, who has been a member of the league since 2006 and served as vice president of fundraising as well as chairwoman of numerous committees.<br />“In my 13 years of being in JLPB, this organization has changed me,” Wissa said. “It has taught me how to become a community leader and a better person.”<br />Members of the board of directors are President-Elect Julie Rudolph, Executive Vice President Felice Shearer, Secretary Krista Downey, Treasurer Ann Breeden, Nominating Chairwoman Kristen Laraia and members Alexandra Chase, Sarah Cohen, Sue Gibson, Emily Schachtel and Pam Schanel.<br />The management team, which oversees the league’s day-to-day operations, includes Shearer, Executive Vice President-Elect Sarah Kudisch, Membership Vice President Jeana White, Community Vice President Kat McGinley, Communications Vice President Aimee Shaughnessy, Treasurer-Elect Nadia Islam Spivak, Fundraising Vice President Natasha Rawding and Fundraising Vice President-Elect Kathryn Sexton.</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Community Foundation caps year of giving</strong><br />The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties’ year of charitable giving — focused on community revitalization — included grants totaling over $1.3 million to area nonprofits. The foundation also awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to 104 county high school students in amounts that ranged from $1,000 to $26,000, with Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Atlantic High School and Lake Worth High School earning the most scholarships.</p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960871474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960871474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960871474?profile=original" /></a>Major legacy gift to benefit Boca Helping Hands clients</strong><br />Boca Helping Hands has announced that the late Arthur Remillard Jr. left the organization $1 million as a legacy gift to its endowment fund.<br />“This is huge in our world,” said Gary Peters, Boca Helping Hands board president. “Arthur Remillard’s first major gift to Boca Helping Hands in 2006 enabled us to purchase the building we are in today, allowing our organization to expand from its beginnings as a small soup kitchen. His estate gift will help ensure that we can keep growing and serving those in need for decades to come.”<br />When Remillard initially contacted Peters, Boca Helping Hands was providing 36 meals per day. Now it is feeding nearly 200 poor and hungry a meal six days a week, serving 4,000 per month.<br />“As a longtime Boca Raton resident, our father was passionate about wanting to help establish a comprehensive resource center for the less-privileged citizens of this great town,” son Regan Remillard said. “Boca Helping Hands is the culmination of that passion, and our father’s legacy gift will help Boca Helping Hands continue its critical, compassionate mission of providing food, access to medical care, financial assistance and job training to Boca’s neediest residents.”</p>
<p><strong>Glades seniors get college scholarships via Take Stock</strong> <br />Fifty seniors from Glades Central High School received $440,000 in Florida Prepaid scholarships as a result of their commitment to the Take Stock in Children Palm Beach & Johnson Scholars program.<br />The students joined the program in 2015 and have maintained their participation in the Glades Climate Change Initiative. The initiative paired the then-freshmen with volunteer mentors and set them on a course to academic success. The graduation rate nearly doubled in four years.<br />“Our students in the Glades are so deserving of this opportunity,” said Nancy Stellway, Take Stock in Children’s executive director. “Belle Glade is an area that can often be overlooked because of the economic disparity, but it is so encouraging to know that we are giving the students an opportunity to further their education and improve their future lives and the lives of their family members.”</p>
<p><strong>Moran Foundation aids environmental education</strong><br />Sandoway Discovery Center in Delray Beach has received a two-year grant totaling $90,000 from the Jim Moran Foundation.<br />The money will be used to support the center’s education and animal-care programs that allow students and visitors to learn about the environment through hands-on activities and live-animal encounters. The money also will enable a book to be sent home with every student from a Title I school participating in the Junior Naturalist Program.<br />“This is a tremendous opportunity to enhance and strengthen the student experience at Sandoway,” Executive Director Danica Sanborn said.</p>
<p><strong>CROS Ministries event raises nearly $50,000</strong> <br />CROS Ministries welcomed 200 supporters to its “Raise Your Glass To End Hunger” event at Delray Beach’s Old School Square Fieldhouse.<br />The fundraiser included wine and beer tasting, as well as signature dishes from local restaurants and caterers. Guests bid on a variety of donated items in both the silent and live auctions.<br />The nearly $50,000 in proceeds will benefit the faith-based organization that brings together members of the community to help alleviate hunger.</p>
<p><strong>Arts grant to fund Spady comic book project</strong><br />The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create an exhibit and a series of community events exploring the origin and impact of multicultural comic book heroes.<br />The history of multicultural comic book characters extends far beyond Black Panther, Falcon and Storm — heroes made famous by recent movies — and the project, titled eroica: black, brown, red and yellow comic book narratives, focuses on the origins and representations of superpowers of color. <br />“eroica will be an opportunity to engage people in conversations and reflections that deal with pop culture, iconic imagery, cultural representation, civil rights, modernism and history — all through the depiction of heroism in comic books,” museum Director Charlene Farrington said. <br />Additionally, The NEA awarded an Art Works grant of $10,000 to Palm Beach Poetry Festival in support of the 2020 festival, which will be Jan. 20-25 in Old School Square, Delray Beach. </p>
<p><strong>5K run/walk benefits four local charities</strong><br />The 12th annual Rooney’s 5K Run/Walk held in April at Palm Beach Kennel Club raised $19,039.41 for Greyhound Support Transport, Palm Beach County Police Athletic League, Potentia Academy and Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency, with the help of sponsorships and nearly 600 participants.<br /> The fourth annual Rooney’s Spring Golf Tournament, at Abacoa Golf Club, raised $16,000 to benefit Awesome Greyhound Adoptions/Hounds & Heroes, Florida Atlantic University Honors College, Forgotten Soldiers Outreach and Wounded Veterans Relief Fund. </p>
<p><strong>Office Depot employees assist at Boys & Girls Club</strong><br />Boca Raton-based Office Depot recently had its second annual Depot Day of Service volunteer initiative. In South Florida, more than 300 volunteers helped to complete a revitalization project at the Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club in Delray Beach.</p>
<p><em>Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net</em></p></div>Delray Beach: City approves new set of policies for eventshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-city-approves-new-set-of-policies-for-events2018-11-28T17:32:29.000Z2018-11-28T17:32:29.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br />Delray Beach is streamlining its special events policy to make it easier for festival organizers to apply and know their public safety costs up front while keeping the focus on hometown events.<br /> City commissioners unanimously approved the revised policy at their Nov. 13 workshop. <br />“We went from an 88-page guidebook to a trifold pamphlet,” acting Assistant City Manager Jeff Goldman told the commission. “We received feedback that we were overbilling and that the process to apply was overly long.”<br /> The new policy will go into effect on Jan. 1. <br /> Goldman said the public safety costs have been streamlined to cover the average salaries of a police officer and a firefighter/paramedic. Previously, the public safety costs could vary by the rank of the police officer and firefighter/paramedic who staffed the event.<br /> Now, the event organizers will know their public safety costs when they apply, Goldman said, unless they make the event larger and need more protection as a result. He worked with Suzanne Fisher, the city’s Parks and Recreation director, to revise the special events policy. <br /> The seven types of events of the past were reduced to three: commercial events that charge admission, community events that are free and athletic events.<br /> Concerts and festivals that charge entrance fees are listed under the commercial events category. Community events are defined as parades, free concerts and festivals, and the GreenMarket. Athletic events include 5K, 10K and marathon races, charity/fitness walks and bike races.<br /> The application fee for all events is $150, which is nonrefundable. The application deadlines are 90 days before the events for commercial and community, and 45 days for athletic events.<br /> Applications for commercial and community events will be processed in 60 days and ones for athletic events in 30 days. Previously, the city had 180 days to process applications for “major events” and parades. The city will take late applications by charging an additional $100 fee. <br /> The city also listed what it considers to be its hometown events. They are: Veterans Day ceremony, Turkey Trot races, Surf Festival, 100-foot Christmas tree and related events, Holiday Parade, First Night, Fourth of July festivities, Kids Fest, Spring Fest/Egg Hunt, National Night Out, Family Fun Day and free Friday concerts on the Old School Square grounds. <br /> The St. Patrick’s Day Parade was not listed, but it will be another city-sponsored event, produced by the city’s Fire and Rescue Department, Goldman said. The March parade will be the 51st.<br /> Goldman and Fisher also strengthened the definition of a nonprofit entity’s application to include providing “detailed information about how the proposed event serves a public purpose to foster an authentic and inspiring community that celebrates our history while building toward the future.”<br /> That should eliminate for-profit companies that masquerade as nonprofits. “We were dealing with nonprofits that did not benefit our community,” Mayor Shelly Petrolia said.<br /> The city will subsidize 50 percent of costs to the nonprofits in all three types of events.<br />The application size was reduced to four pages from six and now can be completed online, Goldman said. <br /> For events on the Old School Square grounds, the commission had asked that no events be held on the front lawn between the Cornell Museum and Atlantic Avenue. “It looks junky with cars on the front lawn,” Petrolia said.<br /> Goldman and Fisher will meet with Old School Square staffers to remind them of that requirement while discussing where they can hold the two events that are part of its 10-year lease with the city. <br /> “We will make sure it works for us,” Goldman said. <br /> Commissioners agreed to wipe the slate clean for four nonprofit organizations that owed the city a combined $12,954. In the future, those event producers, regardless of whether they are for-profit or nonprofit, will not be allowed to host an event unless they pay the amount owed to the city.<br /> Event producers also will be asked to follow the city’s green practices that reduce or eliminate the use of plastic and Styrofoam and discourage the use of single-use plastics, such as straws.<br /> In addition, Petrolia asked how the limit of major events to one per month in the previous policy would be accomplished under the revised policy. <br /> “We have the right to say no,” Goldman said.<br /> The City Commission now has approval power over commercial events with recommendations from the Special Events Office and its Technical Advisory Committee, consisting of staff from various departments such as police, fire, parks, code enforcement and public works. That power gave the commission some comfort.<br /> “We need to give our citizens relief” from too many events, said Commissioner Bill Bathurst.</p></div>