Chris Carter Davies grew up on the Jersey shore watching her mom be an active community member
and volunteer. Now she does the same thing as a Gulf Stream resident of the South Florida shore.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Successful fundraisers are persistent and dedicated, and that seems to describe Chris Davies to a “T.” She’s been writing letters, making phone calls, and otherwise shaking the bushes for charitable donations for 20 years.
Beneficiary organizations include the Lupus Foundation of America, Southeast Florida chapter; the Delray Beach Historical Society; and the Sandoway House Nature Center in Delray Beach.
Davies, of Gulf Stream, is co-president of the Sandoway House board along with Ann Heilakka, and the two also are co-chairing this year’s annual fundraising gala on April 11.
“Doing a fundraiser is a lot of work,” Davies says, “and you think it’s just impossible, but the night of the event when it all comes together, it’s great. We raised about $50,000 last year, which was the highest ever. We want to top that this year.”
A native of coastal New Jersey, Davies travels home frequently to see family. She says her hometown on the Jersey Shore was “ground zero” when Hurricane Sandy swept through in 2012.
“My aunt lived in her house for 65 years and it was totally destroyed. And more than 100 of my friends were displaced by Sandy,” Davies says.
She met her husband, Jay, in Florida — even though he’d been a summer resident of her hometown.
“I didn’t know him, but I knew all his friends who went to my high school,” she says. “We met the first night he arrived in Florida — and that was that!”
A retired chef, Jay once worked at Maurice’s Italian Restaurant in Palm Beach. Jay’s shrimp scampi was a favorite of many a well-heeled diner, including the late Ted Kennedy.
The Davies will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this year.
— Paula Detwiller
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I grew up in Brick, a small town on the Jersey shore. My dad was the mayor for many years, and my mother was involved with every organization in town. I went to Brick Township High School. As a senior, I was president of the Keyette Club, which was all about volunteering. I attended Ocean County College for two years before transferring down to University of Florida in 1976 to get my degree in early-childhood education.
Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I always wanted to teach underprivileged children. After I got my teaching degree, I saw a job opening at the Alyce D. McPherson School for Girls in Ocala. My mother thought it was a ritzy boarding school. I went to apply and got hired on the spot, and when the principal gave me a tour of the campus, I realized it was actually a reform school! And it was co-ed. My job was to teach juvenile delinquents how to swim, and also be their swim coach.
After a year there, I got a teaching job at Pine Grove Elementary School in Delray Beach. I taught at Pine Grove for eight years.
Today I have a little side business arranging orchids. I do them for my close friends’ special occasions, but mostly I donate them to silent auctions. I’m really good at symmetry, so I incorporate shells, air plants and other things, and make them seashore-ish. So that’s what I’m most proud of these days.
Q. As co-president of Sandoway House Nature Center, what do you see as the toughest challenges the center will face this coming year?
A. Transportation to bring schoolchildren to the Nature Center is one of our biggest challenges. The school district doesn’t have the funding to provide buses. We’d love to have more school kids come here on class trips, but we’d need our own bus to bring them. Our goal is to get a large grant, hopefully from the Impact 100 organization, so that we can provide that transportation.
Q. Tell us a little about your involvement with Sandoway House Nature Center. Why is it important to you?
A. I helped start the Center 17 years ago. I met Laura McCormick and Mary Lou Schillinger in a “Mommy and Me” class when our kids were little, and Laura introduced me to Carolyn Patton, whose idea it was to turn this old house into a nature center. I also met other people who were helping out: Tom Lynch, Nilsa and Frank McKinney, Lisa Tiernan, and Alieda Riley, Carolyn’s mother. In those days we spent most of our time in a trailer out front. I’ve been working to raise money for the center all these years. It’s important to me because of my experience in teaching underprivileged kids in Delray. I know the need for young local kids to learn about their own beach, which some have never seen.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A. We moved here 19 years ago when my son was small, mainly to be close to Gulf Stream school. Our neighborhood had lots of young families, which was great because my son was an only child. After school, three or four kids would come home with him to play.
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A. I love the fact that it’s so close to Delray Beach and the excitement, but I can come home to peace and quiet. And all my neighbors are so nice and friendly.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. I have very eclectic tastes in music. I like to keep current, so I listen to the latest music on Pandora or iHeartRadio. But I also love classical piano music. In fact, my mom almost became a professional classical pianist, but then she married my dad and had three boys and me.
Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. My mother was my mentor. She just did it all. She was a volunteer for every committee in town, so I got my philanthropic side from her. She could play the piano, she could play tennis — she played until she was 86! She was a golfer, a painter and a cook who could make a cake without a recipe. I didn’t inherit her hand-eye coordination, so I can’t play tennis … but I like to ski and scuba dive.
Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. My friends. When we get together, we just laugh and have fun. Also, I’ve been really close to my cousin Virginia. She’s 10 years younger than me, but as we’ve grown older, we’ve gotten really close, almost like sisters. That’s why I go up to New Jersey so much, to spend time and laugh.
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Jennifer Lawrence, if she could make herself 40 years older! I just love her spunk. And she’s never forgotten where she came from.
IF YOU GO
Where the Wild Things Are
What: A fundraising gala to benefit the Sandoway House Nature Center.
When: 6:30 p.m. April 11
Where: Benvenuto Restaurant, Boynton Beach
Includes: hors d’oeuvres, open bar, 3-course meal, live music, dancing and silent auction.
Tickets: $160
For more information or to purchase tickets:
274-7263
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