Dr. Herbert Wertheim is celebrated by supporters echoing his dress style at a news conference announcing his donation to Baptist Health. Photo provided
By Lou Ann Frala
Manalapan philanthropist Dr. Herbert “Herbie” Wertheim has given $100 million to Baptist Health South Florida to finance an expansion of cancer research, treatment and prevention.
The largest single donation in Baptist Health’s history will allow additional services at the Miami Cancer Institute, to be renamed for Wertheim, and bolster the nonprofit’s care network, BHSF leaders said at a May 20 news conference.
Wertheim, a billionaire who turned 87 on May 23, said, “My goal is to be able to do whatever I can to be transformative.”
The gift also will reinforce Baptist Health Research’s association with Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, named for the ophthalmologist/entrepreneur after he and his late ex-wife, Nicole, donated $20 million in 2009.
Literacy Coalition announces officers
The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County has announced its slate of officers for the 2026-27 board.
The executive committee is: President Chris Duke of Palm Beach Gardens, with Akerman LLP; Vice Presidents Aurora Arthay of Palm Beach Gardens, deputy library director at the Palm Beach County Library System, and Carol Rose of Wellington, community volunteer and retired The Palm Beach Post/Palm Beach Daily News editor; Secretary Bernadette O’Grady of Palm Beach Gardens, with WPTV Channel 5; and Treasurer Matthew Criscuolo of Boca Raton, with Cozen O’Connor.
Members at large are: Caleb Bowser of Palm Beach Gardens, vice president and relationship adviser at Northern Trust; Grace Halabi of Boynton Beach, senior vice president at First Horizon; and immediate past president Dr. Regine Bataille of Delray Beach, with Gentle Medicine Associates.
Parliamentarians are: Laurie Gildan of North Palm Beach, with Greenberg Traurig; Len Gray of Palm Beach Gardens, retired executive; and Sharon Hill of West Palm Beach, community volunteer and retired Palm Beach County librarian.
The Literacy Coalition provides adult, family and children’s programs, plus the Literacy AmeriCorps program. For more information, visit LiteracyPBC.org or call 561-279-9103.
Fuller Center to celebrate 55 years of service to families
Purpose meets party as the Fuller Center prepares to celebrate 55 years of service to hardworking and underserved families and children across 60 ZIP codes in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
A decades-themed shindig is set to be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on July 11 at Crazy Uncle Mike’s, 6450 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton.
Guests are invited to dress in styles from the ’70s all the way through 2010s and 2020s. There will be drinks, light bites and an auction to help the center support the more than 1,000 children it serves.
Tickets are $25 and $55 (VIP) and can be bought through secure.qgiv.com/event/livingourlegacy/
School supply drive now underway at Lang Realty
Lang Realty and Lang Management have kicked off their annual school supply drive for the benefit of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County. Through July 31, the public is invited to drop off new school supplies at any Lang Realty or Lang Management office throughout the county.
The Education Foundation’s Red Apple Supplies campaign stocks a free resource store where teachers in Title I schools can shop for classroom materials at no cost to them.
“Giving back to the students and families of Palm Beach County is something Lang has always been committed to,” said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty. “This drive is one tangible way we can make sure every child walks into the classroom this fall ready to learn and ready to thrive.”
Requested supplies include: backpacks, colored pencils and markers (8–12 count), wide-ruled composition books, construction paper, crayons, dry erase markers, erasers (wedge), flip chart markers, glue sticks, highlighters, pencils, Scotch tape, student dry erase boards (small), headphones/earbuds.
All donations will go directly to the Red Apple Supplies store.
Teen-led food drive nets 11,079 pounds of cereal
Cereal4All was founded in 2016 by Boca Raton twins Jett and Luke Justin, now 18. Their annual spring cereal drive collected 11,079 pounds for families served by Boca Helping Hands.
Boca Helping Hands, which began as a soup kitchen in 1998, provided more than 3.5 million meals to people in 2025.
The twins, now at the University of Florida, volunteered at BHH and learned that breakfast foods are among the most needed, but least donated, items at food banks.
“Cereal is about breakfast,” Jett Justin said, “but it’s also about starting the day with a sense of normalcy and happiness. It bothered us that so many families were missing out on that, so we started Cereal4All to help fill that gap.”
Today, Cereal4All partners with more than 175 schools and 95 food banks across 22 states, Toronto and the Bahamas through the twins’ self-piloted “Oatmeal Airlift” missions. The organization has delivered the equivalent of more than 800,000 bowls of cereal, over $400,000 worth of breakfast food, and inspired thousands of students to volunteer. See cereal4all.org to donate or volunteer.
Woman’s club hosts tour of Overtown, Design District
The Taste History Art & Culture Study Tours hosted 12th-grade debutantes of the Frances J. Bright Woman’s Club of Delray Beach for an immersive trip on April 18 to Overtown and the Design District in Miami.
The girls attend Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, FAU High School in Boca Raton, Olympic Heights High School in Boca Raton, and Park Vista High School in Greenacres.
Frances J. Bright Woman’s Club Charitable Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) volunteer community service organization named in honor of Bright, an educator who came to Palm Beach County in 1899 and was the first Black woman teacher in Delray Beach.
The mission of the nonprofit Taste History Art & Culture Study Tours is to offer curriculum-based multisensory educational experiences for students.
Boca Garden Club reveals 2026 collectible ornament
The Boca Raton Garden Club has announced that the 2026 commemorative ornament celebrates the Sugar Sand Park Carousel.
This year’s ornament, the 32nd in the collectible series commemorating landmarks in Boca Raton, is available for $28. Send a check, payable to Boca Raton Garden Club, to Ornaments, Boca Raton Garden Club, 4281 NW Third Ave., Boca Raton, FL 33431. Ornaments will be delivered in early October.
Palm Beach Symphony announces three winners
The Palm Beach Symphony has announced the three recipients of the 2026 Randolph A. Frank Prize for the Performing Arts. Instrumental musician Mickey Smith Jr. was named Performing Artist, dancer Heather Lescaille was named Performing Arts Educator, and choral musician Roberto J. Vidal was named Emerging Artist.
Smith is associate director of instrumental arts at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach. Lescaille was appointed dean of the dance department at the Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts in 2016. Vidal serves as the chorus director, vocal academy director and Fine Arts Department chair at Eagles Landing Middle School in Boca Raton.
Nominations for the 2027 awards will open in November.
Heritage Month honors Boca’s Elliott Broidy
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Elliott Broidy, Nobel laureate Dr. Harvey J. Alter and Rabbi David Baron were honored on Capitol Hill on May 19 during the Jewish American Heritage Month celebration. The annual gathering of members of Congress, foreign ambassadors and trade ministers, and Jewish communal leaders recognizes the significant role Jewish Americans have played in the United States.
Broidy, of Boca Raton, was honored with the Visionary Award for his leadership in philanthropy, national security, Holocaust remembrance, Jewish communal life, and efforts to combat antisemitism and extremism.
Broidy is chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Broidy Capital Holdings, which invests in a range of national security and public safety technology companies.
White Coats-4-Care scheduled for Aug. 20
The 16th annual White Coats-4-Care reception will recognize philanthropy advancing Palm Beach County’s only medical school — Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine — while welcoming the incoming class of 80 future physicians.
The evening will bring together health care, business, university, civic and philanthropic leaders to celebrate June Gelb’s 100th birthday. A portion of money raised will benefit the June and Ira J. Gelb, M.D. Endowed Medical Scholarship Fund.
The reception will be at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at The Club at Boca Pointe. Tickets are $350. Underwriting and sponsorship opportunities are available at fau.edu/medicine/white-coats-4-care.
Changing Lives of Boca hosts Unity Day expo
More than 25 nonprofit organizations and community groups joined together April 25 for the Changing Lives of Boca Raton fourth annual Unity Day Expo Fair, offering direct access to housing assistance, health care, mental health services, food resources, legal aid and employment support.
Participating organizations included: Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse Inc. (AVDA), Boca Helping Hands, Salvation Army, Feeding South Florida, the Palm Beach Health Care District, South County Mental Health Center, Developing Interracial Social Change (D.I.S.C.), Adopt A Family of the Palm Beaches, the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, Breaking the Chains Ministries, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Boca Raton Housing Authority, iThink Financial Credit Union, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Ovadia Law Group P.A., The Legacy Closet, Sunshine Pathways Foundation, Ask Nora, Palm Beach County Community Services, Vita Nova Inc., Genesis Community Health, YMCA, Drug Abuse Foundation, 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast, and People Engaged in Active Community Efforts (PEACE).
Changing Lives is committed to providing comprehensive services, including housing assistance, mental health support, employment opportunities and long-term stabilization programs for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Arts Garage raises funds for summer camp at ’70s party
Arts Garage, the visual and performing arts center in downtown Delray Beach, is celebrating 15 years of connecting the community through the arts, raising nearly $15,000 during a May 29 ’70s-themed anniversary party.
Proceeds will support scholarships, program resources and expanded access to arts education through Places!, the center’s immersive summer camp for aspiring performers ages 8-15. This program includes four weeklong sessions, July 6-31, led by theater professionals, each focused on a different area of training.
To learn more, visit artsgarage.org/events/category/places/
Send news, photos and notes to Lou Ann Frala at philanthropy@thecoastalstar.com.
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