August Guild Newsletter - Hibiscus Children`s Center

Hibiscus Children’s Center
Fighting child abuse with love,
care, counseling and your support
At Hibiscus we rebuild and repair the lives of
abused and neglected children and take them
to a whole new place. A much brighter place
filled with hope, laughter, and smiles. From
primary prevention to the most intensive
interventions, the mission of Hibiscus
Children’s Center is to provide safety, shelter,
prevention and recovery programs for abused
and neglected children in Okeechobee, Martin,
Hibiscus Children’s Center
Staff Contacts
HIBISCUS
CHILDREN’S
Thomas Maher
Chief Executive Officer
772-978-9313 x 315
[email protected]
CENTER
Silvia Cancio
President
231-5446
Angela Astrup
Director of Events
772-978-9313 x 313
[email protected]
Donna Clements
Volunteer Coordinator
772-978-9313 x 334
[email protected]
[email protected]
Parris Westbrook
Director of Resource Management
772-978-9313 x 314
[email protected]
Peggy Marino
Secretary
231-8434
[email protected]
Maureen Kleinknecht
Treasurer
231-9620
[email protected]
Special Thanks!
November 2010
Girls Night Out
December 11, 2010
Annual Winter Gala
January 28, 2011
Viva Las Vero Casino Night
February 5, 2011
Joint Skeet Shooting Event
April 6, 2011
Blue Ribbon Luncheon
May 6 and 7, 2011
Offshore Big 3 Fishing Tnmt.
Melissa Starling
Membership Chair
794-4709
Thanks to the following businesses who
have been extra kind to
Hibiscus recently!
Tommy Hilfiger
Rainbow Flipflops
Omni Financial
Vero Beach Elk’s Lodge
Vero Beach Moose Lodge
Vero Beach Veterans
Syngenta
Inner Rhythm Surf Shop
Twirl Children’s Boutique
Stephen Bonanno Sandals
Bliss
Mulligan’s Beach House Bar and Grill
Panera Bread
Current Village Needs
School supplies and backpacks
AA and AAA batteries
Girls’ and Boys’ bath sets
Preschool educational toys
Melissa.starling@excellerate
hro.com
Stacey Barnett
Past President
492-1699
[email protected]
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Event Update
2
Event Contacts
2
Member of the Month
3
Volunteer Corner
3
In the Spotlight
3
Special Thanks/Needs
4
Calendar of Events
4
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2 0 1 0
From the President’s Desk...
Debbie Bedell
Vice President
584-3368
Visit us online!
www.hibiscuschildrenscenter.org
2010-2011 Event Dates
A U G U S T
[email protected]
St. Lucie and Indian River Counties.
Save the Date!
Indian River Guild Gazette
GUILD
CONTACTS
If you ever
thought your
contributions
to Hibiscus
Children’s
Center were
too small to
make a
difference, the
story of Victor
Rivas will make
you think otherwise.
Presently, Victor Rivas is a
spokesperson for the national
coalition against domestic
violence who travels
throughout the US raising
awareness about domestic
abuse. He is also a TV and
screen actor. How he came to
be in his present position is the
result of a life journey touched
by the hands of many friends
and strangers he met along the
way. Born in Cuba in the early
1950’s into a wealthy family,
Victor’s family migrated to the
US and settled in Chicago. It
was there, at the age of two,
that he began to experience his
father’s anger and abuse. Being
a mischievous child, he seemed
to get into trouble in school
and met with harsh punishment
by an increasingly irrational
father. Although his siblings
experienced the terror of his
father’s abuse, Victor and his
mother were the primary
targets of this violence. A move
to California did not change
the troubled family. In his
biography he credits what he
calls “my angels” with helping
them endure the
horrors of home. Two visits
to the police begging for help
brought no results.
Neighbors, friends, and
teachers tried to help with
what was obvious to
everyone. In an era when
domestic violence was viewed
as a “family matter” the family
had no legal recourse and no
place to go.
When the father moved the
family to Florida (by that time
his mother had left home),
Victor mustered the courage
to leave home and at the age
of 14 was sleeping in a
cemetery. One of his
classmates brought him home
and asked the family to take
him in. It was then that
Victor’s tortuous short life
began to improve. For the
first time he experienced a
stable home and a loving
family. Still haunted by the
trauma of physical and
psychological abuse, he
often acted out his anger in
violent ways just to be
rescued by friends and his
newfound family. With the
help of his high school coach
and teachers, he
received a four-year
football scholarship to FSU
and was later recruited by
the Miami Dolphins.
Because of so many big and
small acts of kindness,
Victor was able to break
through his harsh memories
and become a successful
actor and family man. But it
took many years to deal
with the ghosts of abuse.
Many of our kids are
victims of domestic
violence. Caring, healing,
and believing is what
Hibiscus is all about. Your
contribution to Hibiscus
Children’s Center, through
event planning,
volunteering, or being
there, is vital to Hibiscus’
mission. The story of
Victor Rivas is a testament
to what kindness can do in
one person’s life. I suspect
his life could have been
better if a place called
Hibiscus existed when he
was growing up.
So thank you, Guild
“angels”, for your
commitment to the cause.
Silvia Cancio
PS: Victor Rivas will be the main
speaker at a luncheon sponsored
by Safespace next March. You can
also read more about his incredible
story at his website:
www.victorrivers.com. His
biography is available through
Amazon.com.
P AG E
2
...And We’re Off and Running! by Angela Astrup
Your special
event chairs have
been busy
working on lots
of new ideas!
Be sure to
contact them
if you would
like to serve on a
committee
this year!
While many of our Guild members are
still enjoying their fabulous summer
destinations, the “faithful few” event
chairs have been working diligently on
ideas for this season’s events. (Rest
assured, it hasn’t been all work and no
play. I suspect many people have been
working poolside!) Enjoy this brief Event
Update, and be sure to contact your
event chairs if you have interest in
serving on a committee or helping secure
sponsors. You will find their contact
information below.
Girls Night Out
Almost as soon as the event information
was distributed to past vendors, the
phone has been ringing off the hook. We
have nearly 15 past vendors already
confirmed and a waiting list has been
formed of people with new interest. We
are still waiting on our exact date from
Holy Cross Parish Hall, but it will be held
in the month of November.
An Affair, Rio Style—Gala
If you haven’t heard the excitement in
the air over this December’s gala, then
you haven’t been paying attention!
Already the talk of the town, guests are
excited to see what kind of
entertainment is in store for them this
year. Nadja Ricci and Raquel Tilton could
most use your help right now in securing
sponsors. Please let them or myself know
if you have a potential sponsor in mind.
Casino Night
Debbie Bedell, Shelly Distl, and the rest of
their committee have already been
working hard on this January’s event! The
Casino company is on board and is excited
to be our partner once again. Debbie and
Shelly will keep us posted on their
volunteer needs as they arise.
Joint Skeet Shooting Event
Last year’s spontaneous skeet shooting
event turned out to be such a success,
that we’re going to do it again...bigger!
Mark your calendars for February 5th and
plan to participate or help with this all
agency event.
Blue Ribbon Luncheon and the
Offshore Big3 Fishing Tournament
While a bit too early for major plans,
these events are certainly not out of sightout of mind. Barbara Sliva and Sybille
Ludwig will keep us abreast of their needs,
and Andy Ingle will keep us posted on all
things fishing. If you know someone who
would like to serve in a “chair” position
alongside Andy, contact me for more
information.
Hibiscus Triathlon Event
We should have known that the dynamic
Andy Ingle would have an equally
dynamic daughter! Michelle Tovar is
working hard on a triathlon event to be
held in St. Lucie County. Stay tuned for
more information on how you can be
involved this April.
2010-2011 Special Event Chairpersons
INDIAN
Girls Night Out
Carole Casey—564-0121
Linda Teetz—492-1662
Sue Sharpe—234-8261
Casino Night
Debbie Bedell—584-3368
Shelly Distl—778-3663
Blue Ribbon Luncheon
Barbara Sliva—321-4484
Sybille Ludwig—234-7292
Gala
Raquel Tilton—234-0999
Nadja Ricci—234-5661
Skeet Shooting & Triathlon
Angela Astrup—978-9313
Offshore Big 3 Fishing
Tournament
Andy Ingle—332-0438
RIV ER
G UILD
Meet Amy Patterson, Member of the Month!
Our Guild Spotlight this month is a
true super woman in our book! Amy
Patterson became involved with the
Guild just last year and already has
been an active volunteer on nearly all
of our events! She and her husband
Don moved to Vero Beach about a
year and a half ago from Westchester
County, New York. While in New
York she was the Executive Director
of the Westchester County Bar
Association and the Bar Foundation
for over eight years. Prior to that,
she lived in the Virgin Islands and was
the Executive Director of the Virgin
Islands Bar Association. Her
involvement with these organizations
gave her plenty of experience
working with board members,
officers and volunteers! When she
met Margaret Martowski and was
brought up to speed on all the
things Hibiscus does in the
community, she knew she just had
to be involved! How lucky we are!
Since joining the Guild, Amy has
been a volunteer in many capacities.
She’s always willing to help with
office projects, work community
booths, take a volunteer shift at one
of our events, or in the case of last
year’s Gala—take it upon herself to
coordinate an entirely new
fundraising concept! If you were a
guest at the Illusions Gala last year,
then you saw the beautiful wine
lottery that Amy worked on for
months! The fundraiser brought in a
lot of money for Hibiscus, and other
non profits have even been calling
to learn how we did it. Imitation is
the best form of flattery! As some
P AG E
of our Guild members know, Amy
has been enduring a new challenge
recently—beating cancer. She
recently completed eight weeks of
radiation for breast cancer. To
celebrate the completion of her
treatments, she and her sister are
now training for the Jarden
Westchester Triathlon on
September 26th as a member of
the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society’s Team in Training. She’s
working hard to prepare for the 1
mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 6.2
mile run! After one conversation
with Amy, you will learn one thing
for sure—if anyone can do it, it’s
Amy! If you’d like to donate on
Amy’s behalf, visit http://
pages.teamintraining.org/wch/
wchtri10/TeamPatterson.
“Hibiscus is the perfect
blending of volunteer
work, fundraising, and
socializing—perfect for
a Vero newcomer!”
-Amy Patterson
Volunteer Update by Donna Clements
Summer Camp is winding down, and
the children and teens have been
busier than usual with field trips,
including visits to the Navy Seal
Museum, the Marine Science Center,
the Art Museum, and the
Environmental Learning Center.
Additional outings included Sea
World, the Rapids, Islands of
Adventure, movies, skating, bowling,
and the beach. Volunteers filled in the
gaps with special presentations during
the differently themed weeks.
Sergeant Brian Wright from the
Marines and Dr. Craig McGarvey
introduced the teens to a variety of
career paths, and MJ Wicker gave a
motivational talk integrating his guitar
and songwriting. Mrs. Mardie Smith
came weekly with her therapy dogs,
teaching grooming and obedience
lessons with the children.
The summer wound down with an
“End of Summer” Barbeque and an
impromptu Talent Show put on by the
teens. Thank you for all who donated
goodies to help with this special day,
and a huge thank you to all the staff
who work so diligently with the
children each and every day!
Thank you to all who have
contributed to our Annual School
Supplies Drive! It’s not too late to
give as there are forty children living
at the Village, and new ones arrive on
a weekly basis.
Special thank you to our August Cake
Ladies: Maya Peterson, Linda Teetz,
and Nancy Hendricks.
We appreciate all you do to help
make these children’s lives a little
brighter!
Hibiscus in the Spotlight by Angela Astrup
Hibiscus has had many opportunities
to meet new friends in the
community this summer, thanks to
the generosity of our local business
partners. Last month, the wonderful
owners of Twirl, Bliss, and Stephen
Bonanno Sandals hosted a special
fundraising event on behalf of
Hibiscus. A few weeks later, Hibiscus
was the featured charity at all
G A ZETT E
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Mulligan’s Restaurants on the
Treasure Coast. We were able to set
up a display table of Hibiscus
materials and greet each guest as they
came in the door. Special
announcements were made about
Hibiscus throughout the evening, and
best of all—we were the recipients of
15% of total sales during the event. A
check totaling nearly $500 was
3
delivered just this week! To end the
summer, Hibiscus will be the Charity
of the Month at the August Sunset
Saturday event being held on the 14th
of this month. Surely we will meet
many new friends at this event and get
the chance to catch up with many of
our loyal supporters! If you know of
an opportunity where we can spread
the word about Hibiscus, be sure to
let Angela know!