Hope for Halloween Costume Drive A Spooktacular Success
From pirates, princesses and super heroes to ghosts, goblins, and silly characters, more than 300 costumes were collected for our children as part of the Hope for Halloween costume drive. The costumes were distributed to the children living in Brownie's shelter as well as to the children in our family support and counseling programs. The collection drive was organized by Kristy Rea and her family whose love for Halloween and for giving all children, regardless of their circumstances, the fun tradition of dressing up and trick or treating sparked their effort. Many local businesses and organizations generously opened their doors and served as collection sites including Seacrest Country Day School, Community School of Naples, Temple Shalom Preschool, My Gym Naples, American Sport Karate, Gymnastic World, Wireless City, Lu Lu Belle, Greater Naples YMCA, Backstage Dance Academy, Wonder Years Preschool, NCH Healthcare Pediatrics, and Royal Palm Academy. And, in true community spirit, the National honor Society students from Seacrest even took time from their studies to categorize and sort by age all the costumes before delivering them to us. Thank you all for making this Halloween an extra special treat for our children.
BB&T Creates Rec Room for Youth Haven's Children
Every summer, BB&T employees take an all hands-on-deck approach to making a difference in their community by helping those people and organizations most in need through their Lighthouse Project community service initiative. This year, Youth Haven was selected as the 2011 recipient of the company's generous effort. A team of fourteen plus employees volunteered their time and talents to renovate the lanai of Brownie's Emergency Shelter into a cozy and inviting play room. Using a color palate chosen by the children themselves, the group rolled up their sleeves and repainted and carpeted the room as well as installed bench seating, storage units for the children's toys & games, and a new Foosball table. Since the lanai is directly adjacent to the children's outdoor playground, the team also provided for a large retractable awning to better shade the children while they play and enjoy picnics outdoors. Thank you, BB&T for your hard work and dedication to creating this fun space for our children.
Youth Haven's Children Swing into Action on New Playground!
When more than 500 Rotarians ascended into Naples for the Rotary International Zones 33-34 Institute, they left in their wake a remarkable new recreation area for our children to run, play, and enjoy many carefree moments, simply taking pleasure in being a child. Through a gift of more than $24,000 and the cooperative efforts of the Naples Rotary Community Fund and Zones 33 & 34 Rotarians and their spouses, our playground was given a complete makeover much to the delight of our enthusiastic children.
Situated adjacent to Brownie's Cottage, our emergency shelter, the play area was outfitted with a variety of age-appropriate equipment including swings, slides, climbing structures, and musical features. After eagerly watching the construction take place over a period of a few weeks, our children wasted no time in enjoying their new play space after partaking in a special ice cream party, ribbon cutting and dedication celebration with members of the Rotarian Spouse's Association. And, in true Rotarian spirit, an energetic group even rolled up their sleeves on a warm Saturday afternoon to spread bag after bag of tire nuggets around the playground to ensure a safe area for the children to play. On behalf of all the children residing with us today and those in the future who will run, play, and enjoy this extraordinary playground THANK YOU ROTARY for this amazing gift.
Brickman Group Celebrates Company's Founders Day by Planting Fruit Trees for the Children
Our children will now have home-grown nutritious snacks right in the plam of their hands thanks to the Fort Myers / Naples branch of the Brickman Group, a leading national commercial landscape company. A variety of matured orange, key lime and grapefruit trees were recently planted on our campus. When we asked the children what first comes to their mind when hearing the word 'Florida', next to Mickey Mouse, it was oranges so citrus trees were the perfect choice!
Thank you Brickman for giving our children not only the opportunity to enjoy the fresh fruit, but providing them with an educational experience as they watch the trees blossom and bear fruit.
Billmyre Enterprises Help Children Realize Their "Hoop Dreams!"
If there is truth to the adage that "practice makes perfect," then we certainly have some NBA stars in the making! Gary and Lori Billmyre of the general contracting firm Billmyre Enterprises generously donated and installed two new glass backboard basketball hoop systems, on what was a very bare court, much to the delight of our sports-loving children. Thank you, Gary and Lori for giving them the opportunity to share in this fun sport as they build character, self-esteem and respect for one another.
