Moms Helping Hands
After all the help we received during my health struggles, I was inspired to pay it forward, and created a simple group “Bradenton Moms Helping Hands” on Facebook. Imagine my surprise when we grew to almost 200 members in the first three days. Women from all walks of life were coming together to share what they had, no matter how much or how little. Donations were coming in to my home; they were taking over my dining room, filling my closets… we were really making a difference! I recruited some friends to help manage the group, and we continued to grow.
Within the first 6 weeks we had a real system of forms, donation pick ups and drop offs, but most importantly, we were building a community of support for the ones who needed it the most. The idea to start a school supply drive took off and with the help of other swap shops in the area, we helped almost 40 children with school supplies… Each step we’ve accomplished just inspires me to keep going. When we made the decision to move to Venice, I started another group, “Venice Moms Helping Hands”. To date, these two groups work together to serve families throughout Manatee and Sarasota County.
Our mission statement truly says it best, “We are dedicated to strengthening the bonds of our community and enabling families to have access to resources they may need to keep themselves strong and to raise happy, healthy children. My mission is to help Moms in my community to never have to lay awake at night with tears in their eyes as they struggle to figure out which bill to pay next, or where they can get the necessities. This group exists to provide a helping hand to even the strongest of families, and in doing so, hopefully change lives. It is my hope that this group will continue to grow, just as the children we help grow with us.
For the past 5 years, we have put together the "Christmas Angels" project to ensure that each child has the magic of Christmas morning. We connect "Angels" with children in need, give the angel their name, age, gender and a short wish list for ideas and our angels shop for gifts for them. In 2017, we were able to give out enough gifts for over 190 local children.
Within the first 6 weeks we had a real system of forms, donation pick ups and drop offs, but most importantly, we were building a community of support for the ones who needed it the most. The idea to start a school supply drive took off and with the help of other swap shops in the area, we helped almost 40 children with school supplies… Each step we’ve accomplished just inspires me to keep going. When we made the decision to move to Venice, I started another group, “Venice Moms Helping Hands”. To date, these two groups work together to serve families throughout Manatee and Sarasota County.
Our mission statement truly says it best, “We are dedicated to strengthening the bonds of our community and enabling families to have access to resources they may need to keep themselves strong and to raise happy, healthy children. My mission is to help Moms in my community to never have to lay awake at night with tears in their eyes as they struggle to figure out which bill to pay next, or where they can get the necessities. This group exists to provide a helping hand to even the strongest of families, and in doing so, hopefully change lives. It is my hope that this group will continue to grow, just as the children we help grow with us.
For the past 5 years, we have put together the "Christmas Angels" project to ensure that each child has the magic of Christmas morning. We connect "Angels" with children in need, give the angel their name, age, gender and a short wish list for ideas and our angels shop for gifts for them. In 2017, we were able to give out enough gifts for over 190 local children.
Venice Foodies
After moving to Venice, I struggled to find a way to make new friends and experience new things. Since I was raised in a stereotypical Italian family, where food brought people together. I was inspired to create a group on Facebook to get the community talking about their favorite restaurants, encourage meet and greets and start building relationships with other locals. In time, the group grew and became a respected place for people to turn to for advice about where to get the best pizza or to sponsor the next chili cook off. My name is known all around town for my opinion on certain places. I also coordinate events with these restaurants to promote their business and nurture the relationships between the locals and these small businesses. The photo above is from a restaurant event at Blu Island Bistro in June 2018.
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Venice - Feeding Our Neighbors
This is a relatively new project that was just established in June of 2016. In a simple attempt to not waste a pot of leftover chili, I posted a message to a community facebook group offering my leftovers to a family in need of a hot meal. This transformed into creating a facebook group with the sole intention of ensuring that leftovers do not go to waste in our community, as well as ease the struggle of hunger.
We are currently organizing a lunch event at a local park to feed the homeless in our area.
We are currently organizing a lunch event at a local park to feed the homeless in our area.