If you have a desire to make a difference in our community but don’t know where to start, you have come to the right place! The Community Service branch of the South Florida Preschool PTA has many wonderful opportunities for you to take advantage of, even if you have only a limited amount of time to give. The SFPPTA has a long history of community service in the South Florida area. Last year we changed our focus to start working with the Dorothy M. Wallace COPE Center, an alternative educational facility for pregnant girls or young mothers who want to continue their education. The facility, which is located in Coral Reef, 10225 SW 147 Terrace, includes a nursery for the children of their students. We will be focusing on providing as much support as we can for the 150 young mothers/mothers-to-be and their children through Donation Drives for their Stork’s Nest Sale, and any other way possible. By working with COPE, we will be helping countless of young mothers in the rewarding task or raising their children. To help with any of the Community Service areas contact Joyce Sanders at (305) 253-4285 or jos1021@bellsouth.net
Current Community Service Committees
Following are the current community service committees. Please read about these committees on the following pages to learn more about them.
COPE Center
Helping young mother’s stay in school and continue their education is an important way to help our community. The Dorothy M. Wallace COPE Center gives us that opportunity through many different ways: volunteer at the school, fundraise, or help with the donation drives.
For more information, contact Jo Garvey at (305) 970-4304 or jotodd@bellsouth.net.
Prevent Blindness
Each year Prevent Blindness Florida provides 10,000 South Florida preschool children with free vision screening. Florida’s Southeastern Region has successfully pursued the mission of finding and detecting the one in twenty preschoolers whom suffers from an eye problem.
17 SFPPTA members and their children benefit from supporting the Prevent Blindness program in a two-fold manner: parents experience the satisfaction of participating with a sight saving team and the children receive free visual acuity screenings that may detect a vision problem. If those vision problems go undetected, it could hamper their scholastic achievement or, worst case, damage their eyesight permanently. You do not have to be trained to help, but members who volunteer to assist with vision screenings can receive free training to be more effective. Screenings normally last no longer than a morning, thus the time commitment is relatively small.
Reading and Crafts
The members of the South Florida Preschool PTA visit a local pre-school program once a month in order to read and do crafts with underprivileged children. This is a wonderfully fulfilling way to give back to the community. If any of you have volunteered in your child’s school then you will know the warm feeling you get when you interact with a room full of children who are thrilled to see you (the teachers are grateful, too). The hugs, the laughter, and the sheer joy of giving to others just can’t be beat. And the benefit to the children is truly immeasurable (unless you count the number of smiles!). We need readers! I sincerely hope that all of you will join me at least once this year in this very worthwhile activity. You won’t regret it and you will probably never forget it!!!
For more information, please contact Joyce Sanders at (305) 253-4285 or jos1021@bellsouth.net .
Scholarships
Education is the key that unlocks the doors to a brighter future for women and their families. That is why, each year, the SFPPTA awards scholarships to deserving women with preschool age children so that they may begin or continue their college education. Funds for our scholarships are raised through a variety of means such as door prize raffles and vendors' donations at our Holiday and Spring Brunches. Fundraisine, Macy’s Shop for a Cause and Entertainment Book are some other ways we are able to fund our scholarship program. In fact, through our efforts last year, we raised enough funds to award a record setting 12 scholarships. Over the last 15 years, our organization has awarded over 70 scholarships to deserving women. Now that’s making a difference in our community!
For more information, contact Angie Hernandez at (305) 271-2429 or hernandez6060@bellsouth.net.
I would like to welcome everyone back and I hope you all had a wonderful summer.
I'm Joyce Sanders your Community Service Chairperson. We have filled all but one
of our sub-committee positions. Molly Snyder is sub-committee chair for Prevent Blindness.
Jo Garvey is sub-committee chair for both COPE and Reading and Crafts. Angie Hernandez
is sub-committee chair for scholarships. We have yet to fill the position of sub-committee
chair for Gift Drive. If you are interested in this position please contact me by phone at
(305)253-4285 or e-mail at Jos1021@bellsouth.net. I can't wait to see you all at this years
meetings and many activities. This year's activities with COPE are still being finalized and we will advise of our plans as
soon as we can. Please remember that any donations are gladly accepted particularly
nearly new clothing or other baby items and equipment. Please contact Jo Garvey at 305-970-4304.We did not want to see SFPPTA's relationship with the CPH come to an end so we have
decided to continue the reading and crafts activities with the CPH kids. This is held once
a month and we would love to have you join us. Please contact Jo Garvey at 305-970-4304.
The shelter is in Homestead which seems a long way but once you are on the turnpike it is
really very accessible. We need at least one other person per month. CPH has about 50 kids at the moment, from infants to seniors in high school and during the
year will have up to 250. The center aims to get families back on their feet and any help we
can offer can make a difference in these kids lives. Please contact Jo Garvey at 305-970-4304
if you have thing you would like to donate - food, furniture, appliances - anything! Or contact
them directly at (305) 329-3030. At the moment, school supplies, back packs and school uniforms
are desperately needed. Or you can see the list
at http://www.cphi.org/donation_goods_services.asp
COPE Center South
Stork’s Nest Sale
November 8, 2007
Once again the SFPPTA will be working with the Dorothy M. Wallace COPE Center South to help with their Stork’s Nest Sale. For those of you not familiar with the Stork’s Nest, this program is aimed at rewarding the behaviors that are considered prerequisites to academic achievement and encouraging, as well as modifying, behavior through the incentive that the Stork’s Nest Sale offers. At the end of the grading period the girls use the points they earned at the Stork’s Nest to buy items for their babies and children and this is where we come in. We are the “Storks” and help fill in the gaps for the sale.
New or Gently Used Items that are needed:
Bottles, pacifiers, diapers (all sizes)
girls clothes (size 2T – 4T),
shoes, shampoo, baby wash, bibs,
wash cloths, bedding, blankets,
strollers, high chairs, furniture, toys,
any other baby or children-appropriate items.
Please bring items to the General Meeting on November 1 or to Jo Garvey at 2966 Day Avenue in Coconut Grove. Cash donations are always welcome if you are unable to purchase any items.
Volunteers will be needed on the day of the sale at the school from 8:30 until 11 or 12:00. The Cope Center is located at 10225 SW 147 Terrace.
Please contact Jo Garvey at (305) 970-4304 or jotodd@bellsouth.net if you are able to help out at this event.