WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
The requests rolled in rapid-fire, pinging Carl Reynolds’ inbox like unexpected raindrops on a tin roof with tearful, heart-grabbing messages. The words laced together despairing narratives: A single mom juggling four kids – one with special needs – all sharing a cell phone for online school.
A dad furloughed with no means to buy a computer for his third grader to tap into …
WORDS: Kristin Louis
The holidays are supposed to be about enjoying time off with the ones you love. But for many parents, holiday cheer gets overshadowed by the financial stress of affording gifts for the whole family. As much as you don’t want to disappoint your children, you also don’t want to be paying off holiday debt well into the new year.
There’s no need to choose between a great …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
Frank DiGiovanni and his daughter joined a long line meandering out the door of Blaze Pizza back in 2017 for a fundraiser benefiting Willis Elementary. Hungry parents and kids halted the mid-week tornado of soccer matches, ballet classes, and math homework to pool together and raise money for their school. While hot pizzas bubbled in ovens and dutiful parents continued to arrive in droves, DiGiovanni – …
WORDS: Christa Hardin, MA
It’s not every day that families get to eat together anymore, but should it be? While some families manage to dine around the table together for everyday grub, so many more are finding the attempts to eat together all but futile. One parent is working late, perhaps both, there are complicated schedules in the week when one child visits another parent, or perhaps there’s a sport …
WORDS: Amy Bell
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Dan and Betty Callaghan may be retired from their business, but they have no plans to retire from philanthropy. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Callaghan Tire has been a mainstay in the Bradenton area for more than four decades.
Dan and Betty, both Chicago area natives, moved to Florida from Iowa in the late 70s when their daughters were teenagers. On February …
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
In Major League Baseball today, African Americans represent just 7.5 percent of players. This is the lowest percentage ever recorded in the 29-year history of the Racial and Gender Report Card for the MLB, which The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport release every year.
But two Palmetto natives, one a former Major Leaguer, want to reverse this trend, by helping to expose …
INTERVIEW: Amy Bell
The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) promotes tourism to Manatee County and the communities of Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key, Bradenton, and Lakewood Ranch. As Executive Director of the CVB, Elliott Falcione has overcome countless obstacles during his 10+ years in the role. However, most of those past problems pale in comparison to the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has put a major dent in the …
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
Every Tuesday, outside the JCPenney end of the DeSoto Square Mall, Feeding Tampa Bay’s Mobile Pantry gives nearly 2000 Manatee County residents food. The organization sets up from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. or until the food runs out.
“Some recipients aren’t people who needed food six months ago,” said Ava Ehde, Director of Manatee County’s Neighborhood Services Department (NSD). Ehde, who, with members of her team, volunteers …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Sun-drenched and coated in sand, a young kid with wobbly legs and a warm smile stands upon a donated surfboard, bobbing in the beach’s rolling waves on White Avenue on Anna Maria Island for the first time at Eternal Summer Surf Camp. Pure joy radiates as Kris Cox – a Bradenton native who helped found the non-profit Christian surf camp in 2008 – …
WORDS: KidsHealth from Nemours
In many places, people are wearing masks or cloth face coverings when they’re in public because of coronavirus (COVID-19). It’s an important way to help slow the spread of the virus.
At first, it was mostly doctors, nurses, and others in health care settings who wore masks. But now, as other people wear them, more and more kids are seeing something they’re not used to seeing. …
WORDS: ChildCare Aware America
In this new world of COVID-19, everyone is trying to kill germs and avoid sickness. However, our fears should not distract us from the mindful use of cleaning chemicals, including hand sanitizer. Even chemicals that are meant to keep us healthy can cause poisoning or even death when used improperly, especially around children.
Why are children at high risk?
Children are curious. Their natural tendency to …
WORDS: Infant CPR
So you have a little crawler and it’s time to babyproof your home. You clip your cabinets, remove the choking hazards, and plug the outlets.
This is a great start!
Baby proofing is as much about your peace of mind as a parent as it is about your child’s safety.
Here are 6 additional techniques that will help you make your home a safe and fun place …
WORDS: Kristin Louis
When you work from home, it’s almost impossible to keep your career and family life from bleeding into one another. Separating work and life is important for everyone, but it’s a topic that deserves even more attention for parents who work remotely. If your kids are in school, you might also be dealing with the added stress of managing your children’s remote learning on top of …
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
In the span of one hour, I watched Allie McLaughlin, 10, laugh, cry, speak with a convincing British accent and belt out two — pretty difficult — songs. She wasn’t on stage. She was in my living room.
I was interviewing Allie, who’d performed in two big local shows in the past year. Allie played Marta, second youngest of the von Trapp children, in …
Words: Amy Bell
Picture: Whitney Patton
For most of her life, Margaret (Peg) Delegato has been on a quest to end poverty and rid the world of hatred. It’s certainly a lofty goal — but if anyone can come close to pulling it off, it’s a dedicated philanthropist like Peg.
Born and raised in Detroit, Peg says Motown was a vibrant and exciting city during her childhood. “I grew up …
