WORDS & PICTURES: Gabrielle Versmessen
Standing in a plot of uncleared land off Ellenton-Gillette Road in Palmetto, Bobbie and Floyd Price envisioned a community where foster kids could live with their biological siblings in a safe, Christ-centered foster home. A place where healing and growth could occur for the children and the biological families on their path to reunification. Nine years later, that vision has become beyond immeasurably more of …
WORDS & PICTURES: Gabrielle Versmessen
Many good things can come from pairing a little wine and some good Italian food together. However, one of the better things to emerge must be the birth of Sisterhood for Good (SFG) at Angela Massaro-Fain’s home 11 years ago.
In 2011, Angela, President of SFG, had been a Board Member of Lakewood Ranch Community Fund (LWRCF) for five years. The LWRCF Board President spoke …
WORDS: Carlee Colonneso
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Speak to Dr. Kristina DeWitt of SCF’s Education Department, and you will immediately recognize the commitment she has to helping those in Early Education. Whether mentoring aspiring teachers in the classroom, volunteering to promote literacy, or reaching out to the community, Dr. DeWitt’s love of learning is positively impacting Manatee County.Â
Long before Dr. DeWitt started working in education, she …
WORDS: Gabrielle Versmessen
When the devasting news started to emerge on January 12th of this year that Paul Sharff, Chief Executive Officer at the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, had suddenly passed away, there was an outpouring of profound grief. It hit hard. It was very hard for two ladies …
WORDS: Carlee Colonneso
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Carol Butera’s path to philanthropy began with an interest in helping others. Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Carol received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Northern Arizona University. After graduating, she moved to Kentucky and started working as a Crisis Intervention Counselor from midnight until 8:00 in the morning. This experience of seeing the pain and struggles that families have …
WORDS: Emma Taylor
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
The USA Fence main office on East Cortez Road is a humble building that one may easily pass by without knowing what a bustling company operates within. The offices line one main hallway and all of the doors are open—an environment that seems to reflect the Glasgow approach to business and service.Â
On the wall that flanks CEO and founder Butch Glasgow’s office and …
WORDS: Merab-Michal Favorite
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
With a great appreciation of books instilled in her as a child, Bronwyn Beightol recognized the power of literacy early on. She still remembers her father’s reading voice, the sound of him turning the pages of their latest mystery novel, and even the smell of a new book opened for the first time. It was the love of the written word she carried with …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Autumn skies cloaked in shadow and misty rain hovered above an emerald green pasture, as 12-year-old Mason Kramer – donning a tucked-in black T-shirt, red plaid button-down, jeans, boots, and a curved-rim, suede cowboy hat – sauntered proudly into a dim-lit barn clutching a rope that led his beloved Donkey across the damp, brick pavers.Â
As a drafty breeze whistled through the barn, …
WORDS:Â Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Dappled late afternoon sunlight filtered through a sprawling leaf canopy that seemed to gingerly hug a sleepy northwest Bradenton street as nine-year-old Madeline Pye zipped down the asphalt on a scooter, her auburn ponytail trailing behind.Â
Pausing to say hello, a dog walker smiled, and a neighbor busily trimmed a hedge to manicured perfection. The Pye family had just eased into their driveway, …
WORDS:Â Amy Treis
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
“You don’t have to be a foster parent to do foster care. Use your voice for those who can’t speak up for themselves.” Tori Hope Petersen, FFY (Former Foster Youth), spoke these words in the hope of raising awareness for the beauty of becoming a foster parent. Â
It is a vital role that will aid in the success of children who are in the …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney PattonÂ
It’s just after sunrise, and Pastor Jerry Parrish curves down a familiar road in east Bradenton, easing his black Impala into the driveway of a dilapidated house that seems to sigh into the Earth with walls harboring heartache. Thirteen siblings inhabit the home where a mom roams in and out of a jail cell and a dad – illiterate and a gang member …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
When a dusting of stars illuminated the night sky, and most of Manatee County slipped into a peaceful slumber, a predictable rumble hummed from Robby’s driveway. Turning the ignition of his mother’s borrowed car, Robby rolled out each evening to work overnights at a fast-food restaurant and prove a commitment to carving out a successful life.
Stoic work ethic and drive powered Robby, despite vast adversities …
WORDS: Â Svetlana Ivashchenko
You may be familiar with the term Guardian ad Litem (GAL). But do you know how crucial the role is that GALs play in our local community? And can you help meet the need for more of these special people who do so much for children who find themselves in such desperate situations?
Sadly, over 100 Manatee County foster children do not have a GAL volunteer to …
WORDS: Amy Treis
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
It is often said that fire and water are the Yin and Yang of the existing world. They create the requisite nature of rising and falling, ebbing and flowing, and remaining stoic and wilting. If you ask East Manatee Firefighter Erik Nicholson, he will say that fire and water are essential elements that have contributed to his success and passions in life.
Since becoming …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Like an inevitable Tsunami swirling dark, angry waves in the ocean, perilous influences, and risky behavior nearly drowned Russell Serreia in the mid-1990s. Plagued with alcohol addiction and a fractured home, 15-year-old Serreia navigated the cold shadows of Bradenton neighborhoods, rolling in and out of street fights and jail cells.
Hardened, lost, and flirting with danger, Serreia happened to land in a recovery …
