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 classes. A stream of parents desperately trying to persevere and pivot as COVID-19 cast a wicked spell, shuttering schools in one swoop and forcing children to learn behind computer screens instead of in the classrooms.
Scattered across Manatee County, many families just struggling to pay electric bills and grocery tabs during an eerie and unimaginable shut down had no room in a siphoned budget to buy computers for their now virtual students.
“As an attorney and advocate for victims of accidents, I am accustomed to jumping in and helping others through difficult times,” said Reynolds, who has a Bradenton law firm specializing in personal injury cases. “But with this, I felt my hands were tied. What could I do?”
Reynolds, a father of four with a charismatic smile and an empathetic ear, has crisscrossed Manatee County like a superhero helping to zap away adversities that have tugged his heart during the 14 years he has called Bradenton his home.
While managing a bustling law firm with offices stretching from Orlando to Port Charlotte and raising a family, Reynolds devotes a generous amount of energy to lift up his community. Pace Center for Girls, The Food Bank of Manatee, Little League sports teams, and SNN’s Helping Hand shine as a fraction of the organizations Reynolds supports.
It didn’t take him long to figure out what to do next.
Inspiring tales of neighbors helping their elderly friend’s grocery shop, businesses creating homemade sanitizers, and stores modifying their hours to shield the community during the pandemic’s wrath moved Reynolds to hatch an idea.
“I thought, I have four children – all school-age – also trying to navigate online school, and we are fortunate enough to have two computers and iPads for them to share,” said Reynolds. “How are families in need who maybe have one computer or just a cell phone doing this? I wanted to try and provide computers to children in need. No strings attached – just a fair opportunity for all children to attend school online and seek the education they deserve.”
Like excited kids racing through a scavenger hunt, Reynolds, alongside his staff, turned over every rock to secure a palette of laptops – a hot commodity when the world turned remote. Tucked in a New Jersey warehouse, Reynolds finally scored, and 300 laptops were headed to Florida. In the end, the law firm gifted 500 computers to area children whose parents applied through Reynolds’ website.
“I put out a message on social media on a Friday and planned to do a commercial,” said Reynolds, an Orlando native who you may catch dribbling on a basketball court or coaching on the sports fields. “Well, by Sunday, all the laptops were spoken for. I didn’t even get to the commercial.”
Anxiously waiting in the law firm’s laptop pick up car line, Wyatt Harbour bounced with sheer excitement to get his hands on his very own computer. The 9-year-old science lover with a talent for rattling off dinosaur names and a soft spot for Captain Underpants books, squeezed in school wedged between his mom, Kelly Harbour’s, work ZOOM meetings on the same computer.
As a single mom, Harbour rose before daybreak at 5 a.m. each morning to conquer a solid two hours of work before Wyatt woke up for school. Pushing through the challenges of ADHD, Wyatt relies on extra support in his education journey.
“It was incredibly hard-working on one computer,” said Harbour. “Because Wyatt is special needs, I can’t just give him a list of what to do. He needed frequent breaks. I was very frazzled and stressed. The new laptop made everything easier for both of us, and it made him more excited and invested in his work. Kids like Wyatt are at risk for falling behind, but having his own laptop made him really excel.”
Harbour expressed gratitude for the law firm’s generosity and compassion.
“They recognized a need and stepped up without being asked,” said Harbour. “That’s immeasurable. As a single parent without any family here to help, I’m so grateful for the resources they made available, and they don’t expect anything from you in return.”
Particularly compelled to support children, Reynolds’ laptop distribution touched hundreds of Manatee and Sarasota county students who could keep their new laptops.
“I deal with accident victims a lot,” said Reynolds. “While it is usually the parents who are hurt, it is the kids who suffer. Mom or dad is hurt, and they lose a job. I have a special place in my heart to help kids.”
While the laptop giveaway filled a pandemic need, Reynolds has historically gravitated toward grassroots advertising to both grow his business organically and support his community. Whether it’s his firm’s name stamped across the T-shirts of lacrosse players or his annual food, drive Christmas party, Reynolds alongside his wife, Mariah – a fourth-generation Bradentonian – strive to reinvest in their community.
“This is home,” said Reynolds with conviction in his voice. “This is where we are raising our children. We want them to have an even better community, an even better future.”
Drum beats from Manatee High School’s marching band serenade the law firm’s annual community Christmas party where kids line up for the petting zoo and cotton candy machine, and parents fill barrels with donated canned goods. A decade ago, the inaugural party produced one-barrel brimming with canned goods. Last year, the firm presented six barrels to the Food Bank of Manatee.
“People can come and donate one can or a whole case,” said Reynolds. “We’ll have 350 to 500 people come, and each one can participate in some way.”
Stretching out past the holiday season, Reynolds also commits each month to donate $1,000 to someone in need through SNN’s Helping Hand news segment. Reynolds relishes the chance to surprise recipients with an extra boost of cash from residents battling terminal illnesses, trying to spread awareness to parents struggling to make ends meet.
Tears pooled in the eyes of July’s recipient, Jess Marie – a makeup artist and mom to an autistic daughter who relies on occupational and speech therapies. When Covid hit, it cleared her income, and she struggled to provide support services for her daughter as schools closed. Reynolds not only surprised her with $1,000, but he also presented her with a laptop.
“For someone to see me, even without the money or computer, to see something outside of themselves, is comforting to my heart,” said Marie, with emotion rattling in her voice.
As if sharing a deep-rooted epiphany, Reynolds paused for a moment in his office and expressed how critical it is to show his children the importance of giving back. Reynolds, the oldest of six siblings, dug out a cherished holiday family memory as if it was perfectly preserved in a snow globe. With a father who worked in real estate at the time, Reynolds’ family rode a seesaw of highs and lows financially.
One Christmas, his family, was riding high, and as teenagers, they all knew it.
Smiles stretched ear-to-ear when his dad told the clan to hop in their Tropic Traveler van to head to the mall. Their reward: Pick anything you want in a store. Reynolds snatched up a coveted Walk-Man.
“When we got home, my dad told us to wrap the gifts we chose,” said Reynolds, who years later inspired his father to achieve a law degree at 62-years-old. “We were confused until he revealed he knew a couple of families in need with kids our ages. He told us we were giving our gifts to them, and we weren’t happy.”
Then the magic happened. Sparkling lights glowed Christmas Eve as Reynolds joined his father’s hand, delivering the gifts on front porches – ringing doorbells and slipping away unseen.
“It was my favorite Christmas, and it stuck with me,” said Reynolds as tears collected in his eyes. “In the weeks that followed, we ran into some of these families, and we could see their joy. This really impacted me.”
A collection of handwritten thank-you notes and colorful, happy pictures of kids with their laptops cover a table at the law firm. The sweet messages, scrawled in pencil and adorned with hearts, reveal the impact Reynolds has composed. Some messages boast photographs of the children clutching their laptops with giant grins and a grip that hints they may never set their prized position down again.
“It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done,” Reynolds said. “It’s a feeling I can’t describe.”
