Students honored and Woman’s Clubs continue outreach

The Independent Schools of South Florida, which has a membership of more than 60 non-public accredited schools, recently conducted the organization’s annual Star Luncheon at the Doubletree during which a candidate from each schools elementary, middle and senior high classes was selected to be honored.

In addition, trophies were awarded to the schools who participated in the spelling and geography bees conducted at the clubhouse of the GFWC Coral Gables Woman’s Club over several months.

Several members of that organization, including club president Linda Hartwell, were on hand at the luncheon to accept an appreciation plaque for generously donating their clubhouse facility allowing Dr. Teri Logan, executive director of the ISSF, and her board to make the “bees” affordable to all the schools wanting to enter students in the competitions.

In other student-related activity, for the past several years Gulliver Prep’s Interact Club, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Coral Gables, has been producing a most entertaining fashion show, the school’s largest student-run fundraising event of the year. This year’s affair raised several thousand dollars which the club split between three charities: Chapman Partnership, Easter Seals and a new charity this year, Give Kids the World (GKTW).

GKTW, an organization which provides children with life threatening illnesses a week-long vacation in the Orlando area with their families, is a favorite charity of the Westin Colonnade for which it holds several fundraisers during the year. On behalf of GKTW, the Westin’s general manager Mike Wurster accepted a $2,000 check from the Gulliver Interact Club’s president, Dillon Patel, and president elect Nicole Tufts, who chaired the Fashion Show.

Patel and Tufts were invited to a lunch in the Westin’s 1862 Restaurant along with fellow members Ravi Patel, Michael Pelle and Nicole Rubin as a small thank you to the group for its support of GKTW. Executive chef Thomas Russo even prepared a special dessert for the occasion. As for Give Kids the World, the Westin will hold an ice cream breakfast in July to help raise additional funds. Look for more on that in the future. It always is a kid favorite.

A recent GFWC Coco Plum Woman’s Club fundraiser raised $2,000 for Feeding South Florida. During this memorable year in which the club celebrated its 100th birthday, the club also donated $3,000 to Patches, a day care center for underprivileged and medically challenged infants and children in Homestead; $3,000 to Chapman Foundation for the Chapmen Partnership that empowers homeless men, women and children to build a positive future by providing the resources and assistance critical to growth and stability; $3,000 to Casa Valentina that helps youth transition successfully from foster care to independent living, and $1,000 to Art Spring Inc. whose mission is to use arts-based educational programming to develop self-growth and effective life skills for incarcerated woman, men and youth as well as other atrisk populations in underserved communities.

Checks in the amount of $2,000 also were sent to Children’s Home Society, $1,000 to South Florida Urban Ministries/Branches, $1,000 to Camillus House and $1,000 to Miami Rescue Mission.