Everywhere you turn, there are opportunities to share your time, talent and financial support. From toy and food drives to inviting those without families to share the holiday with you. Of course, when it comes to children, the holidays bring on extra importance as so many are in need. One such effort that addresses those children is Operation Christmas Child. That program is in full swing around town as numerous churches and non profits participate in filling shoe boxes with gifts for children to be sent all over the world.
At the Coral Gables Woman’s Club meeting in late October, volunteers began their effort filling numerous boxes. Those gift boxes were then delivered by club member Lili Nin to the Coral Gables Museum where there was a final push with a goal of packing 300 boxes. Volunteer Elizabeth Losada was delighted to report that they exceeded their goal with 503 boxes donated and ready to go. Participating in this annual program is certainly a great way to usher in the holidays.
This is the time of year that the Jr. Orange Bowl is also in full swing as well as the Merrick Festival Caroling Competition which is a gift to the entire community with a week of free nightly concerts in front of the 550 Biltmore Building in the Coral Gables. School choirs from all over Miami-Dade County compete for cash prizes during this annual event held Nov. 30 – Dec. 4 with an awards show Dec. 6. For more information, visit carolingcompetition.org. Among the South Miami schools participating will be St. Thomas the Apostle, South Miami Senior High School, and South Miami Middle School. Kudos to Sally Baumgartner Goodman for orchestrating this amazing choir competition every year. It is certainly an act of love and provides a beautiful way to showcase the talent of our students.
A change of venue comes this year for the 2016 Junior Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will be hosted at Miami Palmetto High School. The National field is set with eight boys and eight girls Varsity Basketball Teams competing on December 27-30. The Basketball Classic will host teams from Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, and Alabama to take on local high schools including Miami Palmetto, Ferguson, Miami High, Nova, South Broward, South Miami, Coral Gables, McArthur, and Mater Academy.
The Varsity Basketball Classic is the featured event in a Basketball series hosted by the Junior Orange Bowl, which includes a JV and Middle School Classic, a Warm Up Tournament in October, an All Star event in March and more.
You can follow all of the Junior Orange Bowl Basketball action on social media, via Junior Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Facebook, and JrOrBowlClassic on Twitter.Rotary Roundup Hoedown and Auction benefits Give Kids the World and Rotary Scholarships.
Finally, a shout out to all those schools who participated in the inaugural Jr. Orange Bowl Robotics Competition. It was an amazing success packing the Miami Springs Rec Center. Thanksgiving weekend brings yet another huge event, the Jr. Orange Bowl Parade in downtown Coral Gables, 4 p.m. on Nov. 27, followed by the Sports Ability Games the following week. For information on all the action, visit www.jrorangebowl.org.
Until next time, keep making each day count.
