Katherina Gonzalez, 19, said she never really got excited about Christmas before this year. Sitting near her 10-month-old Mila’s high chair clutching an accounting textbook, she talks about how her excitement for Christmas has changed.
“Now I have a reason to be excited,” she said. “It’s the birth of Christ so you have that spirit and with the baby it’s so much fun.”
This is Gonzalez’s first Christmas as a new mother and her second at Lifeline Family Center.
Lifeline is a charity that supports and houses unwed mothers and is home away from home for many young women this holiday season, most left with nowhere to go after they became pregnant.
This holiday, local churches have stepped in to help fulfill these women’s holiday wish-lists. For many, this is their first Christmas with their child as a new mother.
“We have been blessed with a ton of donations for the girls and the babies,” said assistant director Jenna Steffel. “With the little ones they really get into the spirit.”
Lifeline’s lobby is decorated with a Christmas tree and angel ornaments. Its conference room is filled with donated toys and baby items for the families living in the center.
Some of those items will be wrapped and stored under the tree for baby Mila. This is her first Christmas. Gonzalez said Mila’s first visit by Santa Claus was not a happy experience for the 10-month-old.
“She didn’t like him,” she said laughing. “She wouldn’t stop crying. She didn’t like him at all.”
Right now, Lifeline is hosting 11 women, with three expecting, and 11 babies. Some of the young women came in with toddlers. Gonzalez has been living at the center for about 15 months.
“When I got pregnant, I went to this clinic,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
She said a nurse at the clinic told her about the Lifeline program.
“She told me about it and it was like a miracle,” Gonzalez said.
During the year, the center provides food and shelter while encouraging the young women to continue their education. Once the baby is born, the new family stays at the center and is welcome until their child’s second birthday.
“So they can build a better life for them and their baby,” Steffel said. “It’s a personal journey. They become more focused on their schooling, then going out into the real world.”
Since being at the center, Gonzalez has obtained her GED and is now in an accounting program.
“I never thought I’d be good at math,” Gonzalez said. “I just started liking it and got better and better at it.”
Steffel said one of Lifeline’s main goals is the women’s education and that all are working for their GED or a program in higher education.
Steffel said a center this size could not operate without support and she said they have about 70 to 80 volunteers. They assist with everything from working in the nursery, to tutoring, to helping with mailings and promotional items .
Volunteer Dee Schuster has been working with the center since last March .
She said the nursery has touched her heart and that’s where she spends the most time. “It’s where I want to be. When I started, there were three kids but now there are 11,” Schuster said. “It’s a full house.”
Showing posts with label Feature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feature. Show all posts
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Making pizza spices up kids' lives in Cape Coral
Dough was tossed, toppings were placed, pizza was cooked and kids snacked with a smile.
Three children from the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida received a welcome from Chef Todd Johnson in Cape Harbor on Saturday for the third annual Cooking with Todd event. Johnson created the event to help give children with cancer and other illnesses a diversion from treatment.
Pizza-making started with high fives, followed with flour being poured into an industrial size mixer. The children formed the dough, spread the sauce and placed toppings on their very own pizza.
“She’s been looking forward to it for a few weeks now,” Mindy Russell said about her 4-year-old Caliah.
Caliah said she was looking forward to making the dough. She created a mushroom and pineapple pizza. Caliah has acute lymphoblastic leukemia which has recently gone into remission.
“She’s a little trooper. She’s been amazing through all of it,” Russell said.
After the kids ate their fill, the group went to Run Agrounds, a gelato shop in Cape Harbor, to learn how to make their own gelato. The kids mixed vanilla and cinnamon gelato adding their favorite toppings to create a special flavor.
Duane Higgins, with the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation, said this event is a precursor for the Celebrity Chef Night fundraiser Wednesday at Rumrunners in Cape Harbor. The night benefits Barbara’s Friends, a part of the foundation dedicated to providing local treatment for children with cancer.
“It’s really about these kids,” Higgins said. “That’s why we raise the money, have the night and we don't want the purpose of that to get lost.”
Johnson has helped host the Celebrity Chef Night for eight years.
“For me it reinforces where the money goes, we really enjoy it,” Johnson said.
He said he thought of making pizza with children after reminding himself of the time he worked at Pizza Hut when he was 15. The restaurant brought in kids from the March of Dimes to help Johnson make pizza.
“To see the enjoyment the kids have on their faces making pizzas, it always stuck with me,” he said.
Three children from the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida received a welcome from Chef Todd Johnson in Cape Harbor on Saturday for the third annual Cooking with Todd event. Johnson created the event to help give children with cancer and other illnesses a diversion from treatment.
Pizza-making started with high fives, followed with flour being poured into an industrial size mixer. The children formed the dough, spread the sauce and placed toppings on their very own pizza.
“She’s been looking forward to it for a few weeks now,” Mindy Russell said about her 4-year-old Caliah.
Caliah said she was looking forward to making the dough. She created a mushroom and pineapple pizza. Caliah has acute lymphoblastic leukemia which has recently gone into remission.
“She’s a little trooper. She’s been amazing through all of it,” Russell said.
After the kids ate their fill, the group went to Run Agrounds, a gelato shop in Cape Harbor, to learn how to make their own gelato. The kids mixed vanilla and cinnamon gelato adding their favorite toppings to create a special flavor.
Duane Higgins, with the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation, said this event is a precursor for the Celebrity Chef Night fundraiser Wednesday at Rumrunners in Cape Harbor. The night benefits Barbara’s Friends, a part of the foundation dedicated to providing local treatment for children with cancer.
“It’s really about these kids,” Higgins said. “That’s why we raise the money, have the night and we don't want the purpose of that to get lost.”
Johnson has helped host the Celebrity Chef Night for eight years.
“For me it reinforces where the money goes, we really enjoy it,” Johnson said.
He said he thought of making pizza with children after reminding himself of the time he worked at Pizza Hut when he was 15. The restaurant brought in kids from the March of Dimes to help Johnson make pizza.
“To see the enjoyment the kids have on their faces making pizzas, it always stuck with me,” he said.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
City employees rescue dog out of canal
Every dog has its day and on May 23 it was Rudy's.
Vincent Morelli and Michael Martinez, two city of Cape Coral employees, fished the shepherd mix out of a canal at SE 31st Terrace and SE 11th Place.
Morelli and Martinez have been commended by public works staff for saving the dog. The department heard about the rescue after owner Tina Torres wrote a letter thanking the pair.
Morelli and Martinez noticed Rudy, treading water and exhausted, underneath a dock while they were collecting bins from the canal.
"He was stuck in the water," Morelli said. "He was surrounded by sea-walls - he would have drowned."
It's unknown how long Rudy was in the water.
"We had to use somebody's boat line to get him out," said Morelli, who lassoed the dog with the line to get him up the ladder. They placed the dog safely on a dock.
Morelli contacted Lee County Domestic Animal Services about finding the dog in the canal. Animal services contacted the Torres family and after a meeting with Morelli they were reunited with their family pet.
"It was nice to give back someone's dog who was alive," Morelli said.
The Torres family was looking for Rudy since he went missing late the night before. Rudy slipped out the back door. At 2:45 a.m. Tina's son, Blake Michie, came in her room looking for Rudy.
"Victor (her husband) and I jumped out of bed," Tina Torres said.
Torres said that her husband rode a bike and she drove all around the neighborhood looking for Rudy. The next morning they posted 40 fliers and called everyone they could think of who might have found him. Around 2 p.m. the next day, animal services called saying that a man found their dog in a canal.
"My heart sunk," Torres said. "I didn't know what shape he was in."
When the Torres family arrived to pick up Rudy, they saw that he was lethargic and wobbling but they were glad to find him alive.
Rudy's fate could have been tragic had the workers not been there.
"The reason he (Morelli) was on scene was because of the adopt a canal program," said Steve Naso, Morelli's supervisor.
Public works employees stop by blue trash barrels along the canal either weekly or biweekly to scoop out trash and debris. Morelli and Martinez were out taking care of the bins when they spotted Rudy.
Morelli said nine times out of 10 the animal doesn't make it out of the canal.
"Most dogs are runners," Naso said. "They don't realize. Most of the time they're not alive (when found)."
After the Torres brought Rudy back home he started to have difficulty breathing. He was rushed to Chiquita Animal Hospital, and employees there determined Rudy's lungs were full of water. He had consumed a lot of salt water and debris.
"He was drowning," Torres said. "That was basically what was happening inside (his lungs)."
The doctor said Rudy was lucky to be alive.
Rudy has been with the family for nine years, and the Torres also have a toy poodle named Toby.
"He loves everybody," Torres said. "He gets so upset if he doesn't get attention. We're just so thankful."
Rudy is expected to make a full recovery.
Vincent Morelli and Michael Martinez, two city of Cape Coral employees, fished the shepherd mix out of a canal at SE 31st Terrace and SE 11th Place.
Morelli and Martinez have been commended by public works staff for saving the dog. The department heard about the rescue after owner Tina Torres wrote a letter thanking the pair.
Morelli and Martinez noticed Rudy, treading water and exhausted, underneath a dock while they were collecting bins from the canal.
"He was stuck in the water," Morelli said. "He was surrounded by sea-walls - he would have drowned."
It's unknown how long Rudy was in the water.
"We had to use somebody's boat line to get him out," said Morelli, who lassoed the dog with the line to get him up the ladder. They placed the dog safely on a dock.
Morelli contacted Lee County Domestic Animal Services about finding the dog in the canal. Animal services contacted the Torres family and after a meeting with Morelli they were reunited with their family pet.
"It was nice to give back someone's dog who was alive," Morelli said.
The Torres family was looking for Rudy since he went missing late the night before. Rudy slipped out the back door. At 2:45 a.m. Tina's son, Blake Michie, came in her room looking for Rudy.
"Victor (her husband) and I jumped out of bed," Tina Torres said.
Torres said that her husband rode a bike and she drove all around the neighborhood looking for Rudy. The next morning they posted 40 fliers and called everyone they could think of who might have found him. Around 2 p.m. the next day, animal services called saying that a man found their dog in a canal.
"My heart sunk," Torres said. "I didn't know what shape he was in."
When the Torres family arrived to pick up Rudy, they saw that he was lethargic and wobbling but they were glad to find him alive.
Rudy's fate could have been tragic had the workers not been there.
"The reason he (Morelli) was on scene was because of the adopt a canal program," said Steve Naso, Morelli's supervisor.
Public works employees stop by blue trash barrels along the canal either weekly or biweekly to scoop out trash and debris. Morelli and Martinez were out taking care of the bins when they spotted Rudy.
Morelli said nine times out of 10 the animal doesn't make it out of the canal.
"Most dogs are runners," Naso said. "They don't realize. Most of the time they're not alive (when found)."
After the Torres brought Rudy back home he started to have difficulty breathing. He was rushed to Chiquita Animal Hospital, and employees there determined Rudy's lungs were full of water. He had consumed a lot of salt water and debris.
"He was drowning," Torres said. "That was basically what was happening inside (his lungs)."
The doctor said Rudy was lucky to be alive.
Rudy has been with the family for nine years, and the Torres also have a toy poodle named Toby.
"He loves everybody," Torres said. "He gets so upset if he doesn't get attention. We're just so thankful."
Rudy is expected to make a full recovery.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wesley Coffee house- CLASS ASSIGNMENT
This article is an unpublished story that I wrote for my professor Dr. Bruce Garrison for his feature writing class in the fall of my junior year. The assignment was to write a "Color Story".
Teal walls and a hodgepodge of floor lamps backlit the dim make-shift stage. Four songwriters sat in a line with guitars, banjos and a piano with a large wooden cross in the back corner of the room.
Free coffee, tea and cookies lined the small tables on the perimeter of the room. The open door let in the evening breeze. People sat at gospel music sheet covered tables and mismatched chairs. The show was about to begin.
On Thursdays, the on-campus Wesley Methodist Center hosts a music night called the Wesley Coffee House. The campus ministry has featured students from the Frost School of Music. The event is free and there are also free refreshments. This coffee house night featured four student singer-songwriters, Natalie York, CJ Tywoniak, Ben Goldsmith and Tori Tullier. The students performed in a Nashville Round, meaning they all sang back up for each other’s original songs.
“This was my first time at the songwriter’s night,” said junior Sarah Thomas. “I liked it a lot. The great original songs reminded me of all the little bars and coffee shops back home in Nashville.”
Senior Frost School of Music student Tori Tullier looked ethereal in a white empire waist top and sang to a packed house “Waiting on a road that’s never met a footprint/and I’ll be there if you want a ride.”
“It was my first time performing at the Wesley Coffee House,” said Tullier. “I really enjoyed it because it was a smaller venue so it was more personal. I felt calm because I knew a lot of friends were in the audience.”
Friends caught up between songs and squished onto the circle of couches that was the impromptu front row. These were regulars and they know how to get the most out of the night.
“I always went last year,” said sophomore Dan Barnett. “I enjoy the music and atmosphere. It’s a good chance to play and meet other musicians.”
The music continued and the songwriters created a rapport with the crowd.
“Those homeless people really liked it so hope you guys do too,” joked senior Natalie York.
She was referring to a story about performing her “I Love You” song outside to no one but the local Miami homeless population.
The songs were received with great attention by the audience. The standing room only crowd was silent during the folksy renditions of the student’s original songs. Ben Goldsmith broke into a rendition of Tom Petty’s Free Falling, prompting the entire crowd to sing along, and Natalie York elicited laughs for her Flight of the Conchords inspired Sugar Lumps piece.
“I like the vibe, it’s down to earth,” said senior Maggie Debarberie. “You can talk or just listen, you can eat, do homework. You can come and go as you please.”
The music started at eight but people trickled in throughout the night. Some wore sweatpants and a University of Miami shirt while others were dressed up for a night on the town. Some people came with friends while others were by themselves leaning on the wall by the door absorbing the night. More students and locals came later on to watch the open mic portion of the Wesley coffee house.
“It’s great because it warms you up with their music,” said senior Amanda Miesnieks. “It [the coffee house] really encourages having people play your own music.”
The nervous students leave their guitar cases in the corners of the room and sign up on a single piece of notebook paper that’s tearing at the spiral edges.
After about an hour, the Nashville Round performance came to a conclusion and there was a short break. During the break everyone got up and some grabbed a M&M cookie while they socialized with the friends that were sitting on the other side of the room. The open mic performers started to get mentally prepared for their upcoming performance, nervously laughing with their friends. Some were regulars to the open mic while for others it was their first time.
“Here you get a chance to sit down lay back and soak in the talent of the Frost Music School,” said Barnett.
The coffee house was a great night for both the audience and the performers. The relaxing atmosphere was a great change to a usually hectic Thursday night.
“I would love to perform again,” said Tullier. “I'm so happy I was able to be a part of it. Miami isn't really known for being a songwriting town the way Nashville or Athens is, so it's nice to showcase the talent that we have in the school in a relaxed environment.”
Teal walls and a hodgepodge of floor lamps backlit the dim make-shift stage. Four songwriters sat in a line with guitars, banjos and a piano with a large wooden cross in the back corner of the room.
Free coffee, tea and cookies lined the small tables on the perimeter of the room. The open door let in the evening breeze. People sat at gospel music sheet covered tables and mismatched chairs. The show was about to begin.
On Thursdays, the on-campus Wesley Methodist Center hosts a music night called the Wesley Coffee House. The campus ministry has featured students from the Frost School of Music. The event is free and there are also free refreshments. This coffee house night featured four student singer-songwriters, Natalie York, CJ Tywoniak, Ben Goldsmith and Tori Tullier. The students performed in a Nashville Round, meaning they all sang back up for each other’s original songs.
“This was my first time at the songwriter’s night,” said junior Sarah Thomas. “I liked it a lot. The great original songs reminded me of all the little bars and coffee shops back home in Nashville.”
Senior Frost School of Music student Tori Tullier looked ethereal in a white empire waist top and sang to a packed house “Waiting on a road that’s never met a footprint/and I’ll be there if you want a ride.”
“It was my first time performing at the Wesley Coffee House,” said Tullier. “I really enjoyed it because it was a smaller venue so it was more personal. I felt calm because I knew a lot of friends were in the audience.”
Friends caught up between songs and squished onto the circle of couches that was the impromptu front row. These were regulars and they know how to get the most out of the night.
“I always went last year,” said sophomore Dan Barnett. “I enjoy the music and atmosphere. It’s a good chance to play and meet other musicians.”
The music continued and the songwriters created a rapport with the crowd.
“Those homeless people really liked it so hope you guys do too,” joked senior Natalie York.
She was referring to a story about performing her “I Love You” song outside to no one but the local Miami homeless population.
The songs were received with great attention by the audience. The standing room only crowd was silent during the folksy renditions of the student’s original songs. Ben Goldsmith broke into a rendition of Tom Petty’s Free Falling, prompting the entire crowd to sing along, and Natalie York elicited laughs for her Flight of the Conchords inspired Sugar Lumps piece.
“I like the vibe, it’s down to earth,” said senior Maggie Debarberie. “You can talk or just listen, you can eat, do homework. You can come and go as you please.”
The music started at eight but people trickled in throughout the night. Some wore sweatpants and a University of Miami shirt while others were dressed up for a night on the town. Some people came with friends while others were by themselves leaning on the wall by the door absorbing the night. More students and locals came later on to watch the open mic portion of the Wesley coffee house.
“It’s great because it warms you up with their music,” said senior Amanda Miesnieks. “It [the coffee house] really encourages having people play your own music.”
The nervous students leave their guitar cases in the corners of the room and sign up on a single piece of notebook paper that’s tearing at the spiral edges.
After about an hour, the Nashville Round performance came to a conclusion and there was a short break. During the break everyone got up and some grabbed a M&M cookie while they socialized with the friends that were sitting on the other side of the room. The open mic performers started to get mentally prepared for their upcoming performance, nervously laughing with their friends. Some were regulars to the open mic while for others it was their first time.
“Here you get a chance to sit down lay back and soak in the talent of the Frost Music School,” said Barnett.
The coffee house was a great night for both the audience and the performers. The relaxing atmosphere was a great change to a usually hectic Thursday night.
“I would love to perform again,” said Tullier. “I'm so happy I was able to be a part of it. Miami isn't really known for being a songwriting town the way Nashville or Athens is, so it's nice to showcase the talent that we have in the school in a relaxed environment.”
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