Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

In this world there are two kinds of people according to Bob Loring—People he needs to help and people who will help him help others.

Many people might know the 66-year-old San Antonio resident from his work as coordinator for the East Pasco Toys for Tots. Through the program, Loring helps children in poverty to get toys at Christmas and many other things they need.

“The goal is to rally support for a good idea,” Loring said. “If you make it easy for people to participate, they will. I just have to make sure that we are helping kids really in need. The school system identifies the kids for me because I don’t know.”

Once a marine, always a marine is the way Loring looks at it and that is why he loves being the coordinator for the Marine Corps program. He said he learned to adapt and overcome in the Marine Corps and he applies that to everything he does.

“It is a mission of the Marine Corps reserve, it is not just a program to me,” Loring said. “I think the greatest fighting force in the world never stood taller then when they stoop to help a child. This program works. The best pay is when someone walks up and puts a toy down and says that is for when you helped me when I was a child.”

Through his work with the Toys for Tots program, Loring saw there was a need for more than just toys. As a result, he has helped to start the Skivvies for Tots program and a Food for Tots program.

“Through Skivvies for Tots, children get underwear, socks and toothbrushes from the local Rotary,” Loring said. “The Food for Tots program is faith-based. They set up when we are giving out the presents and hand out food for the kids and their families.”

Loring also helped to inspire Anna Fulk to create Projects of Pasco, a program that hands out brand-new backpacks filled with school supplies to children in need.

“He is the number one ace in the hole,” Fulk said. “If it wasn’t for Bob, I would not have got involved with Toys for Tots or with getting school supplies. If everybody in the world could take just one-fourth of what Bob is about, then we would not have the problems we have today. Whenever he speaks, it comes from the heart.”

In addition to providing them with the supplies they need, Loring also shows them possible careers.

“We don’t just give them backpacks, we take them to the veterinarian’s office to learn about that career,” Loring said. “I think that kids have to see something before they can make it a goal. They see the veterinarian and then if they want to work with the animals, they learn what they have to do in order to do it. It gives them a reason to study hard.”

Loring is always coming up with inventive ways to help the children living in poverty in Pasco like the new Bikes for Tots program. Through a partnership of the East Pasco Toys for Tots and Boy Scouts of America, boys aged 9-11 who are receiving help from Toys for Tots can receive a bicycle if they join Scouts.

“The goal is to get children in poverty into scouting,” Loring said. “They will get a bike, a helmet and the Scouts will provide them with uniforms. I want to make the American Dream available for all our children.”

The need for supplies continues to increase every year.

“Since I started Toys for Tots, I have had to plan for a 10 percent increase but since the economy went down more people need help then ever,” Loring said. “With people out of work right now the demand is even higher. I think one day the demand will overwhelm me.”

Instead of asking for help from the government, Loring feels it is the responsibility of the community to take care of people.

“Everything I am doing has nothing to do with federal grants, state funding or local county funding,” Loring said. “It should be our community responsibility because if not it can’t be replicated. The federal funding is only good for maybe a few years but then it ends.”

Another project close to Loring’s heart is the American Dream Congress he started almost nine years ago because he felt people who work with children should network together. He invites teachers, students and any organization with an interest in children like Boy Scouts of America and the Salvation Army.

“We need to make sure all the services aren’t overlapping and find out what each other is up to,” Loring said. “When people start talking together, there are so many possibilities. I think people who work with children couldn’t work harder but we can work smarter.”

Loring moved to San Antonio from Miami in 1996 with his wife, Claudia, because his daughter Noelle Loring was going to school at the University of South Florida. Currently she lives in St. Petersburg.

“I was just planning on sitting here and watching the grass grow,” Loring said. “Then I got the call from the Marine Corp to help coordinate the Toys for Tots and I accepted the mission. I have become the face of it, but there are many other people helping to put this together. I wouldn’t be able to do this without all the help I get.”

In addition to Toys for Tots, Loring is also active in many other areas like the San Antonio Rotary Club, the Rotary E-Club, the Salvation Army, the Marine Corps League and The Samaritan Project in Zephyrhills.

Loring is a charter member and the current chaplain of the Marine Corps League in the area.

“The league is designed to promote the Marine Corps and to take care of our own,” Loring said. “We are not political but we manage to oversee anything affecting our veterans.”

In addition to all the things he does in the community, Loring also writes book reviews for Leatherneck, a Marine Corps magazine.

“I read a lot of military history because of my book reviews, but I like to read a lot of things,” Loring said. “I take it very seriously because I have a chance to influence the reading habits of marines. I also get the opportunity to talk to the living legends that write these books.”

Loring is motivated to help children in poverty because when he was young, he did not have much either.

“When I was a kid my dad was a teacher,” Loring said. “He was a brilliant man and he could have done a lot of things and make a lot of money but he didn’t.  I wasn’t like the Toys for Tots children.”

He was also inspired to help because of all the good service he saw his dad Robert H. Loring and his grandfather Arthur Binford provide.

“They did what I do for the families in need when I was a child,” Loring said. “I get to get goods and services for the people who need them. They had the idea that a person belongs to the community, that there is a give and take.”

As another motivator, Loring said he likes to help people because there was a time in his life where he was not the best person. He is an alcoholic, but he has not had a drink since 1982.

“I never got in trouble but I did cause grief, pain and unhappiness for some people,” Loring said.

For more information, visit www.toysfortotspasco.org.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Linda Salin remembers lying on the bathroom floor, unable to sleep, overwhelmed with crippling pain and depression.

She had been diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, a painful and at times debilitating bladder condition associated with urinary frequency. An estimated 8 million women suffer from the disease.

“I didn’t want to live the way I was living,” Salin said. “I went to my doctor and said you have to do something about my pain or the next time you see me it’ll be in a cemetery. It was that bad.”

That was nearly 20 years ago. Today, the symptoms of Salin’s disease are under control, due in part to the Interstitial Cystitis Association, a nonprofit dedicated to finding new treatments for IC.

Salin, a Land O’ Lakes resident, is employed as a patient advocate and information specialist for the organization. She and 200 other ICA representatives will visit Capitol Hill March 25 to meet with congress members about research needed to find a cure for IC.

“We are going to urge them to continue funding,” Salin said. “People with IC can feel like they can’t go on another minute and they can’t get good medical care because doctors still don’t have enough knowledge about the disease.”

Interstitial Cystitis is defined as pelvic pain, pressure or discomfort related to the bladder and typically associated with urinary frequency and urgency in absence of infection. It causes thinning of the bladder, tightening of the pelvic wall and can cause ulcers in the pelvic region. Some IC patients use the bathroom up to 60 times a day, causing extreme strain on the pelvic muscles.

While the illness affects mostly women, men can also have the disease. Approximately 82,000 men are currently being treated for IC, but it is suspected many more have it. Urologists may misinterpret the symptoms as a prostate problem and not investigate further.

Salin said the disease is often misdiagnosed.

“It is treated as a urinary tract infection or doctors think that you are making it up,” Salin said. “A lot of doctors want to help but don’t know how. The ICA is trying to change that by making people more aware of the disease.”

According to the ICA, the best way to diagnose IC is with a cystoscopy under anesthesia, where the bladder is slowly stretched. The test can show bladder changes typical of IC, but sometimes the diagnosis is still missed.

There is no cure for IC but it can be treated in a variety of ways. Patients may take Elmiron, the only oral medicine specifically for the disease. Pain relievers, antihistamines and anti-depressants are also given to IC patients. Bladder distentions, bladder instillations and physical therapy are also used.

Physical therapist Shayne Tarrance specializes in helping women with pelvic pain at her Westchase office.  She has treated Salin.

“Twenty-five percent of my practice is IC patients,” Tarrance said. “It can be extremely painful and cause urgency to where patients are going to the bathroom every few minutes. I work with them by going into the pelvic wall and using different techniques to relax the muscles. I also use behavioral modification to help patients retrain their bladder.

Salin currently uses a combination of pain medications, muscle relaxants and physical therapy. She also eats a diet low in acidic foods, which are known to worsen IC symptoms.

“You have to find the right treatments that work for you,” Salin said. “Physical therapy really helped turn things around for me. When I first started therapy, I couldn’t take a 20-minute car ride without having to rush to the bathroom. Physical therapy changed that.”

Salin said she became involved with the ICA to help keep others from suffering the way she did in the past. She was fortunate to have the support of her husband and children, but not everyone does. The ICA offers patient support and education so patients know they are not helpless.

Salin is looking forward to meeting with congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite to discuss the possibilities for IC research. She plans to share her personal story and the potentially devastating life effects of IC.

“There was a point when I felt like giving up,“ Salin said. “The most important thing is to keep trying. I want people to know they can get help. There is hope.”

If you think your might have IC or for information on the disease visit www.ichelp.org.

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

Each spring thousands of people across the United States stay up all night walking, but they are not all sleepwalking. They walk to raise cancer awareness and to remember those taken by the disease.

“The relays go through the night because cancer never sleeps,” said Stephanie Watts, community representative for the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Pasco Unit. “The relays are 18 hours long and the goal is to first raise awareness about cancer so people get screenings to detect it as early as possible. It also raises money for the ACS to fight the disease.”

Watts, who is born and raised in Pasco Lutz, has worked with ACS for more than two years. She estimates that 10,000 people will participate in Pasco relays this year.

Each relay’s theme and size vary, but the first in Pasco is always in Zephyrhills.

“Our theme this year is ‘close the book on cancer,’” said Tammy Struble, chairwoman for the Zephyrhills relay. “We’ll start the evening with a survivor dinner at 5 p.m. and then we’ll have our survivor lap at 6 p.m. Anyone who had or has cancer walks the first lap of the night.”

When asked why those with cancer participate in the survivor lap, Watts said, “We believe you’re a survivor the day you’re diagnosed with cancer. The lap is very powerful and emotional, especially for those who have been newly diagnosed.”

The survivor lap is one of the constants at all relays.

Mary “Mud” Lane has been participating in the Zephyrhills relay for four years and is a co-captain for Team Trouble with Struble.

“It’s something you don’t want to miss,” Lane said of the survivor lap. “The relay is wonderful and it’s a good cause because the money goes to those who need it.”

Struble said Team Trouble started four years ago with a group of family and friends. It now includes several of Struble’s co-workers from H&R Block. The company’s Zephyrhills and Dade City locations have been helping the team raise money that will be presented to the ACS at the relay March 26.

“The different relay teams raise money throughout the year with events like potluck dinners,” Watts said. “The teams will also have different activities at their tents along the track during each relay. The activities usually cost a couple of dollars and are family friendly.”

The combined money is donated to the ACS during each relay. Teams are given various awards based on how much money it raises. Teams get a bronze award for donating $2,500 or a silver one for giving $5,000. If a team brings in $10,000 it receives gold status.

The Pasco relays raised close to $600,000 last year according to Watts. Of that, $66,000 came from the Zephyrhills relay. The goal for this year is $651,000.

All relays in Pasco have to keep their administrative costs lower than 10 percent to insure that most of the money goes where donators intended. The Zephyrhills relay keeps its administrative costs at three percent according to Struble.

“The relays are a partnership between ACS employees like myself and the wonderful volunteers like Tammy and all the others in Pasco County,” Watts said. “There are 200,000 volunteers just in Florida and only 400 staff, so it’s the volunteers who make the relays happen.”

All three women began working or volunteering with ACS because their lives were touched by cancer.

“Both my father (Phil Hane) and stepfather (Fred Otto) died of cancer,” Struble said. “My father had prostate cancer and my stepfather died just last year of lymphoma…It’s a disease that I think has touched everyone and I just wanted to do something to help fight it.”

Watts agrees with Struble on cancer’s reach.

“I haven’t met someone that wasn’t touched by cancer in some way,” Watts said. “My great-grandma (Minnie Belle Nelson) had ovarian cancer, which is called the silent killer because women don’t usually start having signs until it has progressed too far. I remember her battle with cancer and it changed my life.”

Lane was directly affected by the disease.

“I’m a 26-year survivor of thyroid cancer and my daughter Whitney is an 11-year survivor of (thyroid cancer) too,” Lane said. “I’m a professional hair dresser and I’ve started doing the ‘Look Good…Feel Better’ programs at the Florida Cancer Institute-New Hope on Gall

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

The stakes are high for the winner of the Rockus Maximus XIII Battle of the Bands with a chance to open for Motion City Soundtrack at State Theatre April 24 in St. Petersburg.

Bands from Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, Holiday, Fort Myers, Regency Park and Clearwater will play from 6 to 11 p.m. March 26 at Crews Lake Park, 16739 Crews Lake Drive in Shady Hills. Some of the musical genres include metal core, punk, alternative/pop, classic rock/alternative and post-hardcore. Attendance is free with a current library card.

Land O’ Lakes resident John Gold will be playing at the show with his band John Gold in a Field of White Flowers. He describes his band as folk music but with weird song structures. The band is made up of all solo artists with Gold, 21, Jessi Sherbet, 17, Taylor Collier, 18, and Steven Garrett, 18.

“We are trying to forge a new genre,” Gold said. “Our song structures are different. We have an anything goes mentality. This is a good opportunity for my career choice, which is music. Being in this contest has taught me a lot about different musical genres. Watching the videos we have made has taught me I need to tap into a more professional type of approach.”

Paul Stonebridge, teen services manager at Land O’ Lakes Library, said it is important to get teens involved at the library.

“It is important to have these programs because it keeps people coming to the library for their whole lives,” Stonebridge said. “We have a lot of programs for young children and then we kind of let them go until they are adults. We want the teens to see the library as a valuable source of information. This helps to ensure the continuity of existence for the library.”

The event started out as just a battle of the bands 13 years ago, but has grown so much in the last three years they had to change the name to Rockus Maximus. They had to choose a name that would encompass how big the event has become. This year the show will have eight bands and if it is anything like last year, there will be at least 600 people attending.

“At the first battle, it was just a few bands but it has evolved now to something bigger,” Stonebridge said. “We want to educate them so when they leave us we want them to be able to rally the troops, lay down songs and be able to play in front of a crowd. These are all things bands need to know in order to become famous one day.”

The bands all had to make a video for the personality promotion contest. The band with the most votes on-line will win gift certificates from Encore Music in New Port Richey.

“Through the online voting competition, we got to see how well the bands win the hearts and minds of the voters,” Stonebridge said. “It is good for them to get used to playing music for a crowd, but it is also good for them to learn to promote themselves.”

All the online contests and promotions paid off when Pasco County Libraries won the Web Site of the Year from the Florida Library Association recently.

“We put a lot of effort into making sure we have something for everybody on our site,” Stonebridge said. “We have a whole group of people working on it to keep making it better.”

After library budget cuts last year, Stonebridge said he wasn’t sure if there was going to be an event this year.

“We named the event We Ain’t Dead Yet because we thought the event might be dead,” Stonebridge said. “We managed to rally enough community support to raise money to have the event.”

In order to have the event, the library needed $5,000. The library was able to raise the money with the help of teens, The Friends of the Library, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Monster Energy drinks and local businesses like Tijuana Flats in Land O’ Lakes.

“It started when we won the WWE contest,” Stonebridge said. “We decided since we had the first $2,000 we would try to raise the rest. Then Monster Energy drinks donated $1,000 worth of product that we sold. Encore Music donated gift certificates for our prizes and Morrisound Recording donated recording time.”

Bands and visitors to the show will have chances to win great prizes like the donated recording time at Morrisound Recording. The first place band will have 10 hours, the second place band will have five hours and the third place band will have three hours.

Visitors to the concert will have the chance to win one of two prize packs from Motion City Soundtrack. One of them is a T-shirt and their new CD “My Dinosaur Life” and the other is two tickets and meet and greet passes for the concert. Entry tickets will be available at the concession booth.

In honor of Noelle Park, a two-time cancer survivor and vice president of the teen advisory board, the library is raising money for All Children’s Hospital to benefit cancer research. There will be a bucket passed around at the event for the hospital and the library will be selling donated Monster Energy drinks.

In addition to the Rockus Maximus program, the library also offers an anime club, gaming nights and even karaoke and improv nights. Stonebridge said he runs the teen programs because he wants to provide a place for teens to go where they feel welcome.

“I think about when I was in high school,” Stonebridge said. “No one would listen to me. I felt like I had no say in my life. It is depressing when you have an idea and no one would listen.”

As incentive to keep the teens participating and interested, Stonebridge and some of the other librarians are willing to go to the extreme. Recently Stonebridge waxed his arm on camera because the teens were able to raise $216 for Rockus Maximus. Alicia Moon-Wan dyed her hair rainbow colors over the summer because the reading summer program was such a success. Over the seven-week program, 98 kids read about 1,000 books.

“Incentive always helps,” Stonebridge said. “It encourages them. They like to torment us and make us do something funny.”

For information, visit www.myspace.com/pascolibraries.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Ana Stooks is a mother of five, a wife and a devoted pro-life advocate. She also has an extensive background in nonprofit work, marketing and business.

This made her the perfect candidate for the executive director position at the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Pregnancy Center.

“She had all the qualities we were looking for in an executive director,” said the center’s co-founder Charlie Reese. “She has great business experience and the passion needed to run a pro-life ministry.”

The Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Pregnancy Center opened in August 2009 at 1528 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. The nonprofit offers free pregnancy testing, counseling and educational services to women of all ages. Up until now, the center ran entirely on the effort of volunteers and a 10-member board of directors.

Stooks is the first paid employee.

“I want to promote the center so that everyone in the area knows we are here,” Stooks said. “My background is in management and marketing, so I can use those skills to help the center grow. I want women to know if they have questions or are in need, we are here for them.”

Stooks is a graduate of Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She was formerly the program director for the Girl Scout Council in New York City and has worked as a training consultant for multiple businesses. More recently, she was a stay-at-home mom to her children, ages 5 to 13.

The job opening with the pregnancy center came just after her youngest entered kindergarten.

“Since all my kids are in school now, when I heard about this position, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to help women in the community,” Stooks said. “It’s not about starting up a career, it’s about saving lives. It’s a labor of love.”

Stooks said working at the center isn’t just about counseling young girls.

“We have women come in who already have children and are struggling financially, or women who are single and unsure what to do if they are pregnant,” Stooks said. “Unplanned pregnancies can happen to all ages.”

At the center, abortion is not treated as an option.

“When a woman comes in and finds out she is pregnant, we let her know she can get through it without having to choose abortion,” Stooks said. “We offer a support system. We have volunteers who are nurses, social workers and adoptive mothers working with clients.”

If clients ask about adoption, Stooks provides them with the necessary information.

“There are so many women out there who can’t have children and want to adopt,” Stooks said. “If clients choose adoption we work with them and help them prepare mentally.”

If a client chooses to keep her baby, volunteers counsel the client from day one to delivery and provide assistance after the baby is born.

“Moms can watch videos to learn about parenting and we have a store where they can shop for baby items,” Stooks said. “If a client watches a video, or reads material we give them, they can earn points to shop in the store.”

Stooks, who attends St. Timothy’s Church in Lutz, said working at the center is about giving moms a chance to choose life instead of abortion.

“I believe it is all in God’s hands,” she said. “God has a life planned for every baby that is created. I let clients know you can be young or single and still be a great parent.”

Kathy DeSanto, a registered OB nurse, is on the board of directors at the center. She admires Stooks’ commitment to the job.

“Ana is enthusiastic about saving lives,” DeSanto said. “That is what the center is all about. It is our mission. Ana helps motivate the team and make our mission a reality.”

Stooks said her family supports her work 100 percent.

“They’ve been at the center helping, folding baby clothes in the store and organizing pamphlets,” she said. “It’s a family affair.”

The Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Pregnancy Center is funded entirely by private donations and is not affiliated with any particular church.

For information, call (813) 948-PREG

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

At Land O’ Lakes Christian School, students learn more than just their ABC’s.

The school, 5105 School Road, is adding a new program in August for 3-year-olds by Sept. 1.

Students will actually be learning their letters shapes and sounds, their numbers and pre-writing and pre-reading skills. Denise Smith is assistant to the administrator and kindergarten and elementary school coordinator.

“All those learning habits will help them as they get older,” Smith said. “They also learn how to be in a social environment. They learn when it is OK to talk and when it is not their turn.”

Through the program, students will learn more than just the alphabet and numbers.

“We develop integrity and character,” Smith said. “We want it to be Godly character. It is based on all the fundamental things they need. We teach them to be responsible, compassionate, generous and truthful. It makes them a better person, not just a better learner.”

Even though the school does offer before and after school daycare, the new program will not be a daycare program.

“We take a three-prong approach to teaching,” Smith said. “We present them with the information in a variety of methods with auditory, visual and tactile. We are reaching them on all of these levels. It needs to be engaging and fun but there also has to be enough structure for them to be able to learn.”

Many people might think 3 is too young to start teaching but Smith does not agree.

“They are eager and ready at that age,” Smith said. “They are sponges. You just have to have the proper structure for developing appropriate practices and the 3-year-olds will thrive in that environment.”

When deciding to create the program, Smith said she was thinking about what the community needed.

“We are central to Pasco and Land O’ Lakes and we are trying to meet the needs of the families here,” Smith said.

The program will be offered in three ways. Students can be enrolled in a two-day program on Tuesday and Thursday, a three-day program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or a five-day program meeting all week.

“I know there are some children and parents who are not ready for a five day program,” Smith said. “Being able to meet people’s needs is a part of our Ministry. We serve the community through our love of Christ.”

In Robin de le Rosa’s 5-year-old kindergarten class, students are already learning to write in cursive.

Jorge Santana, 5, is in de le Rosa’s class at the school.

“I like it here because I have very many best friends,” Santana said.
Ella Knouse, 5, said she loves her class, too.

“I like my teacher because she teaches me good stuff,” Knouse said.

The school is a part of First Baptist Church of Land O’ Lakes. The church has been around 78 years and the school has been operating for more than 30 years. The school is fully accredited through the Department of Education and the PK3 and 4 programs have the gold seal, a designation from the Department of Children and Family Services for going above and beyond the basic program guidelines.

Currently there are 200 students enrolled at the school in the K4, K5 and first through 12^th grades. Class sizes for all grades are from 12-14 students.

Smith said the classes are probably going to fill up fast. Registration is open now and will continue to stay open until they fill up. For information, call (813) 995-9040 or visit www.fbclol.org/lolcs.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

In a time when many businesses are struggling, a local balloon artist company is growing.

Land O’ Lakes resident Ben Alexander started Balloon Distractions in September 2003 with one restaurant in Tampa. He has successfully been able to expand his business to what it is today where he serves about 350 restaurants in 16 states a week. His balloon artists make balloon animals for tips and keep families with children entertained while waiting for their food.

“The company started with me, an idea and a balloon apron,” Alexander said. “Even though I have artists to work for me, I still like to go out and twist balloons a few nights a week.”

Alexander worked his last 18 months of college as a balloon artist. He graduated from Rowan University with a bachelor’s in economics and then went on to a career in sales.

“After I graduated, I sold everything from insurance to underwater cameras to Toyotas,” Alexander said. “I think a sales job is the best preparation for being an entrepreneur.”

In the beginning, Alexander’s business was not the successful, thriving entity it is today. Every year Balloon Distractions has grown and in 2008 saw a 42 percent increase and in 2009 a 62 percent increase.

“When I started the business, it was a little chaotic,” Alexander said. “It has now evolved to be a smooth running system.”

Alexander said he always knew his business would grow one day. He is still working towards his goal of having a balloon artist in 10,000 restaurants a week.

“It took three months for me to get into 20 restaurants a week,” Alexander said. “Now we add about one restaurant a day.”

His balloon artists are in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, California, Nevada, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, New York, Washington, Missouri and Arizona.

His business is successful because of the three questions he asks himself about his business. The questions could be applied to any business.

Do you provide a service? Is there a demand? Are you easily replaced?

While many of the balloon artists at Balloon Distractions are college students, he has employees of all ages. In order to work for Alexander, balloon artists have to complete an application from his Web site that is based on the Myers-Briggs personality test. He also checks every balloon artist against the national sex offender’s list.

Alexander said he has four main things he looks at when hiring a balloon artist. His artists must be talkative, outgoing, enthusiastic and smart.

“I want to see what is going on with them before I hire them,” Alexander said. “Balloon artists are also getting extensive training. They have to take five written tests and they have to learn at least 20 different balloon animals and it can’t be the easy stuff. We want them to have that wow factor. We want to show the customer something they haven’t seen before.”

Alexander is also a Rotarian in the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club.

“I like being in the Rotary because it gives me a break from just thinking about money,” Alexander said. “I wanted to focus on something that had nothing to do with my business.

Jason Pratt, general manager at Cantina Laredo in Wesley Chapel, was the shift supervisor at Bennigan’s in New Tampa when Alexander was first starting out. Pratt said he was interested in bringing balloon artists in for the kid’s night. Until Bennigan’s closed its doors, an artist from Balloon Distractions was there twisting balloons for families.

“I thought it was a good way to promote our kid’s night,” Pratt said. “It was a good thing for the kids because it creates a fun environment and it is good for the parents because it gives them something to do while waiting for the food. I wanted to help build the sales for that night and we did see an increase in sales on those nights.”

For information, visit www.balloondistractions.com.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Hundreds of second-graders rushed onto the field at Freedom High School last Friday for the I Feel the Need to Read literacy festival.

Second-graders from MOSI Partnership Elementary School, Mort Elementary School and Riverhills Elementary School came to Freedom to participate in literacy activities. The Title 1 school students were able to color, make sentences and run through the obstacle course.

Freedom students in student government, drama, Café Freedom and cheerleading took children through the different activities.

Blake O’Connor, senior, is the president of Café Freedom club. He organized the event because he was inspired by his trip to the Aspen Ideas Fest through the Bezos Scholars Program at Aspen Institute. He was one of 12 students who were invited to meet influential people in a number of fields including Sandra Day O’ Connor, retired Supreme Court Justice and Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education.

“The whole point was to go to be inspired and bring back a program for the local community,” O’Connor said. “I had the idea to have a festival for child literacy. Literacy is the foundation for every academic field. You have to be able to read in order to be successful.”

The festival had a Dr. Seuss theme with each group of children named after a Dr. Seuss character. At the end of the celebration students came together to sing “Happy Birthday” to Dr. Seuss and eat cake.

Several organizations donated money including $1,000 from the Bezos Family Foundation, $200 from the New Tampa Rotary Club and Publix donated $100 for the cakes. The money raised was used to buy supplies for the activities and for goodie bags. Each student who attended left with a goodie bag with a book, bookmark, buttons, flashlight, pencil and handouts.

Lutz resident Mary Davis, senior, is a cheerleader at Freedom. She was helping to get the second-graders organized for the event.

“I just want the students to have fun,” Davis said. “We have a lot of things planned where the kids should have fun like the obstacle course and photo dictionary.”

Shannon Rehak, senior, was a team leader at the event. The Lutz resident said she loves working with young children.

“It is fun to watch them get so excited,” Rehak said. “I hope they have fun today and learn some new words.”

Alana Snead, second-grader at MOSI Elementary, said she had a lot of fun.

“I like that we get to do a lot of things,” Snead said. “I like art and here we get to do a lot of creations.”

Chantyana Dade, second-grader at MOSI Elementary, also loved all the activities.

“I like that we get to do this stuff with the older kids,” Dade said.
Kristin Mauro of Lutz said she wanted to help because she thinks reading is important. The Lutz resident is in the student government club at the school.

“It is a great way to get kids involved and encourage kids to read and learn,” Mauro said. “Reading is vital in today’s society; it is the foundation for everything else. Dr. Seuss is a great way to do it.”

Senior Lyndsie Sigler of Lutz took it a step further by dressing up as Cindy Lou Who from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“We are trying to get the kids excited about reading,” Sigler said. “The sentence formation activity is great because it helps with their grammar and sentence formation.”

Fabian Aceves of Lutz joined the Café Freedom Club because he wants to help children learn to read. Through the club, students from the school go to Title 1 schools in the area to read to second-graders.

“Literacy is very important for children,” Aceves said. “Some families don’t have the option to get their kids books or they can’t read to them because they don’t speak English. This helps them to learn how to read, which is important because not many people read anymore.”

Rosemary Owens, assistant principal for curriculum at Freedom, said she was impressed by how much work the students did to organize the event.

“This has been an amazing process to see,” Owens said. “It is exciting to see the enthusiasm and passion they have to make this happen. I have found a level of caring you wouldn’t think would be in high school students.”

The event went so well Owens said the juniors involved hope to do it again next year, but next year they want to make it bigger. By the end of a few years, she is hoping to get all the high schools and Title 1 schools in the area involved.

Owens said the students learned a lot of valuable skills from organizing the event.

“They learned to network,” Owens said. “They learned not to take no for an answer or to find an alternative route. Hopefully our young guests will remember this day years from now when they pick up a book to read.”