HydroTurf Sponsors Students in the Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision Transition Program4/5/2023 Students in the Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision (LBLV) Transition Program participated in a charity event on April 1 for the American Lung Association of Florida: Tampa Bay. HydroTurf donated $500 to the program to sponsor the team and provide a well-deserved pizza lunch following the event. The annual Fight for Air Climb is a stair climb race up the 42-story Bank of America Plaza in downtown Tampa. Thirteen Transition Program students climbed the building and/or raised money at the event with their fundraising business, Braille With Vision. The Lighthouse Transition team, "Are we there yet?", raised a total of $1,926 for the ALA of Florida: Tampa Bay! Many of the students have been training since January, climbing the 914 steps of the building during Saturday practice climbs. Teachers and volunteers climbed with students during the race to provide sighted guide assistance if needed. Two students placed in the top 30 out of 300 climbers and both placed first in their respective age groups!!  Thanks to the generous support of HydroTurf, all students and team members received an official "Are we there yet?" team shirt and a celebratory lunch at Eddie & Sam's NY Pizza after the event. The HydroTurf Sales Manager, JC, was introduced to the sport of stair climbing by climbing alongside one of the Transition students. Many people do not even know that stairclimbing is a sport, yet alone how difficult it is! LBLV Transition students gained valuable skills contributing to the community, managing a fundraising campaign, building confidence, and budgeting money at a local restaurant. Together, HydroTurf and Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision teens gave back to the community!
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On Saturday, March 18, 2023, the Pickren family participated in the Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K to celebrate and support Chris Pickren in his fight against brain cancer. The 5K took place at Al Lopez Park in Tampa, Florida and benefited the American Brain Tumor Association. Chris Pickren was a top individual fundraiser and donated $6,223 to the cause, which helped the campaign exceed their overall goal of raising $100,000!  Inspired by Chris Pickren's fundraising page, 4XPro donated $4,201 to the Brain Cancer Fund at Tampa General Hospital. This fund supports the Neuro-Oncology department to better care for their patients by covering expenses that insurance will not cover. This fund helps patients, who are receiving treatment, pay for out-of-pocket costs like transportation to doctor appointments, groceries during their stay, and their chemotherapy medication. This fund allows patients and caregivers to focus on what is most important- winning the fight of their lives.  Chris Pickren with his brain surgeon, Dr. Harry van Loveren Chris Pickren expresses gratitude about the donation to the Brain Cancer Fund: Thank you for the donation, 4XPro. I'm glad we were able to direct this money to support patients in the community. I love the people at Tampa General Hospital's Cancer Institute. As you know, putting up with me is rarely easy. They do it with a smile and actually seem to enjoy it. I might be the first cancer patient that looks forward to my next visit to the TGH cancer center to hang out with my friends!  Chris Pickren with TGH ICU nurse, Daniella, and a nurse in Dr. Ranjan's group, Laura  Chris Pickren with a TGH administrator in Dr. Ranjan's office, Waleska  Chris Pickren at the 5K with his wife, Melinda, and his three children, Ethan, William, and Cody To celebrate the holiday season, SBT sponsored the annual North Greenwood Christmas Toy Giveaway. Families from around the community lined up near SBT to pick out toys for their children and take pictures with Santa. There were toys for kids of all ages including hula hoops, action figures, dolls, games, sports equipment, and gift cards! Greg Pickren, Owner of SBT, commented: It's important to us that members of our community can gather and spread joy during the holiday season. We like seeing kids in the neighborhood receive presents they wouldn't normally be able to receive and benefit from the generosity of our community. We hope to be able to continue this tradition every year. To kick off the holiday season, SEI donated 50 bikes to the Oldsmar Cares’ 2022 Spread the Love Kids Christmas & Toy Giveaway. Every year, families in Oldsmar can register to receive gifts for their children at no cost. The celebration included food, music, a gift-wrapping station, and crafts for kids.  Justin Webb, General Manager of SEI, personally donated 50 $30 gift cards for parents to purchase helmets for their children: Oldsmar Cares provides many important services to the community surrounding SEI including a food pantry, clothes closet, and rent and utility assistance. We especially like the programs that help the children in our community live healthy and happy lives. It makes us happy to see kids getting outside and riding bikes around the neighborhood and to know that SEI has a positive impact on our community. 4XPro donated $500 to Clothes to Kids this year and continued their support of one of our family's favorite charities. SBT got creative this year and hosted the annual Thanksgiving dinner as a drive-thru because of rain. For the first time in over 15 years, the sun did not make an appearance at the annual dinner. SBT had many things to be grateful for this year though. We were able to gather together in person and serve over 750 pounds of turkey to our beloved community! Thank you to all our volunteers and employees who packaged meals and delivered them to the long line of vehicles. We were happy to keep this important tradition alive. Watercraft Superstore was proud to sponsor the Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition's Family Fun Night this year. The event took place at the Buccaneer Football Field and was complete with free food, games, slides, vendors, health screenings, and live entertainment. The Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition focuses on improving North Greenwood, the neighborhood where both SBT and Watercraft Superstore are located. The organization works towards building community wealth through community business development, health, self-sufficiency, literacy, education, and resilience.  This year, Marine Mat continued their support for C.A.S.T. for Kids by making a $1,000 donation. C.A.S.T. for Kids is a nonprofit organization that arranges fishing trips for kids with disabilities. Robby Wellden commented: We like C.A.S.T. for Kids because it allows children the opportunity to spend time on the water. Fishing and being on a boat is something every child should be able to enjoy, regardless of their individual differences. Marine Mat has many products that make being on a boat comfortable and fun. We love that children all over the country get to go fishing through this organization. This year was particularly special because Marine Mat got to sponsor a C.A.S.T. for Kids event in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. In the future, Marine Mat hopes to host an event in the Tampa Bay Area, so it was great to have Marine Mat volunteers attend an event close to home. Marine Mat donated shirts, hats, and koozies to the event to be included in swag bags for the volunteers and children.
O'Neal and Nedra Larkin hosted a school supplies event in Clearwater to help families prepare for heading back to school. SBT donated $1,000. Sage Pickren, SBT Director of Community Outreach, commented: As a former teacher, I personally know how challenging it can be to have enough supplies for your students at the beginning of the year. School supplies is expensive, and when you work in a Title 1 school, many families cannot afford to purchase everything on their school supplies lists. We hope that donations like these can reduce the back-to-school stress for families that live near our factory. We are proud to be able to support the Larkins as they continue to make North Greenwood a place where children can access a good education and have the tools they need to succeed. SBT donated $5,000 to become a Diamond Partner for the 5th Annual Rising Above! Youth Explosion Leadership Conference. This event was hosted by the Clearwater Neighborhood Family Center, which is conveniently located on the same street as SBT. The center is dedicated to the belief that families should have the resources, support, and skills necessary to raise children in a healthy and safe neighborhood, which promotes the development of their maximum potential.  SBT manager, CJ Lammers, and SBT Social Media Manager, Barbara Bacvic, pose with Conference Coordinator, Michele Edwards and Executive Director, Terry Jones The 3-day event was hosted at The Long Center, SPC Drew Campus, and the N. Greenwood Aquatic Center. Youth that attended the conference participated in indoor and outdoor games, heard from guest speakers on panels, and were served free food! |
AuthorSage Pickren Archives
April 2023
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