Manatee inventing ways to make holidays better, brighter

Many individuals, businesses and organizations in the Manatee County area are getting creative this holiday season to make it a brighter time for those in need or far away from home.

For example, Stephanie Grobleski, a University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee senior, had the realization that while she could take time off during the holidays to visit family, those deployed overseas can not.

That’s how she came with her brand new Project RED, which stands for Remember Everyone Deployed.

Grobleski got boxes from the U.S. Post Office and got a local Girl Scout troop to color them red and green. Then, she got the non-profit Manasota Operation Troop Support to agree to ship the boxes to bases overseas.

Now, she has deployed the boxes all around the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus and is motivating her fellow students to put toiletries, beef jerky and ramen noodles into the boxes to be shipped overseas.

“I just want to do what I can to help,” Grobleski said. “If I was out in the desert and didn’t have my family around, I would want something to remind me that people cared.”

Here is a rundown of other holiday giving ideas in the area:

• Oneco Elementary School students who are in “NUBS,” which stands for Never Underestimate Brave Students, will host their third annual “Blankets for Veterans Family Night” 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday at Oneco Elementary School, 5214 22nd St. Ct. E., Bradenton. Manasota Elks Lodge donated funds to the NUBS students to purchase enough fleece this year to make 100 no-sew blankets. Staff, students,and families will carefully measure out the material, tie the knots and fold the blankets in the school cafeteria during the event. The public is invited to come and help make the blankets, said Marie Mueller, lab manager at Oneco and a NUBS spokeswoman. Veterans from Bay Pines Hospital in St. Petersburg will be transported to the school on Dec. 6 to receive the donation. The NUBS will also serve them dinner at that time.
• Manatee Technical College students Kelsi Yates and Gabrielle Hook are leading a food drive to benefit the Mayor’s Feed the Hungry program. The two dental students will be collecting canned and packaged foods until Friday at 5520 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.
• Members of Bayside Community Church, 15800 S.R. 64, Bradenton, are collecting long pants, sweaters, long-sleeve shirts, jackets, socks and blankets for the homeless in the Bradenton and Sarasota area. They are asking that the donations be taken to Peach’s Restaurant, 7315 52nd Place E., Bradenton.
• One of the most important holiday events for those hungry and alone is The Salvation Army Thanksgiving Dinner, which is 5-6 p.m. Nov. 24 at 1204 14th St. W., Bradenton. The meal feeds 500 and uses more than 100 turkeys. Salvation Army officials this year are asking for donations of turkeys, pies, desserts, vegetables, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Donations can be dropped off at 1204 14th St. W., Bradenton between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday up to Thankgiving, said Major Dwayne Durham.
• Operation Christmas Child’s national collection week for toys runs now through Nov. 21. There are many local drop-off locations for this event which falls under Samaritan’s Purse. Check samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/drop-off-locations.
• The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program has a drop-off site in Lakewood Ranch at the office of Kenneth Jarvis, a certified public accounting firm. Clients and associates are encouraged to donate new, unwrapped toys from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 9030 58th Drive E., Ste. 101A, Lakewood Ranch.
• Bealls Florida Department Stores are asking people to donate new, unwrapped toys to any of the Bealls department store locations until Dec. 11. The toys will go to the Salvation Army’s “Angel Tree” program.
• For the fifth year in a row, a local non-profit called The Bower Family Foundation is raising money to give 1,000 pairs of shoes to local children. While many organization provide toys, few help with the basic need of a reliable pair of shoes, Bower officials sald. The Bower Foundation asks that cash donations be made at any Fidelity Bank branch by mentioning The Bower Foundation. Donations can also be sent to Bower Family Foundation, P.O. Box 20411, Bradenton, FL 34204.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Manatee inventing ways to make holidays better, brighter."