'Seniors Got Talent' in South Florida

More than 2,200 onlookers will be packing the house at the OMNI Auditorium, Broward College North Campus in Pompano Beach on July 31 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., to enjoy North Broward Medical Center's (NBMC) energy-filled "Seniors Got Talent" final competition.

The program will open with a lively and energetic performance from The Villagers of John Knox Village-an all male chorus whose participants' ages range from 68 to 96-years-old.

The contest will feature16 final acts (individuals, duos and dance troupe), who were selected from more than hundreds of seniors who auditioned throughout Broward County. The free event is held annually to demonstrate the importance of "brain fitness" for seniors through positive activities. This year's participants are from areas as far north as Boynton Beach to as far south as North Miami Beach; and will include amateurs as well as retirees that have appeared professionally in films, television and clubs.

All finalists will perform a three-minute exhibition of their talent, ranging from harmonica playing, tap-dancing, to singing and comedy. Judges will then select first, second, and third place winners, who will receive prizes that include cash awards, gift certificates and various other gifts donated by local firms.

CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez and morning weather anchor Lisette Gonzalez will be emceeing the event. The panel of judges includes Pauline Grant, Dr. H. Murray Todd, Rhonda Calhoun, Joel Gustafson, Gwendolyn Clark-Reed, Phyllis Newberg, and Andrea Freytag.

Event sponsors are CBS4, Stryker, First Path Labs, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, Phoenix Physicians, John Knox Village, South Florida Hospital News and Broward College. There will be information and interactive stations throughout the auditorium so the audience members can find out more about the sponsors and also about the services provided by North Broward Medical Center and Broward Health.

Dr. Todd will kick off the event by speaking about the importance of seniors maintaining their brains strength by learning with activities such as singing and dancing to help prevent degenerative neurological diseases including memory loss.

"All of the seniors who are participating are great examples of how fun it is to keep the brain healthy through activities that stave off the cognitive decline that comes with aging. Pick something that is mentally challenging and fun and do it on a regular basis," he added.

North Broward Medical Center is located at 201 E. Sample Road, Deerfield Beach. For tickets to or for more information, call 954-759-7400or visit http://www.browardhealth.org.

BROWARD COALITION ON AGING HOSTED IT’S ANNUAL
TRI-COUNTY SUMMER SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISER AT GATSBY’S:
2010 LET’S DO IT AGAIN…

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – A great time was had by more than 100 guests at Gatsby’s Friday night. BCOA hosted its annual tri-county summer social and fundraiser on Friday, July 23, 2010.

This fun summer social featured tabletop pool and hors d’oeuvres, and was open to all at Gatsby’s in Davie…

This year’s fundraiser benefited Jewish Family Service of Broward in memory of Dr. Sue Fishman and The Pantry of Broward in memory of Bruce Harris, nonprofit organizations that serve the elderly and others in need of assistance.

SCANDALS HITS A HOME-RUN WITH THEIR “BACK TO SCHOOL” SUMMER CAMP-Y
Another smashing success for the patrons, staff and owners of Scandals Saloon

This past Christmas Todd Eller started with a germ of an idea about raising money to buy gifts for our grandchildren for Christmas. As is the way with the Scandals crew, once the idea was out there, staff and patrons jumped on board and adopted entire families for Christmas. Since then they have been mulling and planning how to help “their kids” and Back to School came to be. With hard work and perseverance the staff and patrons put together a fundraising event that was AMAZING from beginning to end. The silent auction items, raffle tickets, funny entertainment, and the huge generous crowd made it a memorable evening filled with love and joy. Talley for the evening?? $13,059.00 !!! It will be the best back to school year ever for our grandparents and their grandchildren.

Do stay tuned, Patrons and Staff are coming to The Pantry on August 16th to stuff the Back Packs and meet the grand kids as they come in for their school supplies. We’ll take plenty of pictures I promise!

STARLIGHT MUSICAL EVENT- Sponsored by Bank of America

Friday night July 16, the Rain blew on out of here, the stars opened up over Holiday Park and our staff and volunteers all shone brightly. Of course, we listened to our leaders of the evening, Pauline from Bank of America and Debbie with Ft Lauderdale Parks and Recreation. They have been running this event for 16 and 18 years respectively, so with that kind of guidance and experience how could we fail? You’re so right, we didn’t. The people arrived, got comfortable and there were our “troops” selling raffle tickets. Now picture this, each ticket cost $1.00 and we were allowed to raffle off six different items. But the time line for selling was limited. Sales began at 6:30 and ended at 8:15. So believe me our little “band of Indians” was beating feet to the music of The Brass Evolution. Why bother you might ask, well because Friday night had been declared The Pantry of Broward night and The Pantry got to keep all the revenue they earned in raffle tickets. Did they accomplish their mission?????? They sold 2,319 raffle tickets and in return will collect $2,319.00 from Bank of America. So Kudos to the people who attended who were kind enough to purchase a ticket(s), our fantastic volunteers and staff who donated their time and our heartfelt gratitude to Pauline Lyn and Debbie Bylica for their long term experience and their generosity in sharing and guiding us through the evening.

Hope your July 4^th Holiday was fun, safe and sound!

Penny was determined that her four full time employees actually had a Holiday Weekend off, so two of our Ambassadors, Kevin Friel and Bernie Weiser jumped in and joined Penny & Veralynne for our weekly weekend pick up of fresh produce at Marando Farms. If you have not yet been there it is an exciting place to see. Fred & Chelsea Marando are special people who are dedicating their lives to helping local farmers who grow organic produce and keep it fresh and fast right to your table. They also offered to give The Pantry any produce that they had not sold by Sunday at 4pm. What a wonderful gesture and we are so thankful to them as we now have fresh produce to give our clients. So, Sunday off we went on an adventure, excited to see what our clients would receive this week. The pictures below will give you some idea of the quality and quantity of their produce. If you have not been to Marando Farms please go to their web site marandofarms.com.

We also want to sincerely thank Bernie and Kevin for once again giving of themselves by helping The Pantry’s Clients.

Bank of America Starlight Musicals

The Pantry has been selected as one of the charitable organizations to benefit from a night of fundraising (raffle ticket sales) at the Starlight Musicals. Each Friday night during the summer, beginning June 18th at Holiday Park, Bank of America and the City of Fort Lauderdale put on FREE concerts. The Pantry' night is Friday, July 16th to sell raffle tickets for prizes and collect all of the money!!  The Brass Evolution is going to perform that Friday night. We will need volunteers and prizes to be raffled off. Remember the better the prize the more money we receive. Thank you to our Ambassador, Debbie Correale of Bank of America, who I am sure was able to help us out with this great honor!!