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News | Shorelines.com: Caravan to carry gifts to Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
When Norma Rea of Ponte Vedra Beach learned that some children at The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind didn't have coats for the winter, she decided to do something about it.
An e-mail from a friend who was involved in a campaign to get donations of clothing for the St. Augustine school asked Rea to check her daughters' closets to see if they had any coats or jackets they had outgrown.
Rea decided not to stop there.
She jumped into the middle of a project involving people and organizations from around the Beaches and Jacksonville to help all of the approximately 720 students ages 3 through 21 at the school.
On Tuesday, a caravan of about 50 vehicles will travel to St. Augustine carrying clothes, gifts and school supplies for the children, many of whom come from families in need.
"It all started with two coats, and now this," Rea said one recent day as she and two other organizers, Will Ackland and Karen Wolf, went through some of the donated goods that were piled in Rea's living room, dining room and hallway.
With the goal of giving each deaf or blind child as happy a holiday as possible, they still need more toys, clothes and gift cards. They are appealing to people in the Beaches community to join in the giving.
"We have a heart for the disadvantaged," Ackland said.
"We have to make sure they don't go without gifts," Wolf said. "To make sure they all have a happy holiday."
The project that involves Gate Petroleum's corporate office, the Northrop Grumman Corp., Ponte Vedra Eye Associates and The Bolles School Ponte Vedra Beach campus began when Ackland received word from a friend that the school's "clothes closet" was empty.
The closet is a small room at the state school that holds donated clothing for the children, who come from all over Florida.
The majority of the students live in dormitories on campus during the week, and about 50 percent are Medicaid-eligible, coming from low-income families, said Kathy Gillespie, school spokeswoman.
Ackland, who works for Gate Petroleum, involved his company and contacted Wolf and Rea through a group they all belong to as parents of internationally adopted children, Adoptive Families of the First Coast.
Rea has two daughters from Guatemala, Maria, 6, and Julia, 5.
Ackland has a son from Romania, Alex, 10.
Wolf has a son, Thomas Houston, 8, from Russia, and a daughter Hannah, 6, from Belarus.
Since Rea's girls attend The Bolles School in Ponte Vedra Beach, she appealed to Maria's first-grade class and Julia's kindergarten class to help collect new and gently used clothing. Others at the school joined the cause.
Ackland's company decided to lead a toy drive for gifts.
Wolf, an optometrist, began collecting gift cards through her business, Ponte Vedra Eye Associates, and the Northeast Florida Optometric Society.
Her son Thomas, a student at Ponte Vedra-Palm Valley Rawlings Elementary School, was so excited about helping that he made a speech about the project to 200 doctors at a recent optometric society meeting.
Ackland's mother, Sandra Ackland, has also gotten involved by organizing a group at Pablo Towers, where she lives, to help wrap gifts.
"We thought we were taking on a small project," Wolf said.
"But when we found out they were really in need, Willie rounded up the troops."
Because so many children are involved in collecting for the campaign, the organizers decided from the beginning that they should also be involved in delivering the gifts.
About 100 children will don Santa hats and ride along with their parents in the caravan, which will be led by a fire engine from St. Johns County Fire and Rescue and a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office police escort.
Santa Claus will also accompany them for the festivities, which will begin once the convoy reaches the school, just west of the Vilano Bridge.
Children from the deaf, blind and special needs elementary departments will greet their visitors bearing gifts and then share stories as part of the holiday celebration.
Toys should be new and unwrapped. School supplies, including backpacks, and gifts appropriate for teenagers, including gift cards, are also needed.
Wolf said parents, children, corporate leaders and Bolles representatives are looking forward to delivering the gifts and supplies.
"It's going to be a big day," she said.
Wearing Santa hats, with Santa himself in tow, "it will be an army of elves," Rea said.
"I think it will be nothing short of spectacular."
Helping students
- Toys, school supplies and clothing are needed for deaf and blind children ages 3 through 21 at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
- For people who would like to donate items, four locations have been set up around the Beaches as drop-off sites through Monday. They are the Ponte Vedra Eye Associates office at 150 Professional Drive, Suite 300, in Ponte Vedra Beach; Country Club Real Estate at 880 Florida A1A N. in Ponte Vedra Beach; Woody's Bar B-Q at 226-1 Solana Road in Ponte Vedra Beach and Beachside Tire and Automotive Services at 1178 Third St. S. in Jacksonville Beach.
- For more information, call Will Ackland at 910-9819 or Norma Rea at 543-0002 or 377-2883.
When Norma Rea of Ponte Vedra Beach learned that some children at The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind didn't have coats for the winter, she decided to do something about it.
An e-mail from a friend who was involved in a campaign to get donations of clothing for the St. Augustine school asked Rea to check her daughters' closets to see if they had any coats or jackets they had outgrown.
Rea decided not to stop there.
She jumped into the middle of a project involving people and organizations from around the Beaches and Jacksonville to help all of the approximately 720 students ages 3 through 21 at the school.
On Tuesday, a caravan of about 50 vehicles will travel to St. Augustine carrying clothes, gifts and school supplies for the children, many of whom come from families in need.
"It all started with two coats, and now this," Rea said one recent day as she and two other organizers, Will Ackland and Karen Wolf, went through some of the donated goods that were piled in Rea's living room, dining room and hallway.
With the goal of giving each deaf or blind child as happy a holiday as possible, they still need more toys, clothes and gift cards. They are appealing to people in the Beaches community to join in the giving.
"We have a heart for the disadvantaged," Ackland said.
"We have to make sure they don't go without gifts," Wolf said. "To make sure they all have a happy holiday."
The project that involves Gate Petroleum's corporate office, the Northrop Grumman Corp., Ponte Vedra Eye Associates and The Bolles School Ponte Vedra Beach campus began when Ackland received word from a friend that the school's "clothes closet" was empty.
The closet is a small room at the state school that holds donated clothing for the children, who come from all over Florida.
The majority of the students live in dormitories on campus during the week, and about 50 percent are Medicaid-eligible, coming from low-income families, said Kathy Gillespie, school spokeswoman.
Ackland, who works for Gate Petroleum, involved his company and contacted Wolf and Rea through a group they all belong to as parents of internationally adopted children, Adoptive Families of the First Coast.
Rea has two daughters from Guatemala, Maria, 6, and Julia, 5.
Ackland has a son from Romania, Alex, 10.
Wolf has a son, Thomas Houston, 8, from Russia, and a daughter Hannah, 6, from Belarus.
Since Rea's girls attend The Bolles School in Ponte Vedra Beach, she appealed to Maria's first-grade class and Julia's kindergarten class to help collect new and gently used clothing. Others at the school joined the cause.
Ackland's company decided to lead a toy drive for gifts.
Wolf, an optometrist, began collecting gift cards through her business, Ponte Vedra Eye Associates, and the Northeast Florida Optometric Society.
Her son Thomas, a student at Ponte Vedra-Palm Valley Rawlings Elementary School, was so excited about helping that he made a speech about the project to 200 doctors at a recent optometric society meeting.
Ackland's mother, Sandra Ackland, has also gotten involved by organizing a group at Pablo Towers, where she lives, to help wrap gifts.
"We thought we were taking on a small project," Wolf said.
"But when we found out they were really in need, Willie rounded up the troops."
Because so many children are involved in collecting for the campaign, the organizers decided from the beginning that they should also be involved in delivering the gifts.
About 100 children will don Santa hats and ride along with their parents in the caravan, which will be led by a fire engine from St. Johns County Fire and Rescue and a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office police escort.
Santa Claus will also accompany them for the festivities, which will begin once the convoy reaches the school, just west of the Vilano Bridge.
Children from the deaf, blind and special needs elementary departments will greet their visitors bearing gifts and then share stories as part of the holiday celebration.
Toys should be new and unwrapped. School supplies, including backpacks, and gifts appropriate for teenagers, including gift cards, are also needed.
Wolf said parents, children, corporate leaders and Bolles representatives are looking forward to delivering the gifts and supplies.
"It's going to be a big day," she said.
Wearing Santa hats, with Santa himself in tow, "it will be an army of elves," Rea said.
"I think it will be nothing short of spectacular."
Helping students
- Toys, school supplies and clothing are needed for deaf and blind children ages 3 through 21 at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
- For people who would like to donate items, four locations have been set up around the Beaches as drop-off sites through Monday. They are the Ponte Vedra Eye Associates office at 150 Professional Drive, Suite 300, in Ponte Vedra Beach; Country Club Real Estate at 880 Florida A1A N. in Ponte Vedra Beach; Woody's Bar B-Q at 226-1 Solana Road in Ponte Vedra Beach and Beachside Tire and Automotive Services at 1178 Third St. S. in Jacksonville Beach.
- For more information, call Will Ackland at 910-9819 or Norma Rea at 543-0002 or 377-2883.