Palm Beach Perspective

Maverick and Carmine from WILD 95.5, Curtis from Kool 105.5 and I spoke with John Fischer, Code 3 Events and Sarah Crane, HOWFoundation. Code 3 is putting on the Delray Beach St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 11th and part of the money raised will benefit the HOWFoundation (Help Our Wounded). The HOW Foundation just treated their 1,000th patient in January and are very excited about how their Hyperbaric Treatments are helping folks with PTSD and TBI improve their health. Both WILD and KOOL will be at the parade this year with floats. Lots of family fun, music, Darby O'Dell Fun Run to start things off. For more info, listeners can go to www.stpatrickmarch.com

Spoke with Melissa DiNuzzo and Julia Duncan from Autism Speaks. We talked about the history of Autism Speaks and their mission statement. Listeners can find more on their website site www.autismspeaks.org. They have their annual fundraising walk coming up at the Meyer Ampitheater, West Palm Beach. It's a family friendly day for those on the autism spectrum. It's designed to be a stress free day for families with members on the autism spectrum to come out and connect with one another. They also have lots of volunteer opportunities for folks who need community service hours.

Talked with Sharon DiPietro, Chair - Tri-County Animal Rescue 15th Annual Doggie & Kittie Ball. They are a 100% no kill facility that rescues, rehabilitates and re-homes injured and neglected animals. TCAR has rescued over 53,000 animals in distress. They have an emergency fund that is used to pay for the surgeries and other expenses. One of the ways they raise funds is with their annual Doggie & Kittie Ball. This year, it'll be held at Boca West County Club. (only certified service animals are allowed to attend and must be pre-registererd). Listeners can get tix online at www.tricountyhumane.org or by calling 561-482-8110. They also have lots of fun volunteers opportunities as well.

Talked w Donna Pulda, CVA, VP Volunteer Svcs, Alexia Savage, SPV Communications & Resource Development, United Way of PBC. We talked about the history of the United Way and several of their programs including the VITA TAX free tax preparation program. This is the 14th year that the Vita Tax program has been helping folks in the community determine with their taxes and making sure that if they qualify for the EITC they receive it. The program has 3 options: Listeners can go enter their info on the website, or they can go to one of the multiple sites around PBC and enter on the computer (with a person to ask questions) or have an IRS trained volunteer enter their taxes into the computer for them. The sites and programs are all listed on the website . Listeners can also sign up to volunteer through the website or make donations.

Talked with Conni Murphy, Dir. of the Cancer Genetics Program at Good Samaritan Medical Center. They offer a wide variety of genetic screening in addition to the commonly heard of BRAC1 and BRAC2. Patients get a script from their Physician and fill out a long history of theirs/their family medical health. Once they submit that then the center reviews all the data, builds a family tree of who needs testing and for what genes. They then discuss with the patients. Once testing is done they followup with various recommendations for treatment (medicine, preventitive surgery, high surveillance). For more information, listeners can contact call 561-650-6084

Talked with Nancy Stewart and Sarah Valley from Festival Management Group. They are putting together this years 18th Annual Garlic Fest. Lots of exciting things this year, including the new location (John Prince Park in Lake Worth), free wi-fi, VIP Beer/Food Dinner with Lagunitas, great music and of course the Chef Challenges throughout the weekend with "surprise ingredients and garlic". It's from 2/10-2/12 and listeners can sign up to be volunteers, sponsors, get tickets - all online at www.sfgarlicfest.com

Spoke with Luisa Gomez M.Ed., Jasmine Coyle, Program Coordinators, Pine Jog Environmental Education Center and Blanche Williams, Jazz Flutist/Host of Jazz on J Street. They have several fundraising events coming up as well as volunteer opportunities. On Jan 28/29th, listeners can volunteer to help build their new Naturescape Playground. (this is an ongoing build if they can't make it those days). Coming up in February is The Wild Orchid 5K which winds through their 135 acres. (there are shorter fun runs for the kiddos). Then Blanche and her folks will be part of the Naturally Jazz - a Strolling Sax event that leads participants through the paths to the Tiki area by the lake where they can relax, enjoy drinks/snacks and great music. Pine Jog also offers afterschool programs, spring/summer camps and lots of volunteer opportunities. Listeners can get more info at www.pinejog.fau.edu

Talked with Brandon Phillips and PJ Rivzi, Polo for a Purpose and LLS. Brandon is a professional polo player, survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the LLS Honorary Chairman of their event. They are having their 4th Annual Polo for a Purpose Event on Monday 1/16 at the Wellington Polo Grounds. It's a ppolo match with a concert by Gipsy Sound Revolution following to raise funds for local services provided by Leukemia Lymphoma Society. They have tailgating slots open and lots of activities for the kids too. Listeners can get tickets by going online to www.poloforapurpose.org or call Pam at Leukemia Lymphome Society at 561-616-8682. They can also speak to Pam about volunteering, becoming a sponsor, making a donation or getting info on local services provided by LLS.

Talked with Cristin Krasco, Education, Smithsonian Marine Station/St. Lucie Aguarium. They have two buildings, one is the Smithsonian Marine Station where the scientists do research and the other (across the street) is the St. Lucie Aquarium. The aquarium is open 7days a week starting on 1/9/17 and the research center has public tours 1x/month. They are offering a line up of marine science lecture series: 1/11 Monitoring the Effects of Freshwater Discharge on Local Coral Reefs, 1/25 Coral Calamities, 28 Cures from the Deep Sea, 2/22 Studying Sea Turtles, 3/8 Exploring Diversity and Potential Utility of Microbial Communities in the Indian River Lagoon, etc. Listeners can register for lectures/sign up to volunteer, book a group tour by calling 772-465-3271

Talked with Julia Belcher and Kirsten George, Teammates, Dub City Derby. They are starting the New Year off by changing their name from Dub City Derby Girls to Dub City Derby (to be more inclusive). We went over 10 resolutions that are suggested online including: lose weight, spend time with people, learn something new, volunteer, etc. All of which listeners can do by becoming part of the roller derby community. Dub City in played 16 sanction games in 2016 and increased their standing greatly! Listeners can sign up to play, be volunteers, derby boosters, all kinds of fun ways to get involved. More info is available on their FB page.