Holidays, hurricanes and simple happenstance ó all are occasions for the people of the Florida Keys to step up, pitch in and help neighbors, strangers and even animals.
Ask any island resident why they came here and why they stayed. The weather may have brought us all, but inevitably, itís the people who keep us firmly rooted to this limestone arc of islands that swings southward from mainland Florida.
For the past few years in this Holiday magazine, Keys Weekly has highlighted a few of the Holiday Heroes from the three regions of the Florida Keys. There are too many such helping heroes to fit them all in these pages, but we’ll continue to pick a few each holiday season and take a few moments ó and pages ó to thank everyone who generously shares their time, money or other gifts to help those around them.
KEY WEST
DEBORAH BAILEY
“I guess I’m the Mother Goose-type,” Deborah Bailey says laughing. And she’s right. Ask the scores of local foster kids she mentors, tutors and showers with the compassionate attention many have never received.
A combination of comfort, fun and accountability, Bailey is the adult with whom the kids want to share a good report card, an aced test or a teen-aged heartbreak.
“I have kids from years ago still calling to tell me about a good grade they got, and that feels amazing,” she said. “They’re just kids; they want to be seen and heard, but unfortunately a lot of them have been invisible.”
Bailey volunteers with kids in foster care through Wesley House Family Services, which facilitates adoptions and the foster care system in Monroe County. “Right now I’m working with seven kids, ages 6 to 20,” she said. “So many people think of the littlest kids at Christmastime, and that’s so generous, but so often the older ones get overlooked and that’s not fair.”
In addition to tutoring, Bailey takes “her” kids to the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory, the beach, parks to do homework, lunch or the movies.
To help the Keys’ most vulnerable kids, visit Voices for Florida Keys Children on Facebook. The all-volunteer program helps them with scholarships, health, dentist, clothing , camps, tutoring and counseling needs. The program also supports the Guardian Ad Litem program, which ensures that children have a voice in the court system to represent their best interests.
KEVIN PAUL TAYLOR
Kevin Paul Taylor delivers goodness in Key West the way he delivers mail, piece by piece; bit by bit; to recipients he knows and to those he’s never met.
He’s part of the group that established — and constantly replenishes — the Little Free Pantry on Geraldine Street, plus two others. “Our Little Pantries are 100% grassroots, community supported, with no assistance from the city or established food banks,” he said. “They’re discreetly accessible 24/7.”
Taylor also recently launched the Post-It Pay program that encourages customers to “post,” or pay for, an extra cup of coffee, a cocktail, or a meal at a participating business. “You can prepay for whatever you want and a Post-It note goes up for someone to use,” Taylor said. So far, participants include: La Grignote, Bad Boy Burrito (Key West), 22&Co, Poké in the Rear, Keys Coffee Co., Breakfast Club, Too, Frita’s Cuban Burgers and Red Shoe Bistro.
Taylor and Jodyrae Campbell have provided more than 2,000 free face masks since April. It started on Taylor’s mail route, where he noticed families in a housing project not wearing masks.
“I find people who need them — and people who can donate materials for Jodyrae to sew them,” he said. “We’ve never accepted money. I just like to help where I can. I don’t expect others to do something I can do myself to help someone else.”
MARATHON
TINA & CHRISTINA BELOTTI
A front tooth? A leather welding apron? Over the years, the women of the Educational Coalition of Monroe County (ECMC) have covered some unusual needs for the kids at Marathon High School. Mother, Tina Belotti, and daughter, Christina Belotti, Ph.D., have been doing this formally for almost 20 years. In the early days, they tried to do it all themselves, now they have an established coterie of local angels. “Everyone gets a piece, a chance to give, and that makes them feel good,” said Tina. “It works, because some people like to buy books, some like to buy clothes,” Christina said.
The women work year round to support kids at the school where Christina is a middle school English teacher, and Tina is a prevention counselor for Project Success. That tooth? A student had stopped coming to school for the lack of it. The welding gear was purchased and gifted to a graduate on his way to trade school. The two are also in charge of a free “closet” on school premises where kids can shop for everything from underclothes to shoes to backpacks, some of it gently used, some of it brand new. Other times they just help kids make a connection — such as pairing a shy middle schooler with an older student to accompany her to a first meeting of the drama club.
To meet those needs, Tina has developed a unique questionnaire tailored to the Keys lifestyle and has encountered some heartbreaking circumstances. One holiday, they doggedly tracked down a recipient to deliver a holiday meal and discovered the mom, a recent immigrant, and four kids living in a shed. After drying their tears, they set to work: bunk beds to free up floor space, a television and an Xbox. Yes, an Xbox. “That always raises a lot of eyebrows,” said Christina. “Whenever possible, we buy brand names because that matters to teenagers. They don’t want to show up to school in a pair of Kmart sneakers. They want Nikes. It’s a status symbol and it makes them feel good about themselves. It helps them fit in.”
At Christmastime, the two work hard to serve 100 middle and high school kids, ages 12 and up. Some donors want to sponsor a single teenager or siblings by way of filling an Amazon wish list. Others want to donate gift cards — Publix, for example, to put a holiday meal on the table. Or, in another instance, a Walgreens gift card requested by a child so his mother could afford her medications.
Christina and Tina have the ability to serve these pre-teens and teenagers, and tailor their responses, because they understand them so well. Know this: The needs are big and real and you can help. To get involved, visit educationalcoalition.org or call 305-731-0771.
UPPER KEYS
CINDY SMITH AND SYLVIA GARCIA
Call them the little elves behind the scenes. Not only are they fulfilling local kids’ wish lists, but Cindy Smith and Sylvia Garcia are also bringing Christmas cheer to little ones in less fortunate countries.
The two have been helping to pack and gather shoeboxes from fellow community members with First Baptist Church in Key Largo for Operation Christmas Child. From stuffed animals and toy action figures to socks and crayons, shoeboxes are stuffed and shipped to over 160 countries and territories. Smith has been involved in the collection effort for more than a decade, while Garcia said her kids were very active at church and started packing boxes 15 years ago.
“My husband, Eric, and I did it together,” Smith said. “We liked the mission. We had hearts for children and people in need, and the mission of OCC is to reach the unreachable children in the world.”
“Anybody can do it,” Garcia said. “All people need to do is go to Dollar Tree and get a toothbrush and other small items. It’s not the money. It’s the thought of changing a kid’s life.”
Smith said people here in the Keys who may not be able to travel to other less fortunate countries can still send their love via a shoebox with simple, small items. Smith said one of the most exciting things about OCC is the privilege of meeting the young adults who received a box when they were a kid.
“It’s a fabulous way to teach us and our children to appreciate the things we take for granted like a toothbrush and school supplies,” Smith said. “It’s the power of a simple gift.”
The two have also been fulfilling the wishes of young kids and families here locally. For Garcia, it started in the ‘70s when her father helped a family fill their freezer with food while buying a child a Rubik’s Cube.
“That’s what started me,” Garcia. “It was my dad.”
From there, the giving didn’t stop. One of the best experiences she’s had? It was the response she received from a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old who received stuffed animals and candy canes.
“They went to each other and said, ‘I told you Santa was real.’”
Smith’s gift-giving started when someone reached out to the U.S. Postal Service, where she worked, and asked the postmaster who answered the Santa mail. That was Smith. She was asked if she knew of needy families, and it “snowballed” from there.
“I believe in Santa and I believe it helps children believe in the impossible to ask for something they can actually have,” she said. “You see the looks on a kid’s face … and they get a laptop or PS4. It’s like they don’t know what to do. When you see a kid’s face like that, whatever you have to do to make it happen, is so worth it.”
