GUEST COMMENTARY
More blessed to give
December 24, 2020
BY DAVE TRECKER
Special to Florida Weekly
Hanukkah is past and the Christmas season is upon us, but it’s different this year. The usual hoopla has been muted by the horrendous coronavirus that’s taken a lot of the joy out of “Joy to the World.”
But the spirit of giving hasn’t changed. People and organizations remain generous, pandemic or not. Here are a few examples.
Shrugging off masks and shutdowns, a community took it upon itself to gather food for the less fortunate. Pelican Bay was the community, and Barbara Davin and Julie Wade were the impresarios who made it happen.
Barbara said, “We got the idea from a Hunger Initiative presentation at Greater Naples Leadership. There was clearly a need, and we asked ourselves how we could help.” The answer was a food drive and Pelican Bay was the place.
Julie said, “The response was remarkable.” Twenty-nine condos and homeowner associations participated, some 2,860 doors. In a week’s time, nearly $40,000 worth of food plus donations was collected. Enough to fill the equivalent of 30 huge bins.