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The Boca Raton Tribune C O M M U N I T Y

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Partners with Baby2Baby on Mother ’s Day and Father ’s Day to Support Children Living in Poverty

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, a casual dining restaurant known for its handcrafted American food and drink, is celebrating all parents this Mother’s Day and Father’s Day by supporting Baby2Baby’s mission by providing diapers, clothing and the basic necessities to children living in poverty.

During Mother’s Day weekend and Mexican Mother’s Day (between May 6 and May 10) and Father’s Day weekend (between June 17 and June 19), Lazy Dog Restaurant will match up to $15,000 each weekend in guest donations from dining in and ordering online for curbside pickup or delivery. Guests can add a donation to their check-in person or online. Direct contributions can also be made on bit.ly/ldbaby2baby or Lazy Dog’s website. Through Baby2Baby’s extensive network, $1 can provide a day’s worth o f d i a p e r s f o r a mom in need.

“ We a r e s o grateful to join our guests and Baby2Baby in suppor t of families in our communities,” said John Williams, chief marketing officer for Lazy Dog Restaurants. “We look forward to dedicating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends to all the moms and dads out there.”

In the last 10 years, Baby2Baby has distributed over 200 million items to children in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals, and underser ved schools, as well as children

who have lost everything in the wake of disaster. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Baby2Baby has served over 1 million children impacted by the pandemic across the country. Lazy Dog Restaurant will provide several opportunities for families to bond during these special occasions. The restaurant will be open for brunch on Saturday and Sunday and families can indulge in house favorites such as Cheesy Eggs + Avocado Toast and Country Chickens + Biscuit. The kids’ menu will have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards so children can write loving notes to parents, as well as a fun decorative IOU coupon book featuring a slew of favors such as “complete after-dinner dishes duty,” “breakfast in bed” and “a sparkling clean room.” Those wishing to celebrate at home can take advantage During Mother’s Day of Friends + Family weekend Lazy Dog will Meals, which ser ve 4-5 people. Highmatch up to $15,000 in lights include the guest donations from Fettuccine Alfredo + Caesar Salad and dining in and ordering Fried Chicken Meal online for curbside with hand-dipped buttermilk boneless pickup or delivery. chicken breasts, red skin potato mash, white country gravy, spiced maple syrup and sautéed spinach with smoked bacon. For additional infor mation about Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, please visit www.lazydogrestaurants.com. To learn more about Baby2Baby, please visit www. baby2baby.org.

Boc a Helping Hands Receives 1,400 Pounds of Food from Ben’s Kosher Delic atessen Restaurant & Caterers as a Passover Gift, Feeding Many in Need

Boca Raton, FL - Boca Helping Hands (BHH) received more than 1,400 pounds of food from Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers, a scratch kitchen in West Boca Raton that makes each meal fresh. When the restaurant closed in observance of Passover, it was left with a large amount of food that would otherwise go to waste. Boca Helping Hands picked up the food on Friday, April 15, offering it to those in need of a meal.

Boca Helping Hands hopes that other restaurants, cafés, and grocery stores will consider donating food to the organization, following in Ben’s Deli’s footsteps.

“We are so pleased to donate the food to Boca Helping Hands to share our holiday with those in need,” said Rachel Stone, Ben’s Deli Director of Catering and Assistant Manager. “It does feel really good to let us extend that notion of feeding people into feeding people who are most in need of a good meal.”

This act of major giving isn’t limited to Ben’s Deli of Boca Raton. Each of the seven New York based locations also participates in food recovery efforts within their communities. “Having grown up living in eight different places by the age of 14, I am hypersensitive to the plight of the homeless and hungry,” said Ronnie Dragoon, Ben’s Deli CEO and Founder.

“Receiving leftover prepared food from Ben’s Deli is a tremendous blessing,” said Bill Harper, BHH Director of Food and Warehouse Operations. “This food is used right away in our hot meal program to feed local families in need. Ben’s has been faithful through the years with their donations at Passover, and we always look forward to this significant assistance. Partnerships with local restaurants are vital to carr ying out our mission at Boca Helping Hands.”

“Surging food prices and supply chain issues are affecting all areas of our hunger relief programs. We’re purchasing food to subsidize our decreased inventory, and wholesale prices have increased,” said Greg Hazle, BHH Executive Director. “With increased prices, our client’s dollar stretches less at the grocery store, so they have to rely on us more. Unfortunately, that means Boca Helping Hands has to buy more food at a higher cost.”

Restaurants, cafés, or grocery stores that would like to help can reach out to info@bocahelpinghands.org.

Boc a Raton Public Librar y Celebrates Children’s Book Week with a Visit from Children’s Book Author, Alexandra Alessandri

Join the Boca Raton Public Library in welcoming award-winning children’s book author, Alexandra Alessandri, to the Spanish River Library to celebrate Children’s Book Week! She will read her newest book, Isabel and Her Colores Go to School, which won the gold medal in Young Children’s Literature in the 2021 Florida Book Awards. Children’s Book Week is a new annual event funded by Friends of the Boca Raton Public Library. The a u t h o r ’s p r e s e ntation will be followed by a fun craft for children ages 4 and up.

Alexandra Alessandri is the author of Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela!, Isabel and Her Colores Go to School, and the forthcomi n g m i d d l e - g r a d e fantasy, The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía. The daughter of Colombian immigrants, she is also a former associate professor of English, a writer for Curriculum Associates, and a poet, with some of her work appearing in The Acentos Review, Rio Grande Review, Atlanta Review, and Young Adult Review Network. Alexandra lives in

Florida with her husband and son. About Isabel and Her Colores Go to School: English, with its blustery blues and whites, just feels wrong to Isabel. She prefers the warm oranges and pinks of Spanish. As she prepares for class at a new school, she knows she’s going to have to learn— and she would rather not! Her first day is uncomfor table, until she discovers Alexandra Alessandri is there’s more than the author of Feliz New one way to communicate with friends.

Year, Ava Gabriela!, This is a universal Isabel and Her Colores story about feeling n e w a n d m a k i n g Go to School, and the new friends. forthcoming middle- “ A l e x a n d r a Alessandri’s book grade fantasy, The r e m i n d s u s t h a t

Enchanted Life of communicating between two languages

Valentina Mejía. relies on more than words,” notes Oyuki De Santiago Poletz, Program Services Librarian. “It uses our entire body, including our creative side, to bridge two seemingly separate worlds. Beautifully written and illustrated, speakers of any language are sure to feel the warmth created by forging new friendships.” Enrollment is recommended through the calendar at BocaLibrary.org.

FAU High School – Jupiter Campus in Par tnership with Max Planck Ac ademy Celebrates Inaugural Graduating Class

Boca Raton, FL – Florida Atlantic University High School – Jupiter Campus in Partnership with Max Planck Academy recently celebrated the inaugural cohort of students’ extraordinary academic performance and research projects at the Senior Research Symposium event hosted at the Max Planck Florida Institute of Neuroscience (MPFI).

During the event, FAU High seniors presented their research and scholarly findings in both oral and poster formats. An awards presentation portion of the symposium followed, recognizing the 23 exceptional students and their accomplishments which include: four peer-reviewed research papers published; awards of more than $10,000 in grant funding and research awards to support their research endeavors; and numerous research presentations given at university, state and national conferences.

FAU President John Kelly and David Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., chief scientific director and CEO of MPFI, welcomed guests and kicked off the event recognizing the exceptional FAU High students and their mentors.

“Congratulations to our first graduates of FAU High School – Jupiter Campus in Pa r t n e r s h i p w i t h Max Planck Academy, who were selected from a pool of top-tier candidates to participate in this unique educational program,” said Kelly. “I am very proud of their many achievements and I look forward t o h e a r i n g a b o u t t h e i r f u t u r e s u ccesses.”

F A U H i g h School – Jupiter Campus in Partnership with Max Planck Academy welcomed the first cohort of students in fall 2020, and is a premier, research-focused institute that provides an early university entrance high school experience for STEM-focused juniors and seniors in high school. This unique partnership between FAU, MPFI and the Germany-based Max Planck Society, expanded on similar opportunities for FAU’s graduate and undergraduate students. This extraordinary program provides FAU High students access to the laboratories of MPFI, allowing them to participate in unparalleled education and worldclass research opportunities as part of their curriculum. “Education and scientific training are key parts of the Max Planck model and partnering with FAU High School has given us the opportunity to expand our impact on the future generation of scientists,” said Fitzpatrick. “It has been inspiring to see the evolution of these students, who are now all well positioned to make important contributions to the world of science and beyond.” FAU High seniors that successfully complete the program earn a high school diploma and Max Planck certificates, and at least two years of cost-free college credit, leading to unmatched research experiences and outstanding distinction through the FAU Max Planck Honors program and accelerated bachelor’s degree at FAU.

“These incredible “These incredible students have students have worked worked countless countless hours in hours in laboratories and field research laboratories and sites to further scifield research sites entific knowledg e and our understandto further scientific ing of the world knowledge.” around us – and this is just the start for these world-changing minds,” Molly Adam, Ph.D., associate director of FAU High School. To learn more about FAU High School – Jupiter Campus in Partnership with Max Planck Academy, visit fauhigh.fau.edu/jupiter-campus.