METROWEST MASTER ASSOCIATION

MWMA Donations

Help Local Schools Soar

Through its annual donations, the MetroWest Master Association helps schools enhance and enrich the learning experience for teachers and students.

By Nancy Glasgow

The MetroWest Master Association (MWMA) donates $5,000 each annually to MetroWest Elementary School and Westpointe Elementary School. These funds allow the schools to enhance and enrich the learning experience for teachers and students.

“I want to thank the MetroWest Master Association for their generosity and for continuing to support our school,” says Westpointe Elementary School Principal Dr. Atresa F. Grubbs-Holmes. “Their donations allow us to do things that we would not be able to do otherwise.”

At Westpointe Elementary, funds previously donated by MWMA have been used to start the Green Schools Initiative. The Orange County Public Schools’ Green Schools Recognition Program challenges schools to be aware of the environment around them, to incorporate sustainability into education and to create a sustainable future for students. For Westpointe Elementary’s Green Schools Initiative, MWMA’s donation has funded items for a butterfly garden.

The MWMA donation also has been used to provide refreshments for an array of school events in the past, including math challenges, door decorating contests, Teach-In, National Elementary Honor Society Induction, Student Honor Roll Breakfast, faculty meetings, and the AAA Safety Patrol End of the Year Celebration. In addition, the school has used the donated money to purchase science lab experiments, and annual piano tuning services for the Music Department.

As soon as the school is permitted to do so, it will continue student celebrations and induction ceremonies and provide student incentives, as well as continue the Green School Initiative by purchasing more supplies for the butterfly garden, all with funds donated by MWMA.

MetroWest Elementary School has used its MWMA donations to have vibrant murals painted in the Front Office, Cafeteria and Clinic. The school has also used the funds to purchase umbrellas for rainy dismissal days, supplies for the art class, professional development books for teachers, breakfast for parents, holiday snacks, staff gifts, car loop signs, teacher awards and rewards, and flowers for the Teacher and Support Person of the Year.

This year, MetroWest Elementary is planning to use donated funds for projects such as creating plant/ rock gardens, painting events with staff, professional development, and purchasing a kiln for the art class, which will allow students to explore the creation of pottery.

“Through the generous donation from the MetroWest Master Association, a positive difference has been made in the learning of our students,” says MetroWest Elementary School Principal Dr. Xhuljeta

Gjini.

MWMA began donating to MetroWest Elementary more than 20 years ago, and included Westpointe Elementary as a recipient as soon as the school opened.

“Our wonderful schools are an integral part of why MetroWest is such a great place to live, work, play and connect,” says Jim Drayton, MWMA Board President. “It is a pleasure to give back to them and support the positive learning environment they cultivate.”

The MetroWest Master Association (MWMA) recently presented checks for $5,000 each to MetroWest Elementary School and Westpointe Elementary School. Participating in the check presentation were, left to right: Julie Sanchez, MWMA General Manager; Madeleine Francois, MWMA Board Secretary; Dr. Xhuljeta Gjini, MetroWest Elementary School Principal; Dr. Atresa F. Grubbs-Holmes, Westpointe Elementary School Principal; Jim Drayton, MWMA Board President; and Mary James, MWMA Assistant Manager.

MetroWest Master Association is led by a dynamic and involved board of directors who live in MetroWest. They are elected to two-year terms.

MetroWest Master Association Welcomes New Board Member Jennifer Waters

Jennifer Waters has joined the MetroWest Master Association (MWMA) Board of Directors. She has worked in MetroWest for the past five years, coming to the MetroWest branch of FAIRWINDS Credit Union with 20 years of banking center and management experience.

Her background also includes many years of giving back to the communities in which she has lived and worked. Since moving to Florida in 2008, Waters has been the race chair for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for two years and she also held various positions on the board of Dress for Success of Greater Orlando. During her time in MetroWest, Waters has been a part of the Fine and Hearing and Design and Review Committees for three years and she has volunteered for various task forces and other committees when needed.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to serve on the MetroWest Master Association Board and look forward to working on the many projects that benefit our wonderful community,” she says.

MetroWest MWMA is Bidding Farewell to Departing Board Member Victor Garofalo

A member of the MetroWest community for more than eight years and a business owner in Veranda Park, Victor Garofalo has served on the MWMA Board of Directors since 2018. A Brazilian immigrant who arrived in the United States in 2011, Garofalo graduated with his bachelor’s degree in business administration (B.B.A.) with a minor in economy from Rollins College. He is a commercial landlord and CEO of AFAM INVESTMENTS, LLC, a Florida-based company with real estate investments throughout Central Florida.

“It has been my honor to serve on the MetroWest Master Association Board for the past two years,” Garofalo says. “I’m proud of our community’s many achievements and confident that we will see even greater success in the future.”

MetroWest Public Safety Offers Holiday Safety Tips

With the holiday season just around the corner, MetroWest Public Safety would like to remind our community of some helpful tips to help keep you safe, both at home and while you’re out and about doing your holiday shopping.

Store Shopping

• Make a mental note of where you park your car, or put a note in your cell phone. • Be alert to your surroundings and have your keys in hand when approaching your vehicle. • Bring a friend! Shop in pairs when possible. • Don't buy more than you can carry. • Save all receipts to help verify purchases. • Keep credit cards out of view of others so they can't take pictures of them, and hide your pin number. • Advise security officers if you observe unattended bags. • Wear purses in cross body fashion and close to your body.

Keep your purse snapped or zipped closed. • Lock all purchases in your trunk to keep them out of view. • When shopping with children, designate a meeting place in case you get separated. Let them know to seek assistance from store employees or a person in uniform.

Online Shopping

• Update the security software on your computer and regularly change your passwords. • Use secure/well-known websites. Look for a locked padlock icon at bottom for PC or URL box on Mac. Look for “https" in URL address. • Shop with companies that you know and trust. Google company names to obtain background information on unfamiliar sites. • Be careful of bargains or deals from unfamiliar companies. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Around the Home

• As you unpack your holiday decorations, check for damage. If you find damaged sockets, loose wires or bad connections, throw the decorations away. • Don’t overload electrical outlets. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are common causes of holiday fires. • Never connect more than three strings of incandescent lights, as more than three strands may not only blow a fuse, but can also cause a fire. • Keep your Christmas tree fresh by watering it daily; a dry tree is a serious fire hazard. • Switch to battery-operated candles. Candles start almost half of home decoration fires and battery-operated alternatives are plentiful and attractive. • Keep combustible items, including decorations, at least three feet from heat sources (fireplace, space heater, etc.). • Protect electric cords from damage. Cords should never be pinched by furniture, forced into small spaces such as doors and windows, placed under rugs, located near heat sources, or attached by nails or staples. • Check decorations for certification label. Decorations not bearing a label from an independent testing laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian

Standards Association (CSA), or Intertek (ETL) have not been tested for safety and could be hazardous. • Don’t leave the kitchen when something is cooking. Unattended cooking equipment can lead to a fire. • When you’re leaving the house or going to bed, turn off, unplug and extinguish all decorations, especially candles (if you haven’t switched to battery-operated candles).

Have a safe holiday season!