Mask Pick Up, Easy as 1-2-3
Kiwanis Club Adds to the Giving Spirit of Gulfport
By Laura Mulrooney
By Jeff Donnelly
MARISSA STERWART
MARISSA STERWART
LAURA MULROONEY
LAURA MULROONEY LAURA MULROONEY
City employee Melissa Loven adheres to all CDC guidelines when manning her station at the Gulfport Casino. The Casino now has 13,500 masks in inventory, that are free of charge and available to those who need them. Located at 5500 Shore Blvd. S., Monday through Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.
Public Works Staff Assistant, Kelsey Bruckler stands ready to hand out packs of masks for those who are in need. The Public Works Office is located at the 49th Street Neighborhood Center, 1617 49th St. S. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wearing a mask isn’t just the latest spring trend – it looks like they’re sticking around for a while. The City of Key West made masks mandatory until July 2021, with quarterly reviews. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, made an announcement that they will require shoppers to wear masks for entry at all of their stores across the country, starting Monday, July 20. There’s one of two ways to look at this: Either embrace it and save lives, or fight it and deal with the repercussions. For the former, Gulfport has you set with free masks. The City of Gulfport has two walk-up mask distribution sites: One is inside the Public Works Office at the 49th Street Neighborhood Center, 1617 49th St. S. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The other is located through the side entrance of the Gulfport Casino Ballroom, 5500 Shore Blvd. S., Monday through Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. City employee Melissa Loven adheres to all CDC guidelines when manning her station at the Gulfport Casino. “Just walk in and tell me how many you need,” said Loven. “I make sure to wear my mask and my gloves and we give
each person a wrapped package of masks. They come in a bundle of five and we keep them sealed for your protection.” As of today Thursday, July 16, “the City of Gulfport has distributed over 10,000 free masks at these locations,” reported Cultural Facilities Events Supervisor Justin Shea. The city has received an additional 10,000 masks as of July 16. The Casino now has 13,500 masks in inventory, according to Shea. “Wearing a cloth face covering, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands are good practices that will continue to protect us and our neighbors,” wrote Shea in an email to the Gabber. “Thank you for wearing a mask.” For more information, including when and how to properly wear a mask, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at cdc.gov/coronavirus For a current listing of countywide locations of mask distribution sites, visit covid19.pinellascounty.org/freeface-masks/.
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theGabber.com | July 23 - July 29, 2020
President Shannon Turner and Jen Frost shopping for food for the Club’s Kind Mouse donation in November 2019.
Members participating in Gulfport’s MLK Day of Service community-wide clean up in January 2020.
Nearly a decade has passed since Kiwanis had a presence in the vicinity of Gulfport. But even then, Gulfport never had a chapter to call its own. A global community of clubs, members, and partners, according to its website Kiwanis is dedicated to improving the lives of children one community at a time. And as of October 2019, that vast network of helpers got a little bigger when the Gulfport Kiwanis Club was officially chartered. “Over the 10 or so years since the demise of Boca Ciega Kiwanis – which was never solely focused on the needs of children in Gulfport but a broader area – area Kiwanians have thought that the City of Gulfport had the right community identity and residents that would get involved,” says Allen Yergovich, Governor of the Florida District of Kiwanis and a Gulfport Kiwanis member. “Further investigation showed that there were enough areas of childhood needs and potential for betterment in the area.” Doubts about whether the Gulfport community was ready to support its own club were promptly quelled. “Since our charter, we have conducted an MLK Day of Service Gulfport Community Clean Up, fundraised and donated 500 pounds of food to the Kind Mouse Project and adopted two children for Christmas giving through Guardian Ad Litem,” says Marissa Stewart-Dix, Secretary/ Treasurer of the Gulfport Kiwanis Club and incoming 20202021 President. Like so many other non-profits and businesses, the pandemic put a drag on the young club’s momentum, but members continued to serve the community during at a time when children and community members were most in need. “One member stocked all three Gulfport Little Food Pantries,” says Stewart-Dix. “Two others made a large donation of snacks to an agency that feeds Pinellas County School children, and another two members made a personal
theGabber.com | July 23 - July 29, 2020
donation for prepaid advertising to a Gulfport restaurant via the ‘Bring Back the Gabber’ campaign. Our members are so enthusiastic and have such great ideas for service.” Future projects include the formation of a Bringing Up Grades club and the restart of a Key Club, allowing for the induction of local high-schoolers into the largest studentled Service and Leadership organization in the world, with over 22,000 students in the Florida District completing over 300,000 service hours annually to school and community. “Although we miss meeting face to face over dinner,” Stewart-Dix says, “the club has continued to meet virtually to reassess our goals and projects for the upcoming year in light of the pandemic.” Under the leadership of current President Shannon Turner, the club has increased membership from six founding members to 22, meeting every first and third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. via Zoom. “If anyone would like to join,” adds Stewart-Dix, “membership dues are currently waived until October 2020.” The Gulfport Kiwanis Club has already elected its first woman president, Shannon Turner, and for 2020-2021 Stewart-Dix will be installed as its first Black woman president. The presiding Governor of the Florida District of Kiwanis, Yergovich, is a married gay man. With a diverse leadership and membership and its enthusiasm for service to children and communities, Gulfport Kiwanis reflects the spirit of Gulfport without regard for race, sex, religion, age, political affiliation or sexual orientation. “There’s no stipulation on a person’s heart for service to others,” Stewart-Dix says. “Any and all are welcomed to join! We’re a microcosm for the bigger change we all want to see in this community and this world.” For membership information, contact gulfportflkiwanis@ gmail.com or visit the Gulfport Kiwanis on Facebook.
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