CERT raises valuable money/thanks community
The second annual Snowbird Festival at the Yucatan Beach Stand on Sunday was a community event for a good cause. The fundraiser collected more than $2,000 for the Fort Myers Beach Community Emergency Response Team, a volunteer organization comprised of nearly 100 local members who serve the community during disaster situations and aid the fire department by setting up a response tent at most every function.
In what felt more like Indian Summer after a stretch of cooler weather, the Snowbird Festival showcased true community effort within a packed parking lot of festival goers and contributors at Yucatan. The CERT members held a a 50/50 drawing and a raffle for roughly 50 tax-deductible donation items. Many helpful vendors also contributed to the cause.
Yucatan General Manager and CERT member Steve DeAngelis was excited about the local effort.
“First, I want to thank all the businesses, people and volunteers because the second annual Snowbird festival was a success due to the generosity of so many by their donations and efforts,” he said. “I have never had the chance to raffle off so many prizes. We are blessed to live in a community that cares enough to help, even when times are less than favorable, and resources are stretched pretty thin.
DeAngelis said the results were very pleasing.
“After expenses, we cleared $2,038 that will go directly to our local C.E.R.T. program,” he said. “I was so pleased with this team’s collective efforts all day as everyone worked well together, and some stayed the entire time. I plan on doing another event for C.E.R.T. in the future. The winner of the 50/50 was Sandra Petty who collected $350 in cold hard cash. So on behalf of the Yucatan Beach Stand, thank you Fort Myers Beach. We as C.E.R.T. members truly appreciate our home.”