Florida Agenda

By DALE MADISON

Personal trainer Dean Yanakis found more than a home when he moved to South Florida: He found a calling. He relates that his move to South Florida from the northeast—first to Fort Lauderdale, and then eventually to Wilton Manors— landed him a great condo, which doubles as a home-training facility, where he works with about 30 clients a week. The move also brought him into contact with the Poverello Food Bank, which was having problems feeding clients.

When he heard about the center’s Open Arms, Open Hearts food drive, Yanakis requested that a drop-off box be placed at his condo. Within one week, he had not only filled the box, but needed to call three times to have it emptied and replaced. That’s when he decided, “If I can do this with just my clients, what could I do if I made the entire complex aware?” The New York State-native called the agency, and asked that collection boxes be placed at all of the master mail boxes in his Wilton Manors condo. Since this was at the end of season, many of the snowbirds were heading north, and in the process of cleaning out their pantries. With so many grocery items to collect, Poverello required the space of an entire van for the pickup.

After Yanakis returned from a business trip to New York, he decided to immerse himself in a cause that would put those in need with work that enabled them to earn their keep. “I’d watch how so many of the charities hand out money or food, but don’t really ask for help in return. I love Poverello and the amazing work that they do. With all of those people coming in for help, why are they not volunteering to help in the food bank, in the sorting room, or in the retail store?” he wondered.

“I wanted to help those who want to help themselves. So a group of friends and I got together, and we scoped out a plan to help those who are willing to put forth an effort to jump start their lives,” Yanakis explains. “We all have special talents that we can direct to help others,” he adds.

Yanakis outlines the application process for Less Fortunate. “When a person applies, we ask for all of their income—everything, none of this working under the table. We want people to be honest with us, and then we take all of their legitimate expenses—rent, utilities, car expenses, including insurance and fuel to and from work only, food—all of the basics.

No alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, nothing recreational. We will then do a spread sheet.

“As an example, if someone has income of $1,800, and expenses of $2,200, we will work with them to find an additional $400 to get them through the month. We partner them with someone who can help them. We recently had a man who needed someone to walk his dog, because he had had knee replacement surgery. He was willing to pay $20 a day, which made up the difference for what a young dog walker needed in order to meet all of his monthly expenses,” Yanakis proudly notes, the perfect winwin scenario.

For more information about Less Fortunate, email fldean2012@aol.com.

By Dale Madison

At a time when LGBT Rights and empowerment are at the forefront of the national debate, one local organization has taken the reins to make empowerment more than a watchword. Since 1987, Women In Network (WIN) has been dedicated to building skills in personal and business development, leadership, and empowerment for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women (the “L-B-T” in LGBT).

The non-profit group organizes business and professional networking events, advocacy efforts, health and educational programs, philanthropic and scholarship support, along with social and recreational events. All of these are devised with a goal that involves helping others and empowering themselves.

“We started watching the show, ‘Extreme Couponing,’ and a group of us got the idea to work for a local non-profit,” recalls Julia Landis. “So we did our research.” That research led them to a strategy for benefitting those less fortunate, and having a great time in the process. “It’s pretty amazing if you get a local grocery store to have a buy-one-get-one special, and then you find a manufacturer’s coupon and match them up—all of a sudden, you are actually walking out with money in your hand,” Landis adds. “One of my favorites is CouponMom.com, but there are many out there that really can double or triple your buying power.”

How does this great enthusiasm translate into helping others? Landis explains: “A few months ago, we started a food drive for Poverello. We didn’t know that there are certain items that Poverello cannot, due to laws, provide for their clients. Things like barbeque sauce are considered a luxury, and therefore government money can’t purchase these. We found that we could purchase the barbeque sauce with our couponing, and got the price down to less than fifty cents per bottle. The first delivery, we took over 3,500 pounds of groceries to Poverello. Terry Sommerville, the food bank manager at Poverello, was nearly in tears, because he was able to give clients things that they would never be able to have.”

As well as the homeless, WIN has a soft spot for kids. “Many people don’t realize that over 125,000 Broward County children can’t afford the basic supplies for school,” says Landis.

In cooperation with the Pride Center, McDonalds, Auto Nation, Power 96 FM, Waste Management, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, Broward County schools, the Creative Summer Art Academy, and the Museum of Art, the “Tools for Schools Broward” program collects school supplies for disadvantaged children.

“Some of the things that we need most are glue sticks, crayons, pens and pencils, pink erasers, paper—just the simple things for kids to have for learning,” Landis says. “We have several drop off locations, including right here at the Pride Center at Equality Park [2040 North Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors], or people can go online and make a donation at browardedfoundation. net. Thanks to ‘Tools for Schools,’ Broward teachers from low income schools now have a chance to help their students to not just learn, but to excel.”

or more information about Women In Network, visit womeninnetwork.com, or contact Julia at julia@lgbtcenters.org

If your non-profit organization is not listed in the Agenda Non-Profit Services Directory, please send your information to
Dale Madison at dalemadison@ guymag.net.

When Poverello was established in 1986, its mission—and that of Father Bill—was to make sure that those South Florida men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS were fed. Father put his talk into his walk, many times delivering food out of his car to make sure that their nutritional needs were met.

Nearly three decades later, although budget cuts have made it necessary for the Poverello Center to reduce client services, the organization’s mission and focus haven’t changed. With the assistance of the City of Wilton Manors, Poverello moved its Friends Fitness Center to a new and larger location.

CEO Tom Smith says, “We have made the gym grow from 2,000 square feet to almost 4,000 square feet. The clients are so happy to have more space. We now have a central reception area, and we have added office space that is available for other non-profits and not-for-profit organizations,” which he notes includes phone and internet capability.

Smith says that Poverello has experienced the larger economic crunch, as well as the additional costs of relocation, but he is optimistic. “It’s been a tough year with the expenses of the move, the build out—and we had to let four staff members go due to the economy, but we are on our way back. The Thrift Store income is increasing, and the whole team has pulled together. We will make it,” he adds. “As we grow, our mission will include more individuals with other life threatening illnesses.”

Poverello will host its 22nd Annual Bowl-A-Thon on Saturday, August 11, at the Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac.

Complimentary coach services will be provided to and from the event.

For more information, including organizing a team, visit poverello.org.