Shots for Tots

Rubella, chicken pox, measles and polio are among the 11 childhood diseases that can be prevented with a simple shot.

But having your kids immunized against these can be troublesome, especially if you don’t have a family physician and no means of health care.

The Health Department in Fort Myers provides shots, but many in Bonita Springs just don’t have the time or resources to make the hike.

And they don’t have to. Ira Hawk, a volunteer and Bonita Springs community leader, has spent the last 10 years making sure more than 10,000 shots were given to infants and toddlers as part of the “Shots for Tots” program.

The program, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs, allows families to bring their infants in for shots, which are administered by the Health Department at no charge.

“I do this primarily to make immunizations available to children in our area,” said Hawk, who suffered from polio as a child and doesn’t want others to endure the same fate. “Certain immunizations are available from people’s family physicians, but a lot of our clients don’t have physicians.”

Many low-income families and undocumented workers don’t qualify for health aid, so Hawk has continued to administer shots every first Tuesday of the month for the last ten years.

He has only missed a few months in that time. He will miss July this year because of the Independence Day holiday.

Free shots will resume in August — just in time to get immunization records up to date for children starting school.

“The children bring in their shot records or the health department keeps them in a laptop,” said Holly Hollingsworth, a rotarian and publicity chairman for the program. “It’s a very good system, and it ensures people are registered.”

She helps Hawk on Tuesdays by registering clients and making sure they get the shots they need.

“Nothing should stop these children from being protected. That is our goal, that they won’t have these diseases,” Hollingsworth said.

The “Shots for Tots” program is open to the community at the First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs on June 6.

“This clinic is our opportunity to bring these immunizations back to our community,” Hawk said.

Ballroom dance studio keeps people on their toes

Marilyn Whitlow’s shrink told her to get out of the house and do something fun.

At first Whitlow wasn’t sure what to do because for years she had cared for her brain damaged husband and rarely left the house.

Whitlow thought she was going nuts but her shrink just figured Whitlow needed some air. The doctor told Whitlow to try taking dance lessons at the Blue Moon Ballroom Dance Studio in Bonita Springs.

“I found out I wasn’t insane and the doctor knew (of the studio) so I came and my neighbors noticed a difference instantly,” said Whitlow, 69, of North Naples.

After learning the cha cha, rumba, swing, fox trot and waltz, it was like Whitlow came out of her shell once again.

“I love music and I love dancing. Dancing lifted me up,” Whitlow said.
Barbara Tucker is the owner of the studio and is happy to hear success stories like Whitlow’s.

She opened the studio more than four years ago and teaches all kinds of ballroom dancing in the studio, which is lined with mirrors and a large dance floor.

“I like the personalized attention, it’s not commercialized,” said Mike Salzano, 42, of Fort Myers Beach.

Commercialized is not what Tucker wants people to feel when they take lessons.

“I try to make them comfortable, it’s hard to come in here for the first time. It takes courage,” Tucker said.

The studio draws people from all over the area because it’s the only one between Naples and Fort Myers, said Tucker, who got her dancing start in New York in the 70’s.

“I like teaching and we get to change people’s lives and in their faces they change in the course of lessons,” said Tucker, who started teaching dance in Southwest Florida in the country clubs. “We really get a chance to touch them.”

But being able to reach her students takes patience and talented instructors like Adam Forrester, 24, of Naples.

Forrester has worked for Tucker since the studio opened but his background wasn’t in dancing. Tucker met Forrester when he was a barista at a Starbucks in Naples.

“I walked in and we had some banter back and forth and I told him I was going to make him a dance teacher,” Tucker said.

She told him to come from behind the counter and taught him a step.

She then gave him her card and offered him free lessons and a chance to become an instructor for her.
He never called.

“I went back and he remembered me. He came from behind the counter and showed me the step I taught him. From that moment on, he was my student,” said Tucker, who turned Forrester into an instructor.

The duo now work together and help students build their dancing confidence, even if they are convinced they have two left feet.

“I wake up in the morning to dance, I just happen to get paid to do it,” said Forrester, who is helping coordinate dances for the studios student showcase on June 4. “I love working for Barbara, she is a typical New Yorker ... fun, wild, crazy, and very enthusiastic.”

Book mobile

The bookmobile pulled up to the Manna Christian Missionaries RV Park and parked just within the community’s fences.

Kids of all ages and their parents saw the 40-foot bus, which is painted blue with a beach theme, and ran inside their homes.

But they weren’t running away from the bus — they were running to get their library books and library cards.

“I love coming to get movies,” said Lizett Vivai, 7.

The bookmobile visits communities throughout Lee County once every two weeks, which gives kids plenty of time to read books or watch DVDs before it returns.

“Manna Christian is a really good place to visit because many kids don’t have access to the library, and this brings books to their backyards,” said Kathy Mayo, who has been the coordinator of the bookmobile for more than a decade.

But the mobile’s services aren’t limited to just checking out and returning books. Kids can also get a library card, sign up for the summer reading programs and spend time talking to librarians.

“If you want something not on the bookmobile, you can request that it be brought to your area,” said library spokesperson Heather O’Connell. “We strive to provide library service and extend it throughout the community.”

The bookmobile is now a full library on wheels, but it wasn’t always that way.

Its full history is not known, but stories suggest that the first “mobile” in the area was begun in 1953 by the Women’s Club of Bonita Springs.

“The women’s club began a small library by collecting books from a small beauty shop,” O’Connell said. “That’s when we started a mobile library and Colonel Godson drove his truck around.”

But Godson’s truck isn’t anything compared to the bookmobile purchased in 1991.

This one can have up to 30 visitors at once and has three air conditioners to keep them cool.

The body of the bookmobile is a school bus chassis with a wheelchair lift and a diesel engine and generator.

It’s built to accommodate two library staff members, books shelves, benches and all sorts of library materials.

“The shelves are built at an angle, so the books stay on the shelves. But they do fall if you take a sharp turn, but we try to avoid that,” Mayo said. “It’s a pretty big bus.”

But big isn’t always what visitors think when they open the door and see the selection of more than 4,000 items.

Fernando Jose, 8, visited the bookmobile for the first time and liked the concept of a library on wheels.

“I like the movies and books,” Jose said. He spent some time picking out DVDs and returning books that he had rented at the Bonita Springs Public Library.

Books line the walls inside the bus, and benches or step stools provide seating. There are also plenty of posters hanging around that highlight the importance of reading.

The book mobile will make its first appearance for the children in the Pueblo Bonito Boys and Girls Club Summer Program on June 7 in Bonita Springs.

“We keep a good schedule of what is going on and when we will be at certain neighborhoods,” O’Connell said. “This bus helps with our literacy efforts and it’s important to provide services for those who can’t get to the library for whatever reason.”

Futsal - Indoor Soccer League

Make a trip to Manna Christian Missionaries, pick up a dozen or so kids and their parents and drive them to the Bonita Springs Recreational Center.

Give the kids a soccer ball, get a volunteer coach to teach them to play soccer and call it a summer indoor soccer league.

Although bringing the kids is easy, Juan Romero is working for a larger goal — to garner enough community support to keep the kids coming back throughout the summer.

“These kids’ families don’t have $120 to pay for summer camp,” said Romero, who is heading the effort to start the league and establish it. “I want to give them something to keep them out of trouble and off the streets in their neighborhoods.

Romero, 46, of Bonita Springs, is the director of the Indoor Soccer League that was started after he spent time with youngsters and realized that the summer was the hardest time to keep them busy.

“School is out, and I wanted to get him involved in an activity and my friends invited me, so I came,” said Laurie Heintz, a parent from south Fort Myers who is planning to sponsor a team.
Heintz’s son, Jackson, 11, played soccer for the first time indoors and picked it up quickly.

Although the league has about 20 children participating, Romero is looking for more to join and has created the Manna Christian Warriors as the first team in the league.

“We want to get more kids and get a team from Naples, Pueblo Bonita, Bonita Springs or anywhere else,” Romero said.

He is working with the city of Bonita Springs to extend the amount of time kids can spend at the center, but summer camps and other activities are booking up the location.

“I went to the city, and I told them that something like this is needed. We can work with the recreational center more closely and work out times,” Romero said. “I feel sad when I see (kids) hanging in the street and nothing to do.”

But Romero is keeping busy until he secures more play time for the kids by asking for sponsors, volunteer coaches and anyone willing to donate their time to the cause.

He has three sponsors who have vowed to give their time and money for the league, and Heintz will also join and donate money to buy each child a uniform at $20 apiece.

“We are presenting the idea and getting everybody involved,” Romero said. “Hopefully, we can make the difference and reduce the violence and gangs and it will be easier to help them now.”

Poodle Club not just for the dogs

Poodles are smart, loyal and trustworthy. And their likability makes the more than 40 members of the Gulf Coast Poodle Club love them.

"They are the smartest breed and you can talk to them like they are a person. They are very sensitive," said Cheryl Laventure of Bonita Springs, who attended the monthly club meeting at the Pet 'N Groom, Inc. shop in Bonita Springs with her 4-year-old poodle Kaia.

Kaia recently finished her championship breed competition and now does therapy in nursing homes. "I'll never be without her," said Laventure.

And neither will the club which has become a social outlet for poodles from around the area. The club has been around for two years.

"The bigger poodles are very outgoing and they like to go hiking, they love snow and they like to hunt deer, rabbit and squirrels. They are also very clever," said Becky Welsh, of Naples. She brought 3-year-old Sienna and 7-year-old Snickers to the meeting for the second time.

Members have time to share stories about their pets.

Welsh shared her story of how she acquired Sienna after taking Snickers to six breeders and Snickers chose to only play with Sienna.

Poodles were originally German water dogs that got their name from the German word for "puddle." The French later made them popular.

"I think there is a camaraderie that comes with owning these dogs. We think of them as different than your average dog and people enjoy coming to share information and learn about them," said club president Debby Foley.

"Once you've had a poodle, all the rest are simply a dog."