Rock the Croc honors Steve Irwin

Students at Bonita Springs Charter School paid tribute to the late Steve Irwin in a way the TV personality and nature lover would have found touching and inspiring.

In a three-part event called “Rock the Croc” students collected money, drew posters and held a food drive to benefit the Caloosa Nature Center.

“We came up with this idea after Steve Irwin died and our kids kept talking about him at lunch and in the hallways,” said Jill Lane, an administrative assistant at the school. “Our kids are giving and they wanted to do something they knew Steve would approve of.”

Lane organized the event with several activities so that every child could participate and get their parents involved.

Because Irwin was known for educating the public about nature on his TV programs, kids wanted to give back in a way that would affect animals and Lane gave them that opportunity.

“I put together the fresh produce collection so that kids and parents could bring in foods that the nature center would normally purchase themselves. This makes it cheaper for them,” she said adding that local boy scout troop pack 330 helped collect the food from parents before and after school.

Parents dropped off bag fulls of lettuce, carrots, apples and melons that the center could feed to the animals.

“The Caloosa Center relies on volunteers to get the job done so we just wanted to help out a little bit more,” Lane said.

Going even further to help the nature center students paid $2 to wear jeans and a T-shirt with their favorite animal, instead of the mandatory uniform.

“These kids just care so much about Steve and about nature. He taught them a lot and to see them in their T-shirts with their favorite animals shows just how much they enjoyed his shows,” said Lane adding that $800 will be donated to the nature center as part of the event.

Losing Irwin was a big blow for kids who grew up watching his antics and listening to him yell “Crikey!” at the sign of potential danger. So they went a step further to honor his life with creative posters with pictures, sayings and even plastic toy gators.

The top three winners received family memberships to the Caloosa Nature Center.

“I’m really happy that I won and it’s really cool because I love nature and I love drawing,” said Kimberly Clements, 11, a sixth grader. She won in the sixth through eight grade category.

As Irwin would have said during the thousands of TV shows where he got face to face with the animals: “Crocs Rule!”

And that’s what kids at Bonita Spring Charter are hoping he is saying in response to their efforts.

“He inspires people like us to continue to fight and I’m not a bleeding heart kind of guy but we need to watch out for (nature) for our youth,” said John Stinauer, a volunteer scout with troop pack 330. “He was one of those guys that taught us to care about our world and I’m happy that we can do something.”

OLOL thrift shop sells good stuff at good prices

Our Lady of Light Catholic Community Thrift Shop is the perfect place to find good products at great prices.

At least that’s what their flyer says and regular customers seem to agree.

“We offer what others don’t. The quality of the goods and merchandise and the prices of our store set us apart,” said volunteer Edyie Flaherty, of Estero. She has been with the store since it opened two years ago. “All our volunteers try to make it as good looking as possible and people like that.”

Pleasing the customer is a top priority of the thrift shop that benefits the Our Lady of Light Catholic Church and depends on the community to keep the store stocked.

“Everything we have is donated and our quality of products are very nice and we have been fortunate,” said Denise Fraser, the store manager. She has been with the store since it’s inception and works to make sure customers get the products they need.

The store sells everything from fine collectibles and furniture to kitchen items and sporting goods.

“We get clothes that still has tags on them. Here you get high quality products and you are buying them at thrift shop prices,” Fraser said.

And to make sure customers always find a great deal, Fraser offers three types of sales that have become increasingly popular.

“We get a lot of clothes so we have customer appreciation day at the end of the months on a rotating basis,” said Fraser, who also offers a week of “draw your discount” day in which customers pick tickets out of a hat for discounts. “We have great items and we have items for everyone. Whether college student setting up a dorm or (snow birds) decorating their second home.”

Fraser also allows customers to fill a large bag with clothes for $5 every third full weekend of the month.

In order to get the word out the thrift shop advertises in local publications in the area but word of mouth seems to bring most customers in to the store that sits just off Old 41 in Bonita Springs.

“We have good customer turnover in season and people like to see different things every week,” said Flaherty, who volunteers because she feels fulfilled by giving back to the community.

Any items donated to the store are tax deductible and all proceeds go to the church for the “development of the community,” said Fraser. “We have a lot of fun here and it’s a way to give back to the community.”