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St. Pete Beach Resort Gives To Town ‘N Country Institution
Posted Jan 11, 2007 by Sherri Lonon
Updated Jan 11, 2007 at 01:52 PM
DONATES $30,000 TO THE CHILDREN’S HOME
By STEPHEN HAMMILL
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Holiday goodwill provided a Tampa charitable organization with its biggest Christmas present just in the nick of time.
On Dec. 27, representatives from TradeWinds resorts visited The Children’s Home, 10909 Memorial Highway in Tampa, to present them with a $30,259 check.
The money was the accumulation of the TradeWinds Children’s Home Special, where from Dec. 17-26, visitors to the St. Pete Beach resort who donated at least $30 received a free night’s stay.
“Every penny of that money went into this check,” said Kelly Prieto, spokeswoman for the TradeWinds.
Prieto said the program started as a last-minute idea that steamrolled into something no one would’ve expected. The resort reported more than 1,000 rooms booked during the period.
Keith Overton, the resort’s vice president and general manager, first conceived the idea of doing something charitable for the holidays. According to Overton, TradeWinds is a family oriented resort, and was looking for novel way to give something back.
“We were saying we have all these extra vacancies this time of year, why not let children who don’t have the privilege come to our hotel,” he said.
That idea evolved into something more ambitious, allowing regular resort visitors to get involved. Overton approached Gerard Veneman, The Children’s Home’s president and chief executive officer, with the proposal.
“The first time I heard this idea, I thought it was so simple, and so powerful,” Veneman said. “Every holiday season I say we need a few miracles.”
The miracle this year came in the form of the $30,000 check.
“We always depend on the goodwill of the community to make everything work,” Veneman said.
He said The Children’s Home must raise about $2.1 million in donations every year to keep it operations afloat. That comes to about 20 percent of a yearly funding budget that exceeds $12 million.
Typical fundraising events include golf tournaments and dinners. The TradeWinds idea was something unique, and in its first year, an unqualified success.
“Thank God they picked us,” Veneman said.
Overton, like all involved, was shocked at the outpouring of support for the program.
“We thought we might get 20 or 30 rooms sold, but the phones started ringing and didn’t stop ringing,” he said. “We just weren’t prepared for the response. It was overwhelming.”
According to the TradeWinds, more than 900 families stayed at the resort during the 10-day promotion. In fact, people had to be turned away.
“It was a stroke of genius,” Veneman said. “I don’t think any of us knew it would come out this way.”
About 60 kids live on the premises of The Children’s Home at any given time, while various intervention programs reach another 2,000 children in the area. Staff members stay with the young residents in cottages, and each child is assigned a primary caregiver.
“We’re trying to provide them with a parental model,” said Lynn Hoy, director of development for The Children’s Home.
The daily cost per child is $240.
“We have to raise $120 for every child every day through charities,” Veneman said.
The recent ceremony included a check presentation, followed by an ice cream social and pizza party for the kids.
During the presentation, Veneman said, “We are honored by such a huge check. We had no idea it was coming this time of year. Keith cooked this idea up and the response was unbelievable.”
The charity work isn’t done. Overton invited some of the kids of The Children’s Home to the TradeWinds on Jan. 6 for a cookout.
Overton also announced at the ceremony that the resort will continue with its room special through Feb. 28, as TradeWinds will donate $30 to The Children’s Home for each reservation booked.
“We may do something like this again next year,” Overton said. “We’re looking to keep the partnership going. We’ll sit down with Gerard and the staff and see what we can do.”
For more information on the TradeWinds Children’s Home Special or to donate, visit http://www.tradewindschild.com.
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