PhilanthroFest

Philanthrofest has made a huge impact on the South Florida community. The event, now in its third year, connects 1000’s of South Florida residents to valuable resources and services in the areas of Business & Economic Development, City/County Services, Civic Engagement/Community Improvement & Capacity Building, Cultural/Arts/Humanities, Educational, Environmental, Health/Human Services/Disease Prevention, Poverty/Welfare, Animal Related, Food/Agriculture/Nutrition, Recreation & Sports, and Youth Development & Services.The PhilanthroFest Community Engagement Festival features more than 100 South Florida non-profits and community agencies, art, music and dance entertainment, a kid’s zone, a community stage, healthy living section, and other family friendly attractions.

PhilanthroFest is FREE and open to the public with the goal of connecting volunteers and donors to not-for-profit organizations while creating an environment that promotes civic engagement, deepens community connections and sparks the philanthropic spirit of South Florida.

3 ways YOU can support PhilanthroFest TODAY:

GIVE

Donate to support the PhilanthroFest 2014 Festival and we will include your name on our donor recognition page and donor activation at the festival. DONATE VIA EVENTBRITE!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philanthrofest-2014-tickets-10897953071

VOTE

Cast your vote for PhilanthroFest in the KIND “Do The KIND Thing” Challenge: VOTE NOW! http://projects.kindsnacks.com/project/philanthrofest-2014-civic-engagement-festival/

SHARE

Share your #PhilanthroSMILE with us and be featured in our social media campaign: SHARE YOUR #PHILANTHROSMILE
http://www.philanthrofest.com/philanthrosmile

On Set with Comcast Newsmakers

I want to share some of my latest interviews as a Host for Comcast Newsmakers in Florida. The segments are great because I have the opportunity to talk with a diverse group of Public Servants, Lawmakers, Community Leaders and other “newsmakers” about a variety of topics that affect so many of us…. You can see all the current newsmakers segments online at www.comcastnewsmakers.com

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Below you can just press play to see some of my most recent on set interviews!

The Miami HEAT’s official DJ and founder of the Irie Foundation, DJ IRIE!

Estrellita Sibila of Philanthrofest

Discussing the topic of stroke with Dr. Tiffany Sizemore-Ruiz

SunFest of Palm Beach County with Paul Jamieson

ANEIROS Vehicle Child Seat System

Repost from 53 Weeks

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My youngest son and I recently played the “starring” roles in a video created for a crowd funding campaign. The project seeking funding is a vehicle child safety seat called “ANEIROS.” All too often we hear about (preventable) tragedies where a child is mistakenly left behind in a hot car, and ends up losing their life as a result of vehicular heat stroke… Well, the ANIEROS is designed to save those children. It effectively integrates with a vehicles alarm and electrical wiring, giving it the capability to alert a parent or caretaker of a forgotten child, activating the cars alarm, triggering the air condition system to cool down an overheating child, and much more. The system can control and activate the car’s lights, ignition, air conditioner, alarm and door locks.

In the video, Isaiah and I “acted out” everyday scenes to show how the child seat system would work IF a parent or caregiver happened to forget a quiet or sleeping child in the car. It’s easy to think it would never happen to you…but I’m sure the families who have suffered this tragic fate, never imagined it happening to them either. The ANEIROS has a full US patent and its creator needs funding help, to further develop it and get it on the market, and start saving lives. So, I encourage you to please watch the video and visit the Indiegogo crowd funding page >> http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aneiros-vehicle-child-seat-system If anything, please help spread the word to your social networks about this unique child seat system, if it can save just one child’s life, then it’s worth having on the market! The ANEIROS Indiegogo campaign runs now through April 18, 2014.

Connect with ANEIROS:

Indiegogo – http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aneiros-vehicle-child-seat-system
FB – https://www.facebook.com/aneirosllc
Twitter – https://twitter.com/AneirosSafety

Newsmakers This Week In Studio

I just finished another round of interviews for Comcast Newsmakers (Florida) and I thought I’d share some of my behind the scenes photos! Enjoy!

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Day 1, Look 1

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Shot of the monitor in the green room…

After wrapping up my chat with DJ Irie, discussing the Irie Foundation

Day 2, On Set “Selfie”

Interviewing PhilanthroFest Executive Director Estrella Sibila

Getting to wrap up a successful 2 days of in-studio interviews, pictured with my host counterpart, Phil Latzman

 

 

Too GOOD to be TRUE

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I always daydream about coming up on a large amount of money…you know some kind of rebate, award, lost payment I never received! Well, today when I was opening my mail, there was a check for more than $2500 looking me right in the face! An “official” check made out to ME, and I thought, what perfect timing (I just made a big purchase, so funds are on the lower side). My first thought was, I need to go to the bank and cash this ASAP…what time is it, is the bank still open??? Then, I thought, well even if it is a mistake, it has MY name on it! Then I noticed a letter attached to it, which said this is payment for the research study you agreed to participate in, etc… Now, I did sign up for one – I do those periodically when they apply to me and the “incentive money” is decent…BUT it has never been in the thousands!

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At any rate, once my (common) sense took over, I realized this is just not right, what’s the deal!?!? So, I did what any normal person does these days, I took it to google to search the company, etc… Well, I did find a “legit” website, but no posts of warnings or a notice of a scam or anything. However, as I continued to dig, there it was, a very similar story about a scam where people are sent (fake) checks in a large amount and told to wire a certain amount of the check, since it’s a research study involving a money transfer/wiring company. And then people do it, but the check never clears at the bank…it just bounces. Then by the time anyone catches on…it’s too late! So, I think it’s safe to say…it’s the same SCAM! Grrrr…. I even looked up the bank it said the check was from..and that bank does indeed seem to exist. The other “flags” I noticed when I took a closer look, is who it said the check was from, not the name the said research company, but an individual. Also, no address was listed for the issuing bank. Oh well, it was nice for a second to think I was up a few thousand bucks, but I’m definitely lucky enough to know when it’s too good to be true!

 

Comcast Newsmakers Vids

The latest round of Comcast Newsmakers interviews I hosted while in Tallahassee can now be viewed online at Comcast Newsmakers (Florida)! They may also be found “On Demand” if you have Comcast in Florida. Below are a few of my segments ….

“Stopping Sexual Offenders” with Kelli Stargel, Florida Senate, District 15

“Gender Specific Classrooms” with Anitere Flores, Florida Senate, District 37

“Florida Tourism” with Nancy Detert, Florida Senate, District 28

“Filming in Florida” with Michelle Rehwinkle-Vasalinda, Florida House of Representatives, District 9

Raiderette LOW PAY Lawsuit – MY THOUGHTS!!!

Yes, I was an Oakland Raiderette…and am still a proud alumni! So news of a lawsuit by a current – on her way out former Raiderette from the most recent season has hit the media, and I couldn’t resist giving my 2 cents, okay it’s more like a lot of SENSE!! And this all comes on the heels of a new petition on behalf of ALL NFL Cheerleaders (completely unrelated) to get MORE PAY!

Check these links for background:

Busted Coverage – Cheerleader Sues Raiders for Withholding Pay & Not Paying Minimum Wage **this article contains a copy of the actual lawsuit paperwork filed**
ESPN – Cheerleader Files Suit Against Raiders
Pay Petition – for all NFL Teams Cheerleaders

But seriously, this is sparking so much debate among Raiderette Alumni and people in general, that I just had to put my thoughts down and share…so here goes…

YES…being a PRO TEAM Dancer/Cheerleader is a low paying job…I’ve been on 3 teams in the NBA and NFL. Do I believe the compensation should be more, yes, that would be nice to be paid for my time and talent, but here’s the reality (from my dancing days):

  • Cheerleaders (Raiders) are paid a per game stipend, practice is not paid and certain community/charity events may also be non paid. There are other paid appearance opportunities and you are always told the pay, location and summary of all events before you sign up. Other pro teams do receive a minimum wage for practice. You also receive tickets for the game as part of the compensation.
  • Team members sign a contract acknowledging and agreeing to the terms of pay, attendance, expectations (hair, makeup, nails, citizenship, etc…), duties, hours, and it is often a requirement for those selected to hold some type of job or be a student outside of the team.
  • Members are required to maintain and meet fitness/appearance requirements, all of which are discussed and agreed to…gym membership and stylist discounts are also given by sponsors. And while some of the ladies may take that as required weekly manicures or regular haircuts and color, those are optional expenses the ladies incur at their own discretion…again they AGREED to this.
  • Travel to appearances may sometimes be out of area, but if you sign up to drive 90 miles, I’m saying, don’t complain about it.
  • Fines are incurred when you are late for practice, games, events or if you forget required equipment, attire, etc… I have no issue with this, money is the best motivator to get people to stay on top of their game.

So my thing is, at auditions… candidates are WELL AWARE of what it takes to make the team and what the job entails, if selected among the HUNDREDS, sometimes THOUSANDS of hopefuls. I think the general public assumes it is a full time job and doesn’t realize the reality of what goes on behind the glamour – hours of practice, appearances and prep, but truth be told, after all the hard work, hours of sweat, all the tears shed, dedication and miles driven, what you take home doesn’t even cover gas costs! However, the majority (if not all) of the ladies in the pro ranks aren’t doing it “for the money.” What this job offers are priceless memories and friendships, unique experiences and once in a lifetime opportunities. As a pro team cheerleader I was able to network and meet countless top level executives from a wide range of industries, work alongside community leaders and influencers, travel and represent teams in the most elite sports leagues and given the platform to be part of game day entertainment in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans!

Honestly, this gets me worked up because I am protective of the “sisterhood.” I do see the point of being paid more and it would be well-deserved, but the reality is that being a Raiderette or part of any pro team is a privilege and honor, that is priceless!! IF this suit is successful, I think a few things could happen. It may be possible that teams do away with cheerleaders altogether or make it a volunteer job with NO stipend. However, since the cheerleaders are vital to branding and bring in millions of dollars for the team, maybe they shrink the squads down to only a dozen or less, to make them full-time staff.  But, let’s be honest, the hundreds of women that try out would do it for free, and these days the spots are so coveted that they enlist the coaching of people like me, through Going Pro Entertainment, to give them advice and pointers on how to make a team!

It will be interesting to see what happens. I worked full time outside of my position as a pro team cheerleader/dancer, with each team I was lucky enough to be a member of…and I would do it all over again for the same “low” pay.

Comcast Newsmakers

I traveled to the State Capitol in Florida this week to interview lawmakers and community leaders for Comcast Newsmakers. It was the first time I spent any time in Tallahassee, and albeit quick, it was nice! At any rate, below are a couple behind the scenes photos of me on set during an interview…

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The video segments will be coming to a TV or computer screen near you soon! 🙂