Alzheimerโs patients find fun, caregivers find respite at an award-winning adult daycare
Every weekday morning a stream of buses pulls up under the carport at the Brevard Alzheimerโs Foundation in Melbourne. The staff helps everyone make their way to Joeโs Club, an adult daycare program for people who canโt safely be left at home. Most have Alzheimerโs or dementia.
Osceola County middle school tutor gets results in and out of the classroom
Twice a week, Maggice Porter tutors an eighth-grade AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) class at Narcoossee Middle School. But itโs what she does outside the classroom that earned her this weekโs Getting Results Award.
When her son was struggling in school, this mother started her own
Nicole Duslak is living her dream. The artist and educator stood at the front of a classroom at CREATE Conservatory in Leesburg. The K-5 nonprofit school she runs is the result of years of study, experience and what she calls โa perfect storm of circumstances.โ
Freedom Ride, nonprofit that offers therapeutic horseback rides, now on the move
AdFreedom Ride Executive Director Marianne Gray said the location has served them well. His father, Carlos Mancilla, watched as his son made his way around the Freedom Ride arena. We need more places like this.โFor all their success, Gray said Freedom Rideโs days are numbered at the Lee Road location. Trotters Park is right next door and plans have been in the works for years to expand onto the Freedom Ride parcel. โThe location is paradise for what we do.โFreedom Ride is in the middle of a capital campaign to raise funds for property improvement.
Getting Results Award winner helps her community get vaccinated
Steele has been helping residents make appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations. Steele, also a resident of the park, comes to work early and on her days off in order to help. The couple was so impressed with Steeleโs success and dedication to the Nova Campground residents that they nominated her for the News 6 Getting Results Award. โPeople in the campground, anyone that needs one, sheโs gotten it for us,โ Richard Griffing said. โShe has a very good heart and soul.โSteele said sheโs still being asked to help and she enjoys doing it.
โA smile and a fist bump for everyone:โ Family thanks assisted living home director
MELBOURNE, Fla. โ Thereโs a positive vibe at Greenwood Place Assisted Living in Melbourne, and a feeling that things may be getting back to normal. โItโs been a tough year,โ Greenwood Place Executive Director Cynthia Cooler said. Over the last year, Greenwood Place Assisted Living relied on video conferencing, drive by parades, doorway karaoke and bingo and even a hugging booth made of plastic sheeting. Ball nominated Cooler and the staff of Greenwood Place Assisted Living for the News 6 Getting Results Award. She pointed out photos of her parents enjoying the activities Greenwood Place had to offer.
โI ended up in paradise instead of homeless:โ News 6 viewer thanks property manager for rental help
ORLANDO, Fla. โ The pandemic has left many out of work and struggling to pay rent and court filings for evictions continue to rise, records show. The rent on the three-bedroom home in Orlando, that she shares with her mother, was about to go up by 20%. AdโI guess the best way to put it is being priced out of your home,โ Picarelli said. โI said โokay, let me see what I can do for you.โโLove oversees around 300 properties for ALICA Property Management. โHeโs compassionate and even empathetic which is rare for a property manager,โ Picarelli said.
Fellowship and friendship: Life-changing illness brings friends together during pandemic
[TRENDING: Injunctions filed against girl slammed by deputy | SpaceX launches satellites | OK to dream: Snow in Florida?] [TRENDING: Injunctions filed against girl slammed by deputy | SpaceX launches satellites | OK to dream: Snow in Florida?] That extension ladder is where he goes up and down.โScott Peterson says heโs grateful to pastor Rice for providing a safe environment. He says pastor Rice helped him through the challenging time. โWhen you go through a situation that your life changes itโs a lot of adjustment and he helped,โ Peterson added.
This 6th grader has run more than 800 miles in honor of fallen first responders
You can find Cartledge most nights at Layer Elementary School in Winter Springs where he runs a mile in tribute to fallen first responders. During every tribute, Cartledge is accompanied by his family and at least one off duty officer. โEvery time he runs heโs gaining more support heโs reaching more people,โ Nazzaro said. As a result, last year Running 4 Heroes was able to award $85,000 dollars in grants to 13 first responders injured in the line of duty. โIt feels great knowing that Iโm healing thousands of people just because of a tribute mile that Iโm doing,โ Cartledge said.
Need help with an injured animal? Sheโs the voice on the other end of the call
Bonnie Westerveld sits at a desk in her East Orange County home and fields calls all day and night from people who are trying to help injured and orphaned wildlife. Westerveld is a full time volunteer for Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge. Westerveld was a volunteer at Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge until illness made it difficult for her to work on site. โSheโs the voice that people hear when they call and sheโs, oftentimes, the person that calms them down.โHelsel gave News 6 a tour of the Back To Nature clinic. You can reach Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge at: 407-568-5138 email: info@btnwildlife.orgDo you have someone you would like to nominate for a News 6 Getting Results Award?
Pop-up food bank serves Chuluota area with fresh vegetables
Twice a month, the couple creates up a pop-up farmers market in front of VFW Post 10139 in Chuluota. โWould you like some spinach?โ Zielke asked one of the nearly 70 people who make their way to the fresh vegetable food bank. โThat gave us an idea that we could go there and help them by purchasing some of the food they couldnโt sell,โ Mike Zielke said. โItโs something we thought would be very short term,โ Mike Zielke said. Friends suggested he stop by the Chuluota food bank.
As many of us spend more time at home, this volunteer is on the road to keep others safe
She said itโs worth it because her efforts have allowed the roughly 500 members to make 37,000 masks since March. โI donโt sew,โ Laverty laughs. Brevard Mask Makers initially made masks for health care and front line workers. Marsha Plog is one of the Brevard Mask Maker volunteers. โIf the people who sew want to continue to sew then Iโll continue to deliver them, Laverty said.
News 6 takes a look back at some of our favorite Getting Results Award moments
ORLANDO, Fla. โ This year may be a year weโd like to forget but there were plenty of moments in 2020 worth remembering. Theyโre the stories of your neighbors making a difference in our community and we brought them to your screen every week in our News 6 Getting Results Award segment. Nominate Someone TodayIf you know someone who you would like to recognize, you can nominate them here. Every winner receives a personalized plaque and $100 to commemorate their efforts. Simply fill out the form and you may see them featured in the coming weeks.
Hang on to your hearing aid: When her patients began losing their devices, this doctor found a solution
โThey take their mask off their ear, the hearing aid gets tangled and usually goes flying,โ Holt said. A set of hearing aids can range between $2,000 to $6,000. โPeople were making them for nurses but we adapted them to be made for our hearing aid patients.โMask mates are small bands with buttons sewn on the ends. โWearing hearing aids changes your whole quality of life,โ Sharp said. โI never like to hear that someone has lost a hearing aid because your hearing is your lifeline.โ
Nonprofit helps Brevard veterans navigate government benefits
Thomas is here as a volunteer, but the people heโs looking out for will most likely be on bikes or walking. Thomas teamed up in 2006 to create the nonprofit Welcome Home vets, Inc. Thomas co-founded the nonprofit, Welcome Home Vets Inc. (WKMG-TV)Welcome Home Vets assists veterans living in Brevard County with medical, financial and spiritual aid, along with options for vocational skills training. Thomas took a position at the front of the line and helps guide the drivers with military precision. โSome of these veterans, they donโt even know they have benefits or theyโve given up on society and donโt want anything to do with government.
This 80-year-old sign makerโs work is stopping his Central Florida neighbors in their tracks
APOPKA, Fla. โ As Central Florida was in the first stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Dave Sanders thought his neighbors could use a pick-me-up. They say, โI like your sign,โโ Sanders said proudly. โIn the beginning of quarantine in February, he put this really sweet sign out and it was on cardboard. โHeโs a special man and he deserves to have some recognition.โNews 6 wants to recognize the people in Central Florida who are Getting Results and making a difference in our community. Click here to submit a Getting Results Award nomination.
Group restores neglected cemeteries, restores honor to fallen veterans
He says seeing the gravesites in such terrible condition gave him the idea to find other neglected cemeteries where veterans are buried and help clean them as well. The African American cemetery established in 1919 had fallen into disrepair as well, 157 veterans are buried there. The J.S Stone Cemetery is maintained by the community and the family members of those buried there. When Stone heard about the work Veterans Cemetery Restorations Inc. was doing nearby, she gave them a call. They did a wonderful job.โRothschild says that between the two Brevard County cemeteries, Veterans Cemetery Restorations Inc. and their volunteers have removed 20 tons of trash and debris.
This 9-year-old girl is turning her love of arts and crafts into an inspirational movement
Tori Taylor loves arts and crafts. The 9-year-old girl has boxes of markers, clay, paper and popsicle sticks. Taylor is the founder of Sun Stori motivational bracelets and sheโs donated hundreds of her handmade pieces to local hospitals, charities and nonprofits. Tori said she hopes to inspire other children to join her and create bracelets for their communities. If you would like to support Tori or purchase your own Sun Stori bracelet, she has an Etsy store.
Apparel company shares a message of gratitude with recovery community
Iโve never worked for myself.โBilyk is the founder of State of Gratitude USA, a t-shirt and apparel company whose corporate headquarters resides in a closet in the spare bedroom of his home. Not bad when you consider the company was started just a few short months ago using Bilykโs government stimulus check. Chris Bilyk, Founder of State Of Gratitude USA, is this week's Getting Results Award winner. โI used to tell people to live in a state of gratitude as I was getting sober myself,โ he continued. โYou donโt have to be in recovery to live in a state of gratitude.โ