| Town
'N Country - Shortly before the patrons arrived, Wanda
DeLaRosa took a dozen children from her etiquette program
and gave them one last pep talk. "Tonight is not
about us adults," she said. "It's about all
of you. Everybody wants to see you today. We're going
to use our magic words: please and thank you."
It's All About Kids hosted its first fundraising banquet
on May 18, at the Event Factory, 7565 W. Hillsborough
Ave. The banquet was meant to supplement the organization's
budget for the 2007-08 school year. It's All About Kids
works with after-school programs throughout the county,
hosting literacy campaigns and children's etiquette
courses targeting at-risk, academically challenged kids.
"This
event is a presentation of our services to our corporate
sponsors," said DeLaRosa, executive director for
the program, which she founded seven years ago with
her husband, Larry.
The banquet featured a presentation of major sponsors,
a jazz band and a silent auction. DeLaRosa chose the
Event Factory, a 50,000-square-foot, themed meeting
space in Town 'N Country, complete with a castle ballroom,
because she wanted something different. "The place
is very animated," DeLaRosa said. "It makes
our jobs easier not having to decorate a community center.
"We
have come here because of the great need in our community
for the type of enrichment programs that we provide,"
she said. "All of this tonight is to raise awareness
about what we do."
It's All About Kids' motto is "It's better
to prepare a life than to repair a life."
"We
visit schools, community centers, churches and some
housing developments," Larry DeLaRosa said. Currently,
the program has set up shop in the Carlisle Lakes development
in Tampa, where the DeLaRosas were given two small apartments
from which to work. By imbedding themselves in the neighborhoods
they mean to serve, they hope to reach those who might
otherwise fall through the cracks. Wanda DeLaRosa teaches
the etiquette courses, with a focus on improving social
skills. "We show them how to be good citizens,
how to properly eat, how to help at home," she
said. "We teach them how to dress, how to conduct
themselves," added her husband.
RaJshawn Scott was on hand with her two children, Chemyia,
6, and Willie, 4, both members in the etiquette program.
They had come to show off the benefits of the classes.
"We went to the free demonstration," Scott
recalled. "When I saw how the children responded
to it, I said, 'Wait a minute; I've been trying this
for years!'" Scott liked the idea of her children
working together on something. "They're not growing
up with a spoon in their mouths," she said. "We
want to prepare them for a good job one day."
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