Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance digs deep to give back to the community

They had to be wondering who made this schedule.

Employees of the Legler, Murphy and Battaglia law firm of Bradenton were busy digging, and scraping, and raking, on a high 80 degrees morning near the Rye Preserve.

Manatee County owns the property at 751 Rye Wilderness Trail, but the county handed over the keys to the Foundation for Dreams in early August.

The 62-acre site, which had been occupied by the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches from 1988 through 2022, is rough, indeed, having gone through some violent storms with reduced maintenance.

The Foundation for Dreams serves children, ages 7 through 17, with special needs. Currently, the foundation offers sleep-away weekend and summer camps at Camp Flying Eagle off Upper Manatee River Road. 

The hope is that the property is ready to go for camps by next summer and it is going to take a Herculean effort by volunteers to make it happen.

The Legler, Murphy and Battaglia employees were helping to make that happen as part of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance's annual volunteer program, Alliance Gives Back.

While the work was hard, and sweaty, the volunteers — Lisa Hastings, Ed Murphy, Kelly Jones, Hannah Nese and Alyson Battaglia — were all smiling.

"We love this organization," Lisa Battaglia said of Foundation for Dreams. "It is amazing what they do."

Becky Schellinger, the officer manager for Foundation for Dreams, was on hand to direct volunteers toward the needed tasks.

"We need mostly outside work," Schellinger said. "We have a lot of old roots (to be dug up) and general landscaping to be done."

Schellinger watched as a lot of white collar workers were giving a blue-collar effort.

"It is an amazing feeling," Schellinger said. "We couldn't do what we do without the support of the community."

Camp Director Devonte Ousley seconded that thought.

"It's great to see this because this is such a big project," Ousley said. "Getting this kind of assistance is amazing. But with help, it is mind boggling to think what this can become here. We have so much space."

Not all the LWRBA's volunteer efforts Oct. 3-6 involved such hard manual labor, but all were much appreciated by nonprofits that sometimes can feel like they are on an island.

Since the LWRBA began Alliance Gives Back seven years ago, it has shown that it is not willing to sit back and wait for somebody else to help. 

LWRBA President and CEO Brittany Lamont is proud of her member's willingness to get out of their comfort zone to make a difference. Alliance Gives Back gets bigger each year.

"We are seeing more nonprofits wanting us to participate (in receiving help)," Lamont said. "All their needs are different, so every year we find there is a different need."

As the needs grow, Lamont has found that more Alliance members have been willing to step up.

One of the interesting aspects of Alliance Gives Back this time around was that Tidewell Hospice, a nonprofit, had three of its employees go to Meals on Wheels Plus's Daybreak Adult Day Center in Lakewood Ranch.

"I love that they realize that just because you are a nonprofit doesn't mean you can't go out and help other nonprofits," Lamont said.

Photo by Jay Heater

The volunteers — Stacy Groff, Lisa Aaronson and Linda Dodson — were painting the interior of the building along with other volunteers.

"It just makes you feel like you are doing something tangible," Dodson said. "This is nice to see, and to be part of. We (at Tidewell Hospice) are used to working with an elderly population."

Aaronson said she never has been a painter.

"But I am today," she said with a laugh.

Gross said there was a nice aspect to their work, as opposed to those who were working at the Foundation for Dreams site.

"We didn't want to be outside," she said with a smile.

While the nonprofits reap the rewards of the volunteer work from Alliance Gives Back, the benefits go both ways. Lamont said awareness and exposure are important byproducts of the effort.

In the case of the Tidewell Hospice volunteers, they said they were aware of the Daybreak Adult Day Center and its mission.

Lamont said that is the case over and over as the LWRBA volunteers come back and say they want to support a nonprofit that they learned about through the effort.

Besides the willingness of the volunteers to give their time, Lamont said it is impressive that their companies allow them to work during Alliance Gives Back on company time. That's an impressive commitment as well.

Lamont wanted to give her staff member, Lindsay Hartman, a tip of the hat for her organization of the event, calling her the "mastermind" of the effort. Keith Pandeloglou is the community engagement chair.

"It's a feel-good, positive thing," Lamont said of Alliance Gives Back. "We get a lot of 'thank yous.'"

The LWRBA now will change gears with its attention turning to one of its major events — The Hob Nob.

"This will be the first big event on the grounds of the Lakewood Ranch Library," Lamont said of the Hob Nob, which will be held 4:40-7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 "We're going to have a big space under a tent."

The networking event, which is geared toward business professionals, is going to have a Western theme. 

"The Hob Nob is like a Who's Who in the region," Lamont said. "It's a way to unite the community."

The Hob Nob previously was run by the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. The LWBA took it over and drew 400 attendees in its first Hob Nob.

Besides the networking, Lamont said the event "showcases some of the best food and drinks our region has to offer."

LWRBA members are asked to showcase their business by partnering with a restaurant to offer a food booth or "Grill Team."

Go to LWRBA.org for more information or to register.