Spotlight On Our Associates
Nathan's Gift is a program that was created in January 2011 by Robert & Sara Smith after the birth of their first child, Nathan.
"We were so happy to have a happy, healthy baby boy," Sara said, "Robert and I felt so incredibly lucky that we wanted to find a way to give back." That's when they decided that while out on tour, whenev- er possible, Robert would arrange a free magic show for the kids at local children's hospitals.
The idea itself had originally been thought of by Robert's close friend, Chris Enright in 2010.
"Chris and I had talked about the idea but just never got it off the ground," Robert said. The arrival of Robert & Sara's son changed all of that. In April of 2011 the yet to be named program debuted in the Walt Disney Pavilion of the Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida. "I'll never forget that show," Robert said, "The kids laughed. They smiled. And for 30
minutes they weren't sick." The original program at the Florida Hospital was arranged with the help of Child Life Specialist, Meagan Krizek-Fonseca. The day of the show parents had been invited to join their children to enjoy the magic. "It was great to see all the smiles and laughter from the audience," Meagan said. Afterwards, Robert, had a chance to scrub down and visit the children in the oncology
unit who weren't well enough to come to the community room. "If you want to see true courage, look into the eyes of children. They're such amazing
fighters," Robert said. "I'd like to hope that if one day Nathan was in a children's hospi- tal, someone would be willing to give some time to come make him smile." After his third visit to the Florida Hospital in April of 2012, Robert & Sara finally decided to make the program official and call it, "Nathan's Gift." Any children's hospital in, or nearby, any location on the tour is eligible to participate in Nathan's Gift. There is no charge to participate.
2015 NICA
Business Expo & Fare Foods
Food Show February 2—4, 2015
Sheraton Tampa East 10221 Princess Palm Ave. Tampa, FL
The 2014-2015 Department of Agriculture Florida Fairs Directory has been distributed.
37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44