OASIS Orator
April 2012
In This Issue
Two Exciting Events
General News
Social Worker Spotlight
Testimonials
Recent Contributors

Our Current Needs

  • girls' & boys'
  • capris and shorts, of 
  • all sizes
  •  

  • girls' tops, 
  • especially sizes 4-5
    Upcoming Events
     
    Tampa Palms Women's Club Fashion Show-- April 19
    The Tampa Palms Women's Club annual fashion show benefit for OASIS at Tampa Palms Country Club on April 19.  
     
    Cruise for Kids Motorcycle Poker Run-- April 22
    The Tampa Chapter of Credit Unions has again chosen OASIS as one of the children's charities to benefit from their 8th Annual Credit Union Cruise for Kids Motorcycle Poker Run to be held on April 22.  The grand prize is a $10,000 Visa gift card and tickets are available for $5.00.  
     
    Click here for more information on both events. Hope to see you there.
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    Ginger Bean
    Executive Director

    Brenda Simpson
    Assistant Executive Director

    Jackie Lambert
    Communications Intern

    Leslie Farrell
    Board Chair

    Dear Friends and Family of OASIS,

     

    New year, new website, different newsletter name... It's been a while, and we have a lot to tell you regarding recent donors and upcoming events. This also marks the launch of a new series: Social Worker Spotlight. And, if you haven't already, please visit our newly-vamped website and tell us what you think!

    What's New with OASIS 
     

     The past few months have been very busy at OASIS with sorting and putting away items from a variety of collection drives.  The employees of two local companies were very generous:  USAA held a shoes and socks drive while TechHealth held one for gently-used clothing, toiletries and school supplies.  One young girl in S. Tampa liked her mom's suggestion of asking her friends for donations to OASIS instead of presents at her birthday party.  Other students at her school, McFarlane Park, heard about it and also wanted to give,  resulting in a collection of some 500 dental hygiene items, headbands, more than 200 pairs of new socks, and some gently-used clothing.

     

    The members of Tampa Palms Country Club have provided toys at Christmas time for needy students off and on for several years.  Last year they outdid themselves by giving more toys than ever before, as well as lots of gift cards for teen students.  The Tampa Palms Women's Golf Association recently surprised us by doing a socks and underwear drive for OASIS, which provided us with many colorful items as well as a   large cash donation. They have been very generous to OASIS for a few years and we love how they have adopted us.

     

     The Student Government Association members at Chamberlain High School did a drive for teen clothing, new socks and toiletries.  A boy in New Tampa did a clothing drive at his apartment complex (and continues to collect donations) in order to fulfill the community service requirements for his upcoming Confirmation. The Baha'i Fellowship Group also has been collecting clothing for OASIS.

     

    Schools continue to help us by conducting clothing drives:  Coleman Middle, Mabry Elementary and Deer Park Elementary have recently done them, while Tampa Palms Elementary and Academy at the Lakes will be having them soon.  Lowry Elementary donated many boxes of children's books to our Lockhart site.  Westchase Elementary has collection bins out during the entire school year.   

     

    As we've said before, schools' "lost & found" donations are invaluable to us.  Among the schools which have recently donated theirs are Temple Terrace Elementary, Turner Elementary, Tampa Palms Elementary, Gaither High, and Lockhart Elementary which also contributed lots of wonderful clothing closet items.

     

    Once again, the Junior League awarded OASIS with a Community Action Project grant which included funds for socks and underwear and provided some 20 volunteers to stock these and other items, as well as organize our Manhattan site on February 4. This always occurs when we're running low on socks and underwear and our portable needs to be put back in order after the busy "back-to-school" season. -Brenda 

    Meet Amber Limerick 

    Kids in need, recycle, community service, volunteers-- all buzz words involving OASIS. We use this vocabulary often on our new website in order to appear first on internet searches, helping people find us.

     

    Established friends and family of OASIS can name 2 other key words from the top of their heads: social worker. You probably realize the social worker's role as the bridge connecting children to our organization. Knowing their job is vital to understanding OASIS, but have we ever stopped to think who these individuals really are?

     

    You are reading a new series of OASIS literature, where you learn about the social workers we love. They are just as much a part of our family as you or I, and they deserve our attention. Without further ado, let me introduce you to Amber Limerick, social worker at Sligh Middle School. 

     

    Meeting Amber has taught me a lesson: life doesn't always turn out as you expect it to be. If you had told Amber 20 years ago that she'd be in Tampa, a social worker for a middle school and spending her weekends going fishing, she'd think you were crazy. Originally, she thought of being a pilot, but after studying Psychology in Indiana (her home state), she fell in love with that field of study. 

     

    Attending graduate school in Florida State for social work, she decided that she was a true Floridian. "I had no desire to scrape ice off my windows again," she said. Having friends who moved to Tampa, she decided to follow in their footsteps and has never looked back. Originally she began in the public sector, not with the school district. But she claims things one day just unexpectedly fell into place.

     

    Today, she's been with Sligh Middle School for 6 years-- something she never thought she'd do. Middle School, such an impressionable age group, did not appeal to her. But, after working part-time at Sligh, she realized how much of an impact she had making sure kids were going in the right direction with their lives, especially at an age where they aren't likely to talk to their parents about issues. And, while lunch duty isn't the most enticing part of her now-full-time job, it has its perks. "You get to see them be kids, and that's my favorite thing," she said.

     

    During her spare time, she's with her husband on their boat, or with her girl friends-- many of whom are social workers themselves. She says they've proven to be a great support system and are some of her best friends now. In fact, she has traveled the world with some of them-- including Prague, Vienna, Frankfurt, Paris and more. She loves church, fashion, reading, and another hobby she never thought she'd love-- fishing. So life isn't what Limerick planned, but I can tell she is happy about it. And, so are we.  

    --Jaclyn

    Notes From Social Workers

    1) I showed the shoes (and other clothing from OASIS) to my student today. He was delighted; he held one of the shoes, pointed out how "cool" the gold color is with the black, and how nice they are. Then he tried them on and they fit; he hopes that his feet don't grow so he can continue to wear them (forever?). He was concerned that other students would notice that he had on different shoes than he wore to school, so he chose to wear his old shoes for the rest of today. Grandmother's car doesn't work, so I took the shoes and clothes to her house. She, too, was pleased.  Thank you so much for accomplishing a really big deal for this family!

     

    2) Of course I don't mind if you share this. OASIS items help my students, literally on a daily basis. Without the uniform shirts, belts, khaki/black pants, belts, school supplies, etc., many of our students could not be as successful as they are. Uniforms are required and some families cannot afford certain items, students sometimes forget to wear various uniform parts (i.e. belts), so we are able to help them.  Thanks again.

      

    Other Recent Contributors 

    Other groups which have contributed to OASIS in recent months but not mentioned above are listed below. The collection drives, donations and fund-raising events all enable us to continue providing needy students in Hillsborough with the basic necessities to succeed in school.  Thanks once again to all of you who continue to help us achieve our mission.

     

    Academy at the Lakes Student Service

    Grace Episcopal Church

    New Tampa Recreation Center

    New Tampa YMCA

    Payless Shoes

    Publix Store at New Tampa Center

    South Tampa YMCA 

    St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

    St. James United Methodist Church

    St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church

    TJX Foundation

    The Foresters

    UPS Store at City Plaza

     
    OASIS Network would like to give a special thanks to you! We appreciate the the time and support every one of you has given us. Without you, it wouldn't be possible. Thank you for reading.

    Sincerely,

    OASIS Network of Tampa Bay