Grandchildren Honored Their Grandparents By Creating a Poster for the 1st Annual Poster Contest
FORT MYERS, FL (September 30, 2009) – Shell Point Retirement Community has awarded prizes in its first annual grandparents day poster contest. Among all of the winners in the contest, several students from Sanibel Recreation Center were recognized.
“Grandparents touch the lives of children in a special way, and the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren is an important one,” said Lynn Schneider, assistant vice president of communications and marketing at Shell Point. “The entries we received in this contest were delightful. Our committee of resident judges enjoyed viewing all of them, and had a tough time choosing the winners from so many wonderful entries.”
More than 200 children from across the United States entered the Shell Point’s Grandparents Poster Contest by creating a poster that illustrated the special relationship that they have with their grandparents. A majority of the posters came from Lee County, but others arrived from as far away as Houston Texas; Gig Harbor, Washington; Cincinnati and Powell, Ohio; Palm Harbor, Florida; Charleston, West Virginia; and Brentwood, Tennessee.
Entries were judged by Shell Point’s Intergenerational Committee, which is comprised of several residents and staff members of Shell Point for the purpose of encouraging positive interaction between people of all generations.
Dave DeFonzo and Chad Gosselin, Program Coordinators for the Sanibel Recreation Center, encouraged children in the after-school program to participate and were on hand when Shell Point representatives visited the center to present several awards to winning students. Out of 51 entries from the Sanibel Recreation Center, Awards of Excellence were given to Mary Timm, Claire Minoui, Sienna Palles, Casey Mason, Hannah Kendrick, and McKenna Sprecher, Tanner Deal, and Elizabeth Meardon.
“We appreciate having the opportunity to participate in something like this because it offers additional programs for the children to get excited about, which creates additional excitement and energy,” said DeFonzo. “Grandparents provide an essential role at the Sanibel Rec Center by volunteering as members and providing a sense of family and community here for the children.”
The City of Sanibel’s Recreation Center at 3880 Sanibel-Captiva Road provides after-school childcare for working families through the After-school Program. The After-School Program operates on school days from 2:15 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Because the Recreation Center is located right next to The Sanibel School, children are escorted from classrooms to attend the program once the school bell rings. On average, over 100 children attend the After-School program on a daily basis in grades K through 8.
Winners will also be featured in the November issue of the community’s monthly magazine, Shell Point Life. Shell Point Retirement Community is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community located in Fort Myers just off Summerlin Road, two miles before the Sanibel causeway. Shell Point has received national accreditation from CARF-CCAC, and is a nationally recognized leader in the retirement industry. The community offers retirement living in a resort-style environment with an 18-hole championship golf course, deep water boating access, and recreational and fitness facilities. To learn more about Shell Point, visit us at www.shellpoint.org or call 1-800-780-1131.
