111722_SW_Holiday Gift Guide II DIGITAL EDITION

6 x November 17 — 30, 2022 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com
Q Skal Orlando celebrates 50
years
Skal Orlando — part of Skal
International, the only international
organization that brings together
all branches of travel, tourism and
hospitality — is ranked as the second
largest Skal Club in the U.S.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this
year, Skal Orlando has more than
120 Central Florida members who
are executives and leaders with
hotels, attractions, sports and entertainment
venues, restaurant companies,
travel companies and more.
The organization meets monthly for
networking, business meetings and
dinners with speakers from the local
travel, tourism and hospitality
industry.
“For as many years as Walt Disney
World has been here, Skal Orlando
has been networking, doing business
and serving communities locally
and internationally ...” said Steve
Vinciguerra, a MetroWest resident
and president of Skal Orlando.
Skal Orlando has supported the
Perry Pavilion at Dr. P. Phillips
Hospital for five years, raising
more than $50,000 through a golf
tournament and member companies
donating supplies for guest rooms,
bathrooms and the kitchen and laundry
areas. The club has also collected
thousands of toys in an annual
holiday toy drive to benefit the Perry
Pavilion, Toys for Tots and Coalition
for the Homeless, and it has donated
a substantial amount of money to The
Joe Neary Memorial Foundation,
supporting three orphanages in Sri
Lanka.
NEWS & BUSINESS BRIEFS
For more information, visit
www.skalorlando.com or email
membership development officer
Barbara Kenney at
barbara@kenneycom.com.
Q Varkey organization
donates food packages
Ann Varkey, a resident of
Phillips Landing, continues her extensive
charitable efforts through her
organization, the Varkey Charity
Foundation. She recently donated
nonperishable food packages to
packages to the disabled and those
in need at an event held at the Dr. P.
Phillips YMCA. For more information
or to keep updated with Varkey’s
mission and charitable events, visit
www.varkeycharities.com.
Q Harbor House programs set
up for success
During the Signature Purple Door
Luncheon, which occurred last
month during Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, representatives
of Harbor House of Central
Florida, Orange County’s only
state-certified domestic violence organization,
announced in front of
nearly 700 guests that 99.9816% of
those helped through the organization
survive an abusive relationship.
compiled by Lauren Salinero
During the event, the nonprofit
also recognized six Champions of
Courage. Among those honored
was Southwest resident and Orange
County Mayor Jerry Demings,
who was named the Champion of
Advocacy. He was honored for helping
survivors early in his career as a
beat cop all the way to reinstating the
Orange County Domestic Violence
Commission as mayor.
Harbor House is more than the 24-
hour confidential crisis hotline and
temporary emergency shelter. It also
works closely with law enforcement,
the state attorney’s office, and the
clerk of courts, as well as provides
various key programs.
Harbor House has attorneys who
work with and represent survivors on
injunctions for protection hearings. Its
Courage Closet has distributed more
than 1,500 food bags, thousands of
diapers and hundreds of car seats
ad strollers to survivors. The Paws for
Peace Kennel on its main campus enables
survivors to bring their animal
family members, thus removing a barrier
to someone leaving an abusive
relationship.
Harbor House expanded its focus
on youth to include a Children’s
Services Program, which strives to
create an environment that fosters
Phillips Landing resident Ann Varkey’s charitable organization — Varkey Charity Foundation — donates nonperishable food
packages to those in need.
During its Signatures Purple Door Luncheon, Harbor
House of Central Florida officials release the fact
that 99.9816% of those the organization helps survive an
abusive relationship.
the whole child and builds strong
families. It also works with families
to rebuild the parent/child bond that
might have been damaged
during time with the abuser.
Harbor House’s Primary
Prevention Program engages
teens in high schools and
after-school programs by
educating them with positive,
non-violent messages
about healthy relationships.
And, the organization was
the first to bring Camp
Hope to Florida, which is
the first evidence-based
camping and mentoring
program in the United
States to focus on children
and teens exposed to domestic
violence.
For more information,
visit harborhousefl.com.