SARASOTA – Sarasota Yacht Club members and families donate 50 meals every week to Sarasota Memorial Hospital staff.
It’s through the club’s philanthropic arm, SYC Cares.
Sarasota Yacht Club Commodore, Hugh McIlrevey, says food is from the heart.
“It’s a small way of saying, ‘Gosh, we really appreciate you,’” McIlrevey said. “We really know that you’re there for us, and this is one way for us to say, we acknowledge that, we appreciate it, thank you for much.”
But, it’s not just about the food.
“My mom just told me that you could make a thank you letter for the Sarasota Memorial Hospital staff, and I said I think I should do that, it would mean a lot to them,” a nine-year-old thank you card drawer, Giavanna Tuffile, said.
McIlrevey says it’s a three-pronged effort.
“Our staff cooks the food, the children of our families send thank you notes with the food, and the parents deliver the food,” McIlrevey said.
Kids draw superhero thank you cards for the SMH staff.
Tuffile drew a “Powerpuff Girl” version of doctors in her card.
“I wanted to represent a girl doctor/nurse and a boy doctor/nurse. And, I said ‘Thank you for helping our community and saving lives,'” Tuffile said.
Tuffile was born at SMH, and she said it was cool to give back to them.
“I really like the community there, everyone’s really really nice, and I really like the staff,” Tuffile said.
McIlrevey says they’ll continue serving meals as long as they can.
“There’s no end in sight. We think it’s just another way to connect with the important components of this community,” McIlrevey said.
SYC delivers meals and thank you notes every Wednesday.