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'Joy on the faces': Real Santas take the reins
© St. Petersburg Times, Call it the holiday spirit, or simple human decency. You'll find it in the usual places, and in some you might not expect: A hairdresser, a teenager in Tampa Palms and a martial arts instructor. Santas are everywhere, and today we bring you three who could use your support: Cheryl Vazquez cuts hair at the About Hair salon on Handy Road near N Dale Mabry Highway. It's the kind of place that sells toe rings at the cash register, and where your weightiest conversation ought to be about highlights and conditioners. But there's more to Vazquez. She's also helping her 64-year-old mother, Diane Johnson, provide comfort to children with cancer. Johnson, of Flint, Mich., sews custom quilts from fabric chosen to match the patients' interests. Does the child love football? Teddy Bears? Race cars? Johnson finds the fabric, inserts the batting, stitches it and adorns it with little ribbons. "These quilts go everywhere with them," Johnson said, sharing photos of children -- some bald, some seemingly healthy -- smiling brightly and cuddling their quilts. "They hug them, they hold onto them." Johnson and her sister-in-law, Linda Crane, developed the project after experiencing cancer in their own family. Crane, 55, survived breast cancer; her son and grandson both battled leukemia. With each triumph came a deeper desire to reach out to others. "I wanted to do something with my life that would make a difference when I leave here," Johnson told her daughter. Crane and Johnson sewed more than 150 custom quilts, so many that Vazquez said the two were "running out of children" in Michigan. So Vazquez decided to expand her mother's work to Florida. St. Joseph's Hospital for Children provides her with children's names and themes. Vazquez passes the information along to her mother and solicits contributions (a minimum of $30) to pay for materials and shipping. "I have a friend at another salon who's helping me," said Vazquez, who keeps sample quilts by her haircutting station. They call their foundation the Circle of Love, Hope and Friendship -- a circle that includes Vazquez's work family. Early this year, Mildred Fischer, whose sons own the hair salon, succumbed to cancer at 61. Before that happened, Vazquez and the Fischers surprised her with a quilt based on Precious Moments figures. They say she loved it so much, she was buried with it. Vazquez is now preparing to make her second trip to deliver her mother's quilts at St. Joseph's. "There is never a time when I would ever feel sad," Vazquez said. "This is what life's all about." You can find out more by sending an e-mail to comfortquilts@yahoo.com, or call Vazquez at the salon, 960-4473.What started out as a school project yielded 915 pounds of donated food last year. And this year it promises to be much, much bigger. Nick Park, 16, is collecting food for Metropolitan Ministries. If you live in Tampa Palms or Hunter's Green, he'll leave a grocery bag and a letter on your mailbox or doorknob tomorrow. He'll be back in a week to retrieve the bag, hopefully with some nonperishable food inside. "This provides an extremely easy way for people to donate and help," said Park, who lives in Wellington and belongs to the St. James United Methodist Church. "You know, the economy is not going so strong and people are suffering." Park says he and his mother came up with the idea last year while wondering how to fill his service requirement at King High School, where he is a junior in the International Baccalaureate program. With two friends helping him, he visited 900 homes last year. This year they have 25 volunteers and hope to hit 3,000. "It was such an amazing thing last year," he said. "And it's been a dream of mine to expand it and grow it." He was surprised that, even though few of his neighbors knew him, they turned in so much food. "The overwhelming generosity of Tampa Palms was a great thing to see," he said. "And there's almost nothing like seeing the joy on the faces of the people at the holiday tent." Manny Calo spends his days helping Carrollwood residents get fit. He teaches karate to children and he coaxes their parents to trim down and tone up. He also collects toys for needy children. Calo has teamed up with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves' yearly Toys for Tots campaign. And it's a toy drive with a kick: Give a toy and you get a free karate lesson. Calo insists this is no business promotion. "The whole thing is to try and create an awareness in these children, and get them early into spirit of giving," he said. He says he and his son, who is a Marine, were moved by a news report that predicted local charities would suffer this year. "So many people donated after Sept. 11," Calo said. "That's a good thing. But then, what happens to Toys for Tots?" So they contacted the local reservists. As luck would have it, they ran into one who had served with Manny Calo Jr. at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba. Soon they had collection boxes at the Carrollwood Recreation Center in Original Carrollwood and at David's Personal Training Studio in the Bourbon Street shopping center. Calo says the response has been fantastic. "I have one child whose birthday is coming up, and he is donating the toys he receives for his birthday," he said. Calo is giving the free lessons at the Carrollwood Recreation center on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to each child who donates a new, unwrapped toy. The last session is planned for Dec. 18, three days before the Marines pick up the toys. You can also drop toys off at the Recreation Center at 3515 McFarland Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday; or at David's Personal Training, 5251 Ehrlich Road, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or call David's at 960-0201 for more information.
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