Our employees help others during the holidays

Members of our staff went out of their way to help others have a happier holiday season.

In November, many of us gave donations to feed the homeless at Camillus House. We raised about $155.

For the third consecutive year, the Social Services Unit teamed with WFOR-TV Channel 4’s Neighbors 4 Neighbors program to adopt a family in need for the holidays. Our employees generously donated about $700, says Jill Sperling, coordinator of the Felony and County Court Social Services Unit. She credited Social Worker Karen Husted for spearheading the effort.

The money went to a family whose mother suffers from terminal cancer, liver disease and major depression. Her children, ages 12, 15 and 16 are undergoing counseling because of their mother’s situation and their fear of her dying.
Corlette Floyd, director of support services, collected used clothes, toys in good condition and unwrapped new toys for a giveaway for under- privileged families in the Overtown area. She says more than 200 boys and girls received toys. Employees also gave $300 in cash donations to help families in need.

Lillian Martin, an attorney in the Early Representation Unit, worked with The Everglades Bike Club, which sponsored a “Pedal for Toys” ride in mid-December. Participants brought unwrapped toys that were given to children at area shelters.

Edith Georgi, an attorney in the Capital Litigation Unit, solicited donations for the Gibson Memorial Fund, which distributes several thousand dollars worth of holiday baskets every year and provides scholarships and fund-raising for its school. 

Hector Sehwerert, an investigator in the Felony Division, is the past president of the Kiwanis Club of Coral Gables-Latin. During the holiday season, he coordinated the club’s effort to provide Thanksgiving dinners for needy families of children with cancer at Variety Children’s Hospital. The club also helped migrant-worker families in Homestead. 

And Michael Walsh, an attorney in the Juvenile Division, helped collect pennies for a school for blind children.