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School fights weekend hunger By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
It’s not a bit uncommon for schools to hold food drives to help provide holiday meals for the poor, but Connerton Elementary School has a new program aimed at helping children who are hungry over weekends. The program, called Pack-A-Sack, is similar to some already under way at schools
where a large percentage of children eat free or reduced-price meals, Connerton principal Aimee Boltze said. On the surface, Connerton doesn’t seem like a school where children would need food assistance on the weekend. But that reality is that 36 percent of Connerton’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, Boltze said. And some of those children are chronically hungry, said John Mize, a parent
volunteer who has helped Connerton establish the Pack-A-Sack program. Mize was discussing this need when Boltze and they decided to tackle the challenge of helping these children. “Over the last six months, we developed the strategy,” he said.“We identified the children that need the support.” Boltze also assigned Sarah Owen, of the See HUNGER, page 11A
Sweet victory in breast cancer fight The Laker/Lutz News Staff Report
The Belk department store on Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes hosted its third annual Cupcakes for the Cure Oct. 3. Teams of employees and families worked the night before creating cupcakes that would not only delight those who wanted to eat them, but raise money for cancer research, too. In the past, the Belk cupcake contest has raised $1,200, and store manager Eric Drinkwater hoped to raise another $500 this year.
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It’s tough to think about Florida without thinking about beaches. And these cupcakes bring that theme to life, complete with honey bears. These cupcakes were created by Belk employees in Land O’ Lakes to help raise money for cancer research.
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Hamburgers, blueberry pie and even corn on the cob were some of the cupcake creations made to help raise money for cancer research at the Belk department store in Land O’ Lakes Oct. 3.
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These Scooby Doo-themed cupcakes were honored for being best tied to the charity, raising money for cancer research at the Belk department store in Land O’ Lakes.
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A doctor, a dean, and a determination to help others By Michael Murillo mmurillo@lakerlutznews.com
Some people take years into their adult life to figure out what career they want to have. But Dr. O. John Maduko, academic dean at Rasmussen College in Land O’ Lakes, always knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. It wasn’t a job at a college. He wanted to be a doctor. “At an early age I just knew what I wanted to be, to go into medicine,” he said. And that’s exactly what Maduko — now O. John Maduko, M.D. — became.And if not for some life-changing events, he might still be practicing to this day. But when his fiancée Amanda was pregnant with their son, she developed a condition that prevented the use of her right arm and required surgery. Knowing she needed help caring for their child, and realizing that a 90-hour workweek wouldn’t be conducive to an ideal family life, Maduko left the rigors of the medical field for a career in academics where he helps others find and improve their career paths. It might sound difficult to leave a position you love and had worked so hard to achieve. But for Maduko, it wasn’t a tough decision at all. “It was easy because it was my wife and it was my son,” he said.“So it was a no-brainer.”
Expectations are high, and there’s no time for making excuses or becoming complacent.And when challenges occur, you face them and continue moving forward. But while he’s moving forward with a career outside the medical field, Maduko hasn’t exactly hung up his stethoscope for good. You never stop being a physician, he said. Maduko is involved in programs like Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that provides care and assistance in parts of the world MICHAEL MURILLO/STAFF PHOTO that need it the most. He Dr. O. John Maduko enjoys his position as academic dean at pursues efforts to improve Rasmussen College in Land O’ Lakes, but family is never far medical conditions in Latin from his mind. America and West Africa, and has future plans with Family always has been a big part of his brother — also a medical doctor — to Maduko’s life. A first-generation American be involved in health care in the Tampa hailing from California, his Nigerian-born area. parents set down rules from their hardNow, five years after leaving the medical working culture that he and his younger field, he’s found a home with Rasmussen as siblings would follow growing up.That was academic dean at the East Pasco campus. to live life to the fullest, but always aspire to See DOCTOR, page 11A be educated and informed.