F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) of Sanibel held a very special ‘Community Open House’ on Monday evening – as it celebrated 30 years of FISH on Sanibel and Captiva.  More than 300 people chatted, ate sumptuous food, donated by our generous local restaurants and grocery stores and everyone had a great time.  Representatives from the City, Councilors, local businesses, other charities, members of the Sanibel and Captiva community and many of the FISH 200 volunteers were in attendance – making it a very busy, lively, fun event.

Tom Uhler roused the crowd to raise funds for the FISH Food Pantry in the Islands first Paddle Raiser – FISH was delighted that the event raised approx. $20,000.  This money will help keep the FISH Food Pantry stocked throughout the year.

The FISH rocks – created by 30 of our talented local artists, and seen in newspapers over the past eight weeks, went to their silent auction highest bidders.  The rocks were paired with some amazing auction packages donated by local businesses and individuals – these ranged from float plane rides to golf packages that lucky bidders took away with them.

FISH also honored 30 individuals or organizations who have all made a significant contribution to the success of FISH over the past 30 years. These honorees were:

• Francis Bailey
• Bailey’s General Store
• Gloria Baker
• Maryanne Beckhold
• Marilyn and Trump Bradley
• Tom Bucher
• Norman Bowles
• City of Sanibel
• City of Sanibel Police Department
• Elinor and Hal Dunham
• Helen and Fred Glaze
• Virginia Green
• Sandy Houck
• Eileen and Eben Joy
• Kathleen and Abe Lerner
• Mary Anne McCormick
• Phyllis McKinsey
• Jo and Bill Mullen
• Val Pool
• Nancy and Ed Rand
• Topper (Elizabeth) Schram
• Hazel and Ed Schuller
• Diane Shepard
• Flo and Dick Stein
• Warren Stringer
• Charlene Timothy
• Judy and John Weinsettle
• Margaret and Al White
• JoAnn Wigglesworth
• Tom Wiley

Sanibel, FL (January 16, 2012) F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) of Sanibel is adding an additional date to the popular Friendly Faces lunch calendar.  Due to its success, beginning this month, there will be a second monthly lunch date for Friendly Faces – the fourth Thursday of every month at 11:30am at George & Wendy’s Corner Grill.

The FISH Friendly Faces lunch was established nearly 30 years ago, FISH clients, volunteers and friends come together for a monthly lunch – giving everyone an opportunity to meet up with old friends, meet new friends and chat about how life is going for them.  Over the past year, these lunches have been held at George & Wendy’s Corner Grill and it has been a big success.  The monthly lunches take place on the 2^nd Tuesday each month have been arranged and managed by FISH Volunteers Gillian and David Bath over the past few years.

Following the success of these lunches, guests started asking if it would be possible to meet more frequently, as they were a great boost to morale for everyone who attended.  Bill Fellows, President of FISH and Maggi Feiner, Executive Director proposed to the Board of FISH that an additional date would be added – and this was approved.  From now on, FISH will host two Friendly Faces lunches – on the 2^nd Tuesday of the month at 11:30 and the last Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. and the whole community is invited to join in.

The next Friendly Face lunch will take place on Tuesday February 14th at 11:30 a.m. at George & Wendy’s Corner Grill.

F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) of Sanibel is pleased to announce that Lily & Co has donated a most beautiful piece of jewelry as a FISH 30 Rocks! Silent Auction item. It is a Blackened Sterling Silver Amazonite and Diamond necklace, part of the Di Massima Collection by S&R Design.

“We have been a supporter of FISH for many years and we are delighted to help them celebrate 30 years of helping neighbors on Sanibel and Captiva said Dan Schuyler, Co-owner of Lily & Co. “We are donating one of our very special Amazonite and Diamond necklaces, for the 30 Rocks! Silent Auction and hope this piece raises lots of money for FISH” He concluded.

Using the popular TV series 30 Rock as its theme, FISH celebrates its 30th anniversary by hosting a special Open House celebration. It will take place on Monday, 30^th of January from 5:30pm – 7pm at the FISH Walk In Center, 1630 Periwinkle Way and the whole community is invited.

FISH of Sanibel, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer organization assisting Sanibel and Captiva islanders and visitors with a wide range of services. For more than 30 years FISH has been a “neighbor helping neighbors” organization offering free human services such as transportation for medical appointments, meal delivery, health equipment, food pantry, and emergency financial assistance.

The Walk-in-Center is located at 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel and is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FISH can be contacted on (239) 472 4775 or by visiting www.fishofsanibel.com

F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) will celebrate their 30^th anniversary on Monday, January 30^th 2012. They have invited 30 talented Sanibel and Captiva artists to help mark this major milestone.  Today we reveal the next six artists who have created some wonderful and varied rocks.

The six artists being feature this week are:

•        Jerry Churchill

•        Josh Stewart

•        Kim Nealon

•        Lisa Brown

•        Geri Much

•        Susie Cronin

These rocks will form part of the 30 Rocks! silent auction event, helping to raise much needed funds for FISH.  You can bid on each rock, which will be accompanied by some very fine auction items which include private flight rides, a renew your wedding vows package, lunch with an artist and studio tour, Sanctuary round of golf plus lunch, Key West Express return tickets, Chamber of Commerce membership etc.

Mark your calendars for this special 30^th anniversary event – it will be an Open House, to celebrate this special day.  Open to all islanders, it will take place on Monday, 30th of January from 5:30pm – 7pm at the F.I.S.H. Walk In Center, 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.

F.I.S.H of Sanibel, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer organization assisting Sanibel and Captiva islanders and visitors with a wide range of services. For more than 30 years FISH has been a “neighbor helping neighbors” organization offering free human services such as transportation for medical appointments, meal delivery, health equipment, food pantry, and emergency financial assistance.

The Walk-in-Center is located at 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel and is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FISH can be contacted on (239) 472 4775 or by visiting www.fishofsanibel.com

In celebration of the F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) 30^th anniversary, which takes place on Monday, January 30^th 2012, FISH has invited 30 talented Sanibel and Captiva artists to help mark this major milestone.

In keeping with the 30 Rocks! event theme, each artist was invited to create a ‘Rock of Art’ using a rock as their canvas.  We can now reveal the first of six rocks created by these great artists.Each week FISH will be revealing new ‘Rocks of Art’ – the first six local 30 Rocks! artists featured this week are:

• Carolyn Johns
• Jane Hudson
• Jaye Boswell
• Neil Glaser
• Randon Eddy
• CC Caldwell

These beautiful pieces of art will form part of the 30 Rocks! silent Auction event, helping to raise much needed funds for FISH.  You can bid on each rock, which will be accompanied by some much sought after items such as private flight rides, a renew your wedding vows package, lunch with an artist and studio tour, Sanctuary round of golf plus lunch, Key West Express return tickets, Chamber of Commerce membership etc.

Mark your calendars for this special 30^th anniversary event – FISH will host a special Open House, to celebrate this special day.  Open to all islanders, it will take place on Monday, 30th of January from 5:30pm – 7pm at the F.I.S.H. Walk In Center, 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.

F.I.S.H of Sanibel, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer organization assisting Sanibel and Captiva islanders and visitors with a wide range of services. For more than 30 years FISH has been a “neighbor helping neighbors” organization offering free human services such as transportation for medical appointments, meal delivery, health equipment, food pantry, and emergency financial assistance.

The Walk-in-Center is located at 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel and is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FISH can be contacted on (239) 472 4775 or by visiting www.fishofsanibel.com

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Bill Fellows, President of FISH of Sanibel pictured with Barb Harrington, Royal Shell Companies at the kickoff of the Christmas FISH Holiday Food Drive

The generous merchants of Tahitian Gardens (1975 Periwinkle Way) and The Village Shops (2340 Periwinkle Way), managed by the Royal Shell Companies, kick off their FISH Holiday Food Drive.  All 22 merchants from these centers will be collecting food and monetary donations for F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) of Sanibel until December 24^th.

The Royal Shell Companies, a long term supporter of FISH, are hosting this FISH Food Drive for the second year in a row. Last year the shopping centers provided some much needed food for families and individuals in need by collecting significant pounds of food for the FISH Food Pantry.  This year, at the request of these generous merchants, there will also be a donation box in each store, as they received financial donations as well as food last year.

Randy Bacik, CEO of Royal Shell stated, “We have been a supporter of FISH and the work it does on our islands. Our Food Drive for FISH is part of our commitment to our community to give back whenever possible.  We are pleased to be part of the FISH Holiday Food Drive and the merchants and shoppers of our two shopping centers have been very supportive in hosting this food drive”.

Shoppers are invited to bring non-perishable food items or donate cash when they shop at any of the shops at Tahitian Gardens and The Village Shops between now and December 24th.  You can place your food items in the FISH Holiday Food Drive baskets and boxes which are located in each store.  All proceeds of the FISH Food Drive will go towards stocking the FISH food pantry in time for the holiday season.

Bill Fellows, President of FISH expressed his appreciation to The Royal Shell Companies for “helping make this holiday season a more pleasant and comfortable one for our families who are in need”. The FISH Food Drive at the Royal Shell shopping centers will continue until December 24^th.

F.I.S.H of Sanibel, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer organization assisting Sanibel and Captiva islanders and visitors with a wide range of services. For more than 30 years FISH has been a “neighbor helping neighbors” organization offering free human services such as transportation for medical appointments, meal delivery, health equipment, food pantry, and emergency financial assistance.

The Walk-in-Center is located at 1630 Periwinkle Way, Unit B, Sanibel (next to Pfeiffer Realty Group) and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FISH can be contacted on (239) 472 4775.

Using the popular TV series 30 Rock as its theme, FISH will celebrate its 30th anniversary by hosting a special Open House celebration. It will take place on Monday, 30^th of January from 5:30pm – 7pm at the F.I.S.H. Walk In Center, 1630 Periwinkle Way and the whole community is invited.

Century honed his etching skills over many years as an artist, primarily using glass, is no stranger to rock.  His artistic skills using rock can be seen today in Washington DC at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall where Luc was part of the team who etched the 58,000 names in black granite.

FISH invited 30 of the islands most talented artists to create individual works of art, all using rock as their canvas, to celebrate FISH of Sanibel’s 30 year history of providing human services on the islands. Luc Century’s artwork, along with the other works of art will form part of the silent auction items at the 30^th anniversary Open House celebration.

F.I.S.H of Sanibel, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer organization assisting Sanibel and Captiva islanders and visitors with a wide range of services. For more than 30 years FISH has been a “neighbor helping neighbors” organization offering free human services such as transportation for medical appointments, meal delivery, health equipment, food pantry, and emergency financial assistance.

The Walk-in-Center is located at 1630 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel and is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FISH can be contacted on (239) 472 4775 or by visiting www.fishofsanibel.com

Lt Michael Cooper of the Sanibel Police Department address the FISH Workshop

More than 30 interested islanders gathered at the Sanibel Senior Center 4 Life on Friday to hear about practical ways in which they can guard against this growing problem – crimes against the elderly.

FISH of Sanibel, in conjunction with the Sanibel Senior Center 4 Life, hosted a two hour workshop dealing with the issue of crimes often targeted at the elderly – identity theft, bank related phishing, telephone solicitation and rogue handy men. The keynote speaker was Detective Joe Roubicek, a detective of 20 years with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department who has investigated over 1,000 exploitation of the elderly crimes over his career. In a lively debate, Roubicek answered questions from the audience about concerns Sanibel residents had, particularly relating to online banking requests for money and other forms of phishing scams.

Bill Fellows, President FISH, Detective Joe Roubicek and Christine Swiersz, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, FISH

Several audience members talked about Sanibel residents that they knew who had been stopped recently from transferring large sums of money to bogus accounts.

Roubicek was joined by Sanibel Lt. Michael Cooper, of the Sanibel Police Department, who talked about the Sanibel police department’s approach to crimes. He gave examples of practical ways residents can guard against these potential crimes.  Lt. Cooper stated that the Sanibel Police Department strongly encouraged residents to call them immediately if they had concerns or suspicions about online schemes or queries about suspicious tradespeople who had approached them.

The FISH organization has seen an increase over the past six month in clients being approached either in person or online soliciting money and this prompted the setting up of this workshop.

Roubicek has also published a book “Financial Abuse of the Elderly; A Detective’s Case Files of Exploitation Crimes.  He is currently the Economic Crimes Investigator for the State Attorney’s Office, Broward County, 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida.