TARPON SPRINGS — The Tarpon Springs Merchants Association’s annual Merry Martini fundraiser netted enough money and donations to provide holiday gifts and support for more than 205 students and their families.
The Dec. 6 event drew about 275 people despite heavy rain earlier in the day, raising funds through cocktail sales, auctions and raffles. Organizers called it the most successful Merry Martini to date.
The beneficiaries include students from Tarpon Springs Elementary, Middle and High schools, as well as families served by Citizens Alliance for Progress, Headstart and the Alliance for Independence.
A temporary office space donated to the merchants association now overflows with wrapped gifts. One room is lined wall-to-wall with bicycles and riding toys. Sorting rooms hold clothes, shoes, art supplies, Star Wars Lego sets, board games and Nerf guns — all categorized and ready for delivery.
“After last year I thought some were pretty giving, but this year, we had no hurricanes, and I think people just were like wow,” said Carol Rodriguez, a merchants association board member.
The event featured appetizers, dinner, a cash bar, live music, lucky number drawings and holiday photos. The Bistro won the martini contest. An auction of hand-painted chairs also drew spirited bidding.
Beyond gifts collected through angel trees at local businesses, the merchants association uses Merry Martini proceeds to fill gaps in family support.
Rodriguez said the organization provides food assistance because children are out of school for two weeks during the holidays. The group buys gift cards from Publix, Walmart and Winn-Dixie, allowing parents to shop for what their families need.
The association has also helped pay rent for eight families facing eviction.
“When you drive up to someone’s house or they come, they are so grateful,” Rodriguez said. Parents often “burst into tears” when gifts and food cards arrive, she said.
Rodriguez recalled delivering gifts to a father and his 2-year-old son. The boy spotted a toy car he could climb into and wouldn’t let go.
“He could not get him out,” Rodriguez said, laughing. “And then I told him, take it … and we’ll get another one.”
Board members Sherry Wendt and Reggie Gibson help Rodriguez sort and organize donations. The Red Knights motorcycle chapter volunteers to deliver gifts. A donor has provided office space free for four years.
The association coordinates with organizations like Shop with a Cop to ensure families aren’t served by multiple programs.
“If we didn’t [have the space], what would we do?” Rodriguez said. “We don’t have a place.”
She described the effort as “pretty amazing. Miracles do happen.”
