Monday, December 31, 2012
The Jr. Bulls hockey organization gathered donations of basic toiletries, blankets and other items for Operation Unwrap a Smile.
As 2012 comes to a close, Land O' Lakes Patch is taking a look back at the year that was. In December, a Land O' Lakes nonprofit organization got a boost from a group of youth hockey players. "I was overwhelmed with joy! I really cried when (the organizer) called because it's just the help we needed at this time in this economy," Operation Unwrap a Smile co-founder Stephanie Roshell said. The hockey player outreach to support Roshell's efforts in the Bay area was organized by Deano Hoffberg, the mother of two Jr. Bull youth hockey players, a travel team based at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum, 10222 Elizabeth Place. Hoffberg launched "Youth Hockey Cares" in 2011 to encourage the youth hockey community to support local organizations. Last …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
A Land O' Lakes nonprofit organization is getting some help this holiday season from Bay area youth hockey players.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
A parent organizes an effort she hopes will spread beyond her children's team to support Operation Unwrap a Smile, which reaches displaced, homeless and at-risk youth.
A local nonprofit organization is getting some help this holiday season from Bay area youth hockey players, and the timing couldn't be better. "I was overwhelmed with joy! I really cried when (the organizer) called because it's just the help we needed at this time in this economy," Operation Unwrap a Smile co-founder Stephanie Roshell said. Roshell and her husband, Herbert, run the nonprofit organization Operation Unwrap a Smile from their Land O' Lakes home, relying on donations and their own funds to reach displaced, homeless and at-risk youth in Pasco County and beyond. The organization also provides outreach services to local nursing homes, giving residents basic toiletries and gifts, and taking kids along to sing and share their …
Monday, March 12, 2012
Once a homeless teen herself, Stephanie Roshell and her husband, Herbert, work with displaced Bay area youth, providing support, hope and gifts wrapped "with love."
At 16, she went to church a lot. But to her father’s way of thinking, that meant she must have been doing something wrong. He came home after a night of drinking and kicked her out. Her mother, fearful, did not intervene. Stephanie Roshell, now 46, was on her own from that point on, she said. “I slept in my car, under the school lights,” she said. And she promised herself something: “I vowed that if I ever got back up on my feet, I would give back.” In early 2005, she met the man who would become her partner in that promise: Herbert Roshell, a pastor and longtime Pasco County Schools employee. Their courtship revolved around planning their outreach. “We were called to work with broken people, especially youth,” Stephanie Roshell said. “It…
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A Land O' Lakes couple's nonprofit organization serving at-risk, homeless and displaced children has grown as the number of children needing their help has increased. Now they need the community's help.
Herbert and Stephanie Roshell of Land O' Lakes run their nonprofit organization, Operation Unwrap A Smile, from their home, relying on donations and their own funds to reach displaced, homeless and at-risk youth in Pasco County and beyond. The organization also provides outreach services to local nursing homes, giving residents basic toiletries and gifts—"Blankets are a big hit!"—and taking kids along to sing and share their company. The Roshells store the items donated by businesses and individuals in a small spare bedroom in their home, but since founding the 501c3 organization in 2005, their outreach has outgrown the space. "We have donations, but nowhere to put them," Stephanie Roshell said. "We're hoping someone can help us with …
Carol Ann Walker
12:43 pm on Tuesday, March 13, 2012
You are a blessing. Thank you. I live in the Washington Metro Area and I am sure a center could be establish here. Regards, Carol Ann more ›