Empowered through technology

The event on May 20 was the first collaboration between the Deb Kabinoff Fund and the Sarasota Police Department.

While some residents at Orange Avenue Trailer Park didn’t know what to expect from the May 20 event, they were pleased when they saw the gifts in store — iPads complete with a stylus, keyboard and charger, said Sarasota Chief of Police Rex Troche.

Deb Kabinoff, whose foundation, the Deb Kabinoff Fund, covered the cost of the project, described the kids present as “just jumping up and down.”

Kabinoff said she had driven past the same community many times in the past, even taking children’s books to the residents on some occasions.

She was surprised when, during the annual gala of the Sarasota Police Foundation in February, she and Troche struck up a conversation and he expressed a desire to bring her

efforts to the mobile home park, an area he said was lacking resources for children.

Troche suggested providing the kids with iPads, while Kabinoff suggested the giveaway take place near the end of the school year in May.

Kabinoff said it was important to host the event, which offered 100 iPads, at that time to help the kids maintain their language skills, which can be affected over the summer as they are exposed less often to English. She said users will be able to download programs that can help learning continue.

Kabinoff donated the money for a giveaway event on May 20, which was coordinated by the Sarasota Police Department.

“It really was a good fit, because they are committed to helping the community, and I am, too. I have the financial resources, and they have the knowledge of communities that need help,” Kabinoff said.

UnidosNow provided translation at the event, while Chick-filA donated chicken sandwiches and drinks.

She also said many adult residents were as excited as the children, if not more. She said some of them would be losing their jobs as servers or workers in restaurants during the summer, and planned to use the iPads to search for new jobs.

Troche said the partnership also includes the Barancik Foundation and The Pines, an assisted living facility across the street from the mobile home park. Those organizations, he said, are working out a schedule for the iPad recipients to receive further education on their usage, including how to access different platforms they will need.

Troche said having served for 20 years as a police officer in Sarasota, he has had contact with the residents of the park on multiple occasions.

“There are really hardworking people here,” he said. “They want the American Dream just like everybody else, but there are challenges when they come here because they don’t want to bring attention to themselves, and so I thought that this was a very underserved community within our community, and I thought it was important to do whatever we could to help those families.”

Troche also said many Latino communities do not report crimes to the police and hopes the project will improve communication between the community and the police.

“Here we have an opportunity to engage with families and engage with the kids in a positive atmosphere. The goal is to improve communication, let them know that we’re here to help them.”