Pargh Foundation Makes 2nd Donation to Help Stetson Thank Emergency Workers

Stetson Associate Professor Michele Skelton, PhD, left, meets with firefighters at Reedy Creek Fire Station 1 in Orlando before lunch.

On the heels of a successful two days of providing meals to 290 hospital workers in DeLand and Daytona Beach, The Pargh Foundation has made a second $5,000 donation to help Stetson University duplicate this effort in Lake Mary and Orlando.

On Tuesday, May 5, Brian’s Bar-B-Q in DeLand provided meals to two shifts of hospital workers at AdventHealth Lake Mary, a stand-alone ER.

Michele Skelton and Andy Pargh, Trustee for The Pargh Foundation, hand out ear guards at the event.

On Wednesday-Friday, May 6-8, Toasted Food Truck is providing meals to first responders at Reedy Creek Fire Station 1 near Walt Disney World. The effort will feed firefighters, paramedics, deputies and call center workers from four Reedy Creek Fire Stations and the nearby Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The Pargh Foundation has donated $10,000 to fund meals for healthcare workers and emergency responders in Volusia, Seminole and Orange counties. To date, Stetson University and the restaurants have provided 555 meals.

portrait outside
Rina Arroyo

“We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support Stetson University has received from our alumni, parents, friends and donors during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Rina Arroyo, assistant vice president for Development at Stetson. “We are especially grateful to Andy Pargh and The Pargh Foundation for the gift that is allowing us to support our local healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of caring for our community.

“We are very proud of our alumni and others who are risking their lives to save people locally and around the world. The Pargh Foundation gift also allows us to support Central Florida restaurants and keep them working by providing these meals to healthcare workers and first responders in Lake Mary and Orlando,” she said.

Tony Ganus, Innovation Lab manager in the duPont-Ball Library, shows the 3D-printed ear guards.

In late April, Stetson worked with Zarrella’s Italian & Wood Fired Pizza in Cape Canaveral and Toasted Food Truck in Winter Park to provide meals to health care workers at AdventHealth DeLand and Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

In addition to serving meals, Stetson University is handing out ear guards to healthcare workers and paramedics. The ear guards are 3D printed in Stetson’s Innovation Lab in the duPont-Ball Library. They provide healthcare workers some relief from the constant pressure of the facemask’s elastic security strap on their ears and back of the head.