CORTEZ – A partnership between Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker and the Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island to raise money to buy supplies for the people of Ukraine will continue into the foreseeable future.
The two joined forces after Rotary Club members had a meeting at Slicker’s Eatery and began to discuss ways of helping people affected by a war none of them ever wanted, but have no choice but to live through.
“I knew that if we didn’t do something, the news would stop showing it,” he said. “If you ask people around here today, they say they have to turn it off because it’s so hard to watch because they don’t know what they can do or how to help. For three weeks I prayed about how I could help like we do here after a hurricane.”
Slicker’s prayers were answered when he learned the club had Rotary partners close to the war zone in both Poland and Ukraine that could not only assist with moving the funds raised, but also physically transport purchased supplies directly into Ukraine where they are needed most.
“When you try to help people, you always wonder where the money is going,” he said. “The Rotary is very transparent and very reputable; every ‘i’ is dotted and ‘t’ is crossed.”
Some of the efforts of the Polish Rotarians assisting the AMI chapter include creating a make-shift hospital, setting up a refugee center for families, making much-needed supply runs, and purchasing washers, dryers and refrigerators.
“We visited flats where they have as many as seven people living in one apartment and they are allowed one shelf per flat in the communal refrigerators,” Slicker said. “Imagine having only one shelf in a fridge for an entire large family, but they are very grateful to even have that. We want to buy more fridges, more washers and dryers. We have a lot more to do.”
As he addressed the July 12 Rotary meeting, Slicker showed pictures he took on a recent trip to Poland and Ukraine, allowing everyone in attendance to see the people affected by the war and how it has changed their lives. Slicker said he asked just about everybody he spoke to the same questions, including whether or not they thought this war would actually happen or if it was just a show of strength by Putin that would not escalate into war.
“So many people had the same answer to that question,” he said. “We never thought he was crazy enough to go through with it.”
The Concert for Peace event held on the Island on June 12 raised over $50,000 for the Campaign for Ukraine. Shortly after that event, the members of the AMI Rotary Club sent $5,000 to benefit Ukrainians, which was matched by a Rotary District in New Hampshire (7870) for a total of $10,000. The Rotary Club of AMI and Slicker’s Eatery partnership has also released an additional $10,000 to President Wojtek Jankowski of the Rotary Club of Czestochowa, Poland. The clubs communicate regularly with those on the ground internationally and on the front lines using WhatsApp.
At the close of his presentation to the club members, Slicker announced the next event, a pub crawl through Cortez.
The event is planned to include a trolley ride to four local bars, Clancy’s, R.J. Gators, Slicker’s Eatery and Piano 88. The bar crawl is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 13 from 1-5 p.m. Each pub will also have a gift basket to be raffled with funds also going to the Ukraine relief effort. Raffle tickets can be purchased any time before the event at each location. Event tickets are $75, with at least $45 of each purchase going directly to the Rotary’s Ukraine fundraising efforts after expenses. For ticket information, call Debbie at 941-704-3294. Slicker hopes the event will raise around $12,000.
Another Concert for Peace is also being planned for this fall.
