Central Park resident comes full circle with Giving Circle

Amanda Smith holds the title of the youngest board member at City of Hope. Her parents, Julie and Bob Smith, served on the board of the organization that raises money for research and treatment of patients with cancer, diabetes and other diseases. They often had to bring Smith to meetings in her baby carrier.

A sense of giving colored Smith's upbringing. She watched as her parents were involved with multiple charities, including Stillpoint House of Prayer and Project Light,  local sister organizations that provide necessities and teach English to in-need individuals. 

Throughout her childhood, Smith asked her friends to bring canned food to her birthday parties in lieu of gifts. The following weekend, Smith and her father dropped off the donations at the Waukesha County Food Pantry.

"Helping others was just something you were supposed to be — it was a type of person I felt I had to be when I was younger," Smith said. "I didn't really have a choice as a child, but as an adult I can choose how to help others and that's what I'm trying to do here."

In 2011, Julie Smith founded the first Ranch Giving Circle. Circles consists of a group of individuals who pool their resources to raise at least $10,000 to donate to local charities. Members pay an annual donation amount, contingent on the number of members in the group.

Smith started the first circle with nearly 10 members, and today the group has 30.

Lakewood Ranch now houses six women's Giving Circles, which vary, based on interest, age and other factors.

Smith watched as her mom's group expanded throughout the years, and after moving back to the area after graduating from the University of Florida , she decided to start her own giving circle. 

Smith co-founded Lakewood Ranch's newest Giving Circle, Cheers for Charity, in May, with her friend, Janel Shinn. Circle members hosted the group's first fundraising event — Stars and Stripes — June 25, at Polo Grill and Bar.

The group raised more than $1,500, and the Manatee Community Foundation, the umbrella organization that oversees area Giving Circles, will donate $500.

Cheers for Charity will hold a meeting at the end of July to determine which local organization will receive the dollars raised last week.

Smith hopes the group will grow a strong base in East County, just like her mother's group, the Lakewood Ranch Women's Charitable Fund, nicknamed "Chicks with Checks."

"Donating your time for a cause is something that just makes you feel good," Smith said. "I can see a direct impact on my community by little things I'm doing, by things my parents do. When you live somewhere and call it home, you have an obligation to do what you can to make that place better.”

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].