First Bus Loop 2007

Press Release

Bus Loop Committee: John Haley, Courtney Holshouser, Laura Akers, Elisa Stone, Patsy Mennuti, Vicky Shahady, Sandra Muvdi, Gregg Sjoquist

On Friday, August 10th, 2007, 760 people attended the Fort Lauderdale Bus Loop, a fundraiser involving five charities, the Sun Trolley, and ten participating bars and restaurants traversing the City of Fort Lauderdale from the beaches to the downtown Riverwalk district. The event raised money for the Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation, The Young Professionals of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Young Professionals for Covenant House, Riverwalk Trust, and Broward County Gator Club. Each charity was thrilled with the outcome and anxiously awaits the next Bus Loop.

The event began at the Las Olas Riverfront courtyard where participants were given a Sun Trolley Pass in exchange for a $20 donation. From there, they hopped one of the Sun Trolley buses running continuous routes all night long from 2nd Street, down Las Olas Blvd., to the beaches. Participating venues included Dirty Blondes Sports Bar, Café Del Mar, Spazios, Sally O’Brien’s Irish Pub, Crazy 8’s, Lulu’s Bait Shack, The Grape, Briny Riverfront, Himmarshee SideBar, and Tarpon Bend. All venues generously agreed to donate a drink or appetizer to the attendees. LandShark, Rolling Rock, and Grolsh Beer helped sponsor the event. Immediately following the bus loop at 10:00 pm, hundreds joined fellow Bus Loop participants at the Briny Riverfront where festivities continued with a dinner buffet, live music, dancing, and a raffle.

John Haley, the event chairman and organizer, hopes the event will become a regularly scheduled event for the City. “The event significantly benefits everyone involved….the charities, the sponsors, the Sun Trolley, the restaurants, the attendees, and the City of Fort Lauderdale overall. We hope everyone is now looking forward to the next one”.

An event shared by five charities is unusual in Fort Lauderdale but proved to be very gratifying for each involved. Sandra Muvdi, founder of the Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation, was excited to announce “the Bus Loop was a Win – Win for all parties involved! Five local charities benefited from community awareness for each of our causes and a tremendous increase in our list of contacts”. Patst Mennuti, Executive Director of the Riverwalk Trust, commented “Riverwalk Trust was pleased to partner with four other area charities to provide a fun, summer night out in Fort Lauderdale. The Sun Trolley proved a perfect ‘vehicle’ to showcase the vibrant entertainment of downtown and the beach.”. Laura Akers, the president of the Young Professionals for Covenant, boasted “the participating nonprofit organizations gained both exposure and financial support. The participating venues were able to showcase their food, beverages and facilities while helping community organizations.”. “The Bus Loop was a huge success for the Broward County Gator Club. It was a great way to create awareness and raise scholarship money for our organization!”, emphasized Elisa Stone, president emeritus of the Broward County Gator Club. Vicky Shahady, Director of Special Events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, added ,”The Bus Loop was a great way to build community awareness about each participating organization and a unique event to bring young professionals together in Fort Lauderdale.”.

The JESSICA JUNE CHILDREN’S CANCER FOUNDATION, through partner hospital referrals, provides financial assistance to children with cancer in medical and financial crisis.

Learn more about Jessica’s Story