{"id":58458,"date":"2025-11-24T06:54:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T06:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/58458\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T06:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T06:54:14","slug":"dribble-paint-inspire-florida-weekly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/58458\/","title":{"rendered":"Dribble. Paint. Inspire – Florida Weekly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The team who made the project possible, Grisel Martin, Devon Parker, Merry Coffman and Juan Santiago. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

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The non-profits involved include Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Lee Health Foundation\u2019s Barbara\u2019s Friends, Goodwill Industries of SWFL, AHT Education & Advocacy Fund, ArtFest Fort Myers. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

In Fort Myers, basketball and art come together to combine the love of sports and creativity, showcasing the artists and nonprofits that are changing lives locally.\n<\/p>\n

The Fort Myers Tip-Off and ArtFest Fort Myers are combining athletics and art to create a set of basketballs decorated with various designs related to the non-profits involved in the project.\n<\/p>\n

These basketballs are being put on display at the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament from Nov. 24-27.\n<\/p>\n

Fort Myers Tip-Off\u2019s Executive Director of Community Impact, Merry Coffman, has assembled her team to make this project possible. She saw the local artists and their talent and wanted to incorporate this with the organizations in the area.\n<\/p>\n

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Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center\u2019s decorated basketball created by artist Cesar Aguilera. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

\u201cLee County has a robust art community in every space.\u00a0 We are home to dynamic visual artists, film, theatre, vocal, orchestral, you name it, we have it here,\u201d Coffman said. \u201cWhat we need now are different people who have a platform to give our local artists space because art is everywhere.\u00a0 With my new position with Intersport, I have been reaching out to many different businesses and people to see how we can best showcase Lee County on the national stage that the Fort Myers Tip-Off provides.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

With Coffman\u2019s mission to combine the sports and the art world as well as give a spotlight to the non-profits in the area, an idea sparked to design the basketballs.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cGrisel Martin was one who said \u2018we are doing this\u2019 when I told her some different ideas of how we can incorporate art into Fort Myers Tip-Off.\u00a0 We, of course, had lots of ideas flowing. She and I have known each other for a long time, and that was a very fun brainstorming session. I think that is another amazing thing about our community, we are collaborators and want to help each other however we can.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

ArtFest Fort Myers\u2019 Grisel Martin worked hand in hand with Coffman to get the ball rolling on the project. With Coffman\u2019s help, the plan was set, and the basketballs were under construction.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both had the same idea that we wanted to incorporate the arts within the community,\u201d Martin said. \u201cWe were both thinking and conceptualizing the same project without really even knowing it. So that was kind of the birth of the idea. And throughout a couple more brainstorming sessions, I think we decided that we really wanted to highlight some important nonprofits in the community and show the tie between the arts and their mission.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

These nonprofits were each given a basketball to have designed, expressing what their organization means to the community and showcasing their ideas.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tFoundation for Lee County Public Schools\u2019 decorated basketball created by artist Linda McQuinn. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tAHT Education & Advocacy Fund\u2019s basketball that will be on display at the Fort Myers Tip-Off created by artist David Acevedo. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY
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\u201cIt\u2019s creative. I really love the creativity and the logistical planning that went behind every single one of them,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI think giving artists that creative liberty to do whatever they want is the result that we\u2019re seeing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

From the intricate designs of the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center, with various sculptures seen on the basketball, to the detailed designs from birds to books, these basketballs tell a story.\n<\/p>\n

A story of community that showcases the characteristics that align with each non-profit.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing something like this, a project like this, I think, helps showcase that something like sports and athletics and art are not two separate things,\u201d Martin said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to be separate.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Martin worked with ArtFest Executive Director, Juan Santiago, and the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center\u2019s President and CEO, Devon Parker, to join forces in bringing the community together. The process took planning, from getting each non-profit on board to finding where the basketballs could be displayed and who would create them.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOur artist who did the ArtFest is a local artist who exhibits at our show almost every year, and so we love her work,\u201d Martin said. \u201cWe love that she wants to support what we\u2019re doing in our community, too.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Santiago was impressed by all the work that was put into the project and the interesting ideas that each artist came up with to really make their basketballs stand out.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best word that I can use to describe the process would be creative,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cCreative collaboration, the process was just very unique, and because it\u2019s something that we\u2019ve never done before, coming up with that was just fun and exciting to know that we were able to bring this new idea into fruition.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Coffman was grateful for each member\u2019s involvement, from the push to get the idea out there to Parker\u2019s help with the materials.\n<\/p>\n

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Art Fest Fort Myers\u2019 basketball that is being put on display at the Fort Myers Tip-Off created by artist Linda McQuinn. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth sports and the arts bring people together, inspire passion and create memorable shared experiences. When they intersect, you engage new audiences and open doors for creativity in places where people might not expect it,\u201d Parker said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s through design, fan engagement, live performances, or community collaborations like this one, integrating the arts enriches the culture of the sport and strengthens local identity.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Parker was thankful for the eyes that the Fort Myers Tip-Off brings in. The project was a way for the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center to create for a good cause and inspire others in the community to do the same.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tip-Off energizes Lee County at a crucial time of year. It brings visitors, hotel stays, restaurant traffic, and media visibility that ripple outward into the local economy, just like the arts do year-round,\u201d Parker said. \u201cEvents like this reinforce Fort Myers as a destination for sports tourism, and they complement our cultural offerings beautifully. When people come for the basketball and discover our thriving arts scene, everyone benefits\u2014businesses, artists and the broader community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Meet the non-profits\n<\/p>\n

Non-profits involved with the project included:\n<\/p>\n

Foundation for Lee County Public Schools
\nLee Health Foundation\u2019s Barbara\u2019s Friends
\nGoodwill Industries of SWFL
\nAHT Education & Advocacy Fund
\nArtFest Fort Myers
\nSidney and Berne Davis Art Center<\/p>\n

Each non-profit provides a different way they choose to impact the community, from donating clothes to educating children through the arts.\n<\/p>\n

Lee Health Foundation\u2019s Sr. Director of Development, Justin Brand, has been involved with Lee Health\u2019s collaboration on the project and was excited about the showcase being displayed at the Fort Myers Tip-Off.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cGolisano Children\u2019s Hospital is involved as a nonprofit organization for the Fort Myers Tip-Off. We have been working with the Fort Myers Tip-Off for the last few years in various ways,\u201d Brand said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had volunteer opportunities to help them, and they\u2019ve always been gracious enough to donate back to the Children\u2019s Hospital.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Lee Health wanted to thank the Fort Myers Tip-Off for the partnership on the project and the message they are giving to the community.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving this opportunity to showcase a piece of artwork that fits both the personality of Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital, the way that we\u2019re designing it, but also have the aspect of basketball, really blends the two organizations together quite nicely,\u201d Brand said.\n<\/p>\n

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Lee Health Foundation\u2019s Barbara\u2019s Friends\u2019 decorated basketball created by artist Linda Lucas. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN \/ FLORIDA WEEKLY<\/p>\n

With this project highlighting non-profits, Brand wanted to remind locals that they can get involved through Lee Health to help families and individuals in need.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can donate their time, or they can donate a talent that they have,\u201d Brand said. \u201cSo, for instance, we have professional musicians who play some sort of musical instrument every day, throughout the day, and in all of the lobbies of our hospitals. It helps our providers. It helps our patients and their families who are experiencing some sort of chaos or trauma while they are in the hospital.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Coffman and her team are grateful to all the nonprofits involved and to the community for continuing to support one another through the arts and athletics, making projects like this possible.\n<\/p>\n

For more information on Fort Myers Tip-Off, you can visit fortmyerstipoff.com\/<\/a>.\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The team who made the project possible, Grisel Martin, Devon Parker, Merry Coffman and Juan Santiago. -DAVID WISHTISCHIN…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-58458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}