The Islander Wish Book Nov, 2025

Making wishes come true on Anna Maria Island

The holidays are the time to take a moment to offer someone a smile or send a greeting, to give a hug or share words of praise.

And as we approach another year, the prospect of added smiles, greetings and hugs promises to be gratifying.

In The Islander Wish Book, we annually present the needs of organizations in the community.

The groups that share their wishes help families and individuals, teach and mentor children, care for sick animals, protect endangered species and more, all with a goal of making Anna Maria Island a better place to live.

Your contribution to these organizations, however small or grand, is appreciated.

Please, peruse The Islander Wish Book and select a gift — or more — to add to your shopping list or your to-do list.

And, to the generous sponsor advertisers, thank you for helping make this special section possible.

We hope you receive the same return as we do each year from The Islander Wish Book — the joy of giving.

Here’s wishing you the happiest holidays and peace, health and joy in 2026!

— Bonner Joy and The Islander

staff

Celebrate Anna Maria Island’s community with a donation to the community groups in this giving guide

Artists’ Guild of AMI

Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island

The Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, supports local artists and promotes arts education.

AGAMI provides scholarships, sponsors tours to museums, contributes funding to school programs, hosts demonstrations and operates the Artists’ Guild Gallery, where artists display and sell their work.

AGAMI wishes for art supplies to be passed on to school art departments:

• Paint brushes.

• Pastels.

• Acrylic paints.

• Clay.

• Paste.

• Art-project papers.

For more information, call AGAMI’s gallery at 941-778-6694.

All Island Denominations

All Island Denominations

All Island Denominations unites the island churches — CrossPointe Fellowship, the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, Harvey Memorial Community Church, Roser Memorial Community Church and St. Bernard Catholic Church — to help those in need.

Organized and funded by the island churches, AID has been serving Anna Maria Island for decades and expressly sent a wish that all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

This season, according to a statement from the organization, “AID is in great need of monetary funds. If not, we will have to disband after being started in 1984. It’s a sad commentary, but the demographics have changed so dramatically here on Anna Maria Island.”

AID wishes for:

• Financial donations to AID, P.O. Box 814, Anna Maria, FL 34216.

For more information, call an island church.

Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island put brushes to canvases in the first paint-around of the 2025-26 season’s Holmes Beach Night Market. Outside the Artists’ Guild Gallery Oct. 10, the artists worked on each painting for about 20 minutes with a goal to raffle their work at the end of the evening. The next Night Market will be Friday, Dec. 5. Meanwhile, AGAMI also continues to collect art supplies to donate to local schools, including paints, brushes and papers. Islander Photo: Lisa Neff

Anna Maria Elementary

Anna Maria Elementary

Anna Maria Elementary School operates with a professional staff of administrators, teachers and support personnel and a large coalition of parents and community organizers.

AME wishes for:

• Pencils.

• Tissues.

• Reams of copy paper.

• Chart paper for easels.

• Band-Aids.

• Post-it notes.

• Crayons.

• Black expo markers.

• Disinfectant wipes.

• Sanitizer.

• Clorox wipes.

• Pony beads.

• Pipe cleaners.

• Laminator sheets.

• Small sets of paints.

• Egg-gripper pencil grips.

For more information, call the school at 941-708-5525 or drop off items at the school office, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.

Island Players

Island Players

The Island Players theatrical group stages productions in its cozy theater at the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.

The group’s mission is “to continue to bring high quality and professional entertainment to the community for the cultural enrichment of all and to provide a stage for young people to learn and enhance their experiences in the performing arts.”

The Island Players wishes for:

• Volunteers in every area to “come and be part of our family.”

For more, go to theislandplayers.org or text 941-920-1362.

Nov. 26, 2025 — Join us in celebrating a special section that benefits our community and another year of providing “the best news” on AMI -- since 1992.

Center of Anna Maria Island

Center of Anna Maria Island

The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, operates with the support of donors, the sale of memberships and program fees.

The center hosts a variety of programs for adults and children, including educational and after-school programs, camps, sports leagues and fitness opportunities.

The center also hosts community events throughout the year.

And, to meet community needs, the center provides low-income families access to childcare and youth programs.

The center’s wishes this season are to boost the before and after-school programs and include:

• Marble runs and ball-track sets.

• STEM experiment kits.

• Art supplies, including markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, kid scissors, beads, pipe cleaners, washable paints, paint brushes, air-dry clay and Crayola Model Magic.

• Friendship bracelet and lanyard kits.

• Sticker sets, paper pads and collage materials.

• Tie-dye kits and fabric markers for T-shirts and tote bags.

• Board games, including Candy Land, Connect 4, Uno, Trouble, Jenga and Sorry!

• Puzzles for different age levels.

• Jump ropes, Hula Hoops and beanbags.

• Chalk, bubbles and Stomp Rockets.

• Yard games, including Connect 4, Jenga and cornhole.

• Dress-up clothes for career costumes, superhero capes, etc.

• Puppet theater and puppets.

• Toy cars, trains and track sets.

• Dollhouse.

• Kinetic Sand and Play-Doh.

• Fidget Spinners, Pop-Its, Stretchy Strings, Squishies.

For more information, call the center at 941-7781908 or go online to centerami.org.

The Wish Book is made possible thanks to advertising sponsors and our newspaper team: Lisa Neff, Joe Bird, Stephanie Smith and Lisa Williams. Join me in thanking them. — publisher Bonner Joy

AMI Turtle Watch

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch

The volunteer-driven Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring protects and collects data on nesting sea turtles and shorebirds on the island.

In partnership with the island community, through public education and cooperation, the nonprofit’s mission is “to assure a suitable habitat for people, sea turtles and shorebirds, the ecosystem of the island and surrounding waters.”

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring wishes for:

• Home Depot and Lowe’s gift cards to purchase equipment.

• Amazon gift cards for office and field supplies.

• Sherwin-Williams gift cards for paint.

• Development services for updating the website.

• On-island garage for UTV storage October-April.

• Legal consultation for contracts and documents.

• Laser cutting of wooden adopt-a-nest plaques.

• General donations at islandturtlewatch. com/donate.

For more info, go to islandturtlewatch.com or email info@islandturtlewatch.com.

AMI Historical Society

Anna Maria Island Historical Society

The Anna Maria Island Historical Society’s museum, 402 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, is open to the public, welcoming people from all over the world.

AMIHS’s docents share the history of the island and its three cities by highlighting stories, displays, antiques and collections of bygone island life.

“We are grateful to our caring island community for all of your support throughout the past year,” AMIHS says. “Because of you and our amazing team of volunteers we have been able to restore and enhance our beautiful museum and Belle Haven Cottage.”

AMIHS wishes for:

• Donations for the preservation of artifacts.

• Touch Tablet and mobile workstation for volunteers and visitors to use in research of archived stories and documents.

• Recording equipment and recordings of live narratives from people who grew up on AMI.

• Volunteers to join a great team of people dedicated to keeping the museum alive for all to enjoy.

For more information about fulfilling the wishes, call AMIHS’ Carolyn Orshak at 608444-0084.

SEASONS GREETINGS!

Manatee Avenue Market

Wishing you a tasty, happy, soulful “Gumbozilla” holiday filled with good gumbo, good times and good cheer!

Look for the BLUE market at the light. 51st & Manatee 5104 Manatee Ave W . Bradenton . 941.896

.6245

AMI Chamber of Commerce

AMI Chamber of Commerce

The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, representing 580-plus members, helps newcomers settle, businesses thrive and tourists navigate on the island.

The chamber wishes for:

• Success for “all our businesses” in 2025-26.

For more, call the chamber at 941-778-1541.

Tingley Memorial Library

Tingley Memorial Library

Tingley Memorial Library, 111 Second St. N., Bradenton Beach, is a nonprofit that serves the island and surrounding communities.

Thanks to generous donors, the library purchases more than 180 bestsellers each year for members to check-out.

The library also provides meeting room space, computers, and printing services.

The Tingley Memorial Library wishes for:

• Monetary donations to purchase books.

• Books to add to the collection or the year-round book sale.

• New members to join for $10 a year.

• Popular magazine/newspaper subscriptions.

• Laminator and supplies.

• Children’s board games and puzzles.

• Picture frames of all sizes.

• Coastal wall art.

• Craft supplies.

For more, call 941-7791208.

Cortez Village Historical Society Mayors Feed the Hungry

Cortez Village Historical Society

The Cortez Village Historical Society is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Cortez’s past and to protecting its future.

The CVHS wishes include:

• Gift cards to a hardware store to offset maintenance costs at the center.

• Gift cards to purchase printer paper and printer ink.

• Gift cards to purchase stamps and envelopes.

• Purchases of CVHS memberships — $15 for individuals, $20 for families, $50 for businesses.

For more information, contact Cindy Rodgers at cvhs2016@aol.com.

Mayors Feed the Hungry

The Mayors Feed the Hungry conducts community food drives.

Since its beginnings in 1987, the program has collected and distributed more than 650 tons of food and given more than $4,500,000 in food gift cards to the hungry in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Implemented by former Sarasota Mayor Fredd Atkins, the program is endorsed by local mayors and county commission chairs. Contributions are 100% tax deductible:

The Mayors Feed the Hungry wishes for:

• Cash donations to purchase food gift cards.

• Grocery donations to local food pantries. For more, go to mayorsfeedthehungry. org or call 941-350-6075.

Club of AMI

Rotary Club of AMI

The Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island supports many community projects, including literacy programs at Anna Maria Elementary.

The local club, in coordination with the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County and the Bradenton YMCA, also provides swim and water safety lessons to children. Next year, the club will have initiated an effort to offer lessons to 11-to 14-year olds who may have missed lessons earlier.

Globally, Rotary supports clean water and sanitation, fighting disease, helping mothers and children and promoting peace.

The club wishes for:

• Donations for swim lessons at $80 per child. Donations can be sent to the Rotary Foundation of Anna Maria Island, noting “swim program,” P.O. Box 1344, Holmes Beach, FL 34218.

For more information, contact club president Jim McDaniel at 413-210-6921 or jim. mcdaniel2012@gmail.com.

For more on the club, go to Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island on Facebook.

Joseph Food Pantry

St. Joseph Food Pantry

The St. Joseph Food Pantry, 2704 33rd Ave. W., Bradenton, provides food to individuals and families in need, including members of the island hospitality workforce.

The pantry relies in part on donations from parishioners and churches, including St. Bernard Catholic Church in Holmes Beach.

The pantry wishes for:

• Nonperishable food items, including peanut butter, canned vegetables, tomato sauce, canned meats and tuna, dry pasta, boxed stuffing, instant potatoes and mac-andcheese boxes.

For more, call 508-335-1926.

Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage

The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage in Cortez is “dedicated to the promotion, education and preservation of Cortez and Florida’s commercial fishing and other traditional maritime cultures including the environment upon which these communities depend.”

FISH takes care of and oversees the 90-plus acre Cortez FISH Preserve, as well as runs multiple programs, hosts the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival and maintains other historic properties in the fishing village.

FISH’s wishes include:

• Flatbed golf cart, because one was lost in hurricane Helene.

• Small, self-propelled push mower.

• Four-drawer filing cabinet

• Volunteers to help with the festival.

• New members.

For more information, email fishpreserve@ gmail.com or call 941-301-4000.

Friends of the Island Library

Friends of the Island Library

The Friends of the Island Library exists to help the island branch of the Manatee County Public Library System achieve its mission to “nurture imagination, promote lifelong learning and enrich the community.”

The group supports the library with programs, fundraising campaigns and volunteerism.

The Friends wish for:

• Puzzle restock in the children’s area, including wooden puzzles for all ages of youth, including alphabet, USA and world maps, oceans and more.

For more, call the library at 941-778-6341.

Florida Maritime Museum

The Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez, offers a snapshot of old Florida through a collection of informative exhibits, educational programs, community events, and research materials.

The museum is currently closed for a rehabilitation of their historic building by Manatee County’s construction services but FMM offers programming on the grounds, as well as in partnership with other groups.

The museum wishes for:

• Volunteers. While they need all types of volunteers to help with a variety of projects and ongoing maintenance, a current digital archive project has created a need for more computer-savvy volunteers.

• Shells. Personal collections of local shells to be used in craft and educational projects.

For more, visit floridamaritimemuseum. org, email fmminfo@manateeclerk.com or call 941-708-6120.

Friends of Manatee County Animal Welfare

Friends of Manatee County Animal Welfare supports the county shelter and adoption program. The shelter, at any given time, houses 100 dogs.

The Friends of Manatee County Animal Welfare wishes for:

• “Power Chew” Nylabones for every shelter dog.

For more info, contact Renee Ferguson at 609-346-1796.

Donations can be dropped off for Ferguson at 210 77th St., Holmes Beach.

Keep Manatee Beautiful

Keep Manatee Beautiful, the local chapter of Keep America Beautiful, is fulfilling its mission to help prevent litter.

KMB accomplishes this with its Adopt-AShore locations covering the entirety of Anna Maria Island. KMB also conducts cleanups throughout Manatee County, including on streets and highways and in preserves.

KMB wishes:

• Nonprofits that need things get their wishes fulfilled.

For more, email 941-795-8272. Also, visit www.manateebeautiful.com.

Annie Silver Community Center

The Annie Silver Community Center at 23rd Street and Avenue C in Bradenton Beach was founded by entrepreneur Annie Silver to promote friendship among neighbors.

The center is a gathering place for community suppers, winter-spring bingo games and more.

Annie Silver’s wishes include:

• Shell for parking areas.

• Window replacements.

Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island

Saturday mornings, members and guests of the Anna Maria Island Kiwanis Club traditionally gather for meetings.

The group meets at Bradenton Beach City Hall to share news, trade jokes, sing songs, make friends, listen to speakers and plan civic projects.

Outside the meetings, club members host and coordinate an Easter sunrise service on the beach, sponsor K-Kids at Anna Maria Elementary and the Builder’s and Key clubs at State College of Florida, as well as help the Salvation Army with bellringing for holiday donations at the Publix Super Market in Holmes Beach.

The club wishes for:

• New members.

• Volunteers to ring the bell for the Salvation Army at the island Publix Super Market through the next Christmas holiday season.

For more, contact Sandy Haas-Martens at 941-778-1883 or kiwanisclubofami@gmail.com.

Ministry of Presence

Ministry of Presence

The Ministry of Presence Inc., established in 1995 in Bradenton by a Haitian-born priest and a sister, is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing a better life for children in Haiti.

The Rev. Ron Joseph and the ministry’s board of directors administer programs that aid in the health, feeding, clothing and educating of Haitian children.

The Ministry of Presence wishes for:

• Tents and canopies.

• Sleeping mats and/or bags.

• Linens.

• Sports items.

• Cash donations for medical supplies, bottled water, water purification supplies.

For more, contact The Islander at 941778-7978.

with bingo sessions and community dinners.

• Volunteers to help plan Annie Silver adventures events.

For more, contact Bruce Butler at 513-3686454.

People crowd the tables at an Annie Silver Community Center bingo night. The Bradenton Beach center will resume its bingo games and community dinners after the new year. Meanwhile, they’re wishing this holiday season for volunteers and members to help with programs and repairs.

Off Stage Ladies

Cindy@CJonesRE.com

Wildlife Inc.

The Sunday before an opening night at the Island Players’ playhouse in Anna Maria is known as “Long Sunday.”

This is when the actors and the stage crew gather for a lengthy rehearsal to perfect the production and the Off Stage Ladies serve a feast.

The group supports the Island Players — now in its 77th season — in other ways and also meets during the fall-winter-spring season for social lunches.

Off Stage Ladies wishes for:

• Local restaurants to donate entrees and gift cards to support the Long Sunday feasts.

• New members.

• Flashlights for ushers in the theater.

• $25 donations to help keep the theater beautiful.

For more, email at roeduncana@gmail.com or call 941-932-2798.

Wildlife Inc. in Bradenton Beach is a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating thousands of injured, sick and displaced birds, mammals and reptiles each year.

Founder Gail Straight and her team of dedicated volunteers have fully reopened after suffering significant damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton, but they need the community’s help to continue their work.

Wildlife Inc. wishes for:

• Gift cards for food, supplies and cages.

• Gas gift cards.

• Paper towels and toilet paper.

• Pecans, almonds, and other nuts in shells.

• Mini Miracle Nipples for feeding newborns.

• Letter-size computer paper.

• Postage stamps.

For more information, call 941-778-6324.

Roser Food Pantry

The Roser Food Pantry, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, is stocked largely with donations from island residents and island churches. Operators of the pantry provide groceries regularly to locals in need.

The Roser Food Pantry wishes for:

• Canned fruit, vegetables, meat and meals.

• Crackers, cookies, drinks, cereal and snacks.

• Rice, potatoes and pasta.

• Toilet paper, tissues and paper towels.

• Bottled water.

• Laundry detergent.

• Volunteers for the food pantry. For more, call 941-778-0414.

AMI Privateers

Anna Maria Island Privateers

The mission of the Anna Maria Island Privateers is to “develop, promote and support activities for the betterment of youth and community in Manatee County.” The group raises money for scholarships and hosts a series of events.

The nonprofit wishes for:

• A “home port” for the Skullywag, sleigh and other items, as well as a location for meetings and events: “We have gone much too long without a port of our own and significant money is spent each year to keep our ship and sleigh running and usable, as well as expenses for other storage that could be best used to fund scholarships. … The Skullywag, our Sleigh and the Punchie reside in the elements, which takes a brutal toll on them.”

• Members. “We have not been able to organize and hold many events … due to our very small membership at this time.”

For more, go to amiprivateers.org or call 941-650-8673.