Fort Myers and Naples Hooters locations fill lending libraries to support cancer patients
Every month, Southwest Florida Hooters restaurants continue their partnership to bring comfort and support to both Lee Regional Cancer Center in Fort Myers and the Cancer Clinic in Bonita Springs. The “Lending Library” initiative is a year-round program the Southwest Florida Hooters restaurants created to assist those facing breast and other types of cancer.
On May 11, Taylor Zalich from Naples Hooters along with Gwyn Norbie and Paige Roberts from the Fort Myers Hooters location visited and refreshed two separate lending library carts in the infusion center at Lee Regional Cancer Center in Fort Myers. Every month, they restock and reorganize an assortment of additional books for patients to read, word searches, coloring books, writing utensils and bookmarks.
Later that day, Hooters employees stopped at Bonita Community Health Center in Bonita Springs, where Taylor was joined by Kelly Deihl from Naples Hooters. During this visit, Taylor and Kelly sorted through the current lending library cart, refreshed the inventory, plus added a variety of fresh new reads into the mix.
“Our monthly visits continue to be incredibly rewarding for our team, and it has been amazing to see firsthand how something as simple as a book cart can create moments of comfort, normalcy, and connection for patients during difficult days. We are grateful to continue supporting these facilities and look forward to growing the program even further throughout the community,” said Taylor Zalich from Naples Hooters. “The Sherlock Holmes collection previously added has been a favorite of the patients”.
“Our goal is to provide a welcoming, uplifting and supportive environment for patients of all ages and their families during their treatments,” said Hooters of South Florida Director of Marketing Kristi Quarles.
The Lending Library program is part of South Florida’s Hooters’ ongoing commitment to give back to the community. Since 2022, Hootie’s Lending Library has provided more than 16,300 books to the local hospitals in Southwest Florida at the Lee Regional Cancer Center in Fort Myers and the Cancer Clinic in Bonita Springs and to several children’s hospitals in South Florida.
Hooters of Fort Myers is at 4411 Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers. Hooters of Naples is at 3625 Gateway Lane in Naples. Hooters of South Florida, owns and operates 15 locations. For more information about South Florida Hooters and their community involvement please visit HootersFlorida.com or follow us at Instagram @SouthFLHooters and Facebook.