If you’ve lived in The Villages for any length of time, then you’re probably very familiar with The Villages Parrot Head Club.
But if you’re not, they’re a fun-loving collection of people from a variety of places who truly embrace the retirement lifestyle. Like their fellow Parrot Heads from across the globe – The Villages club is the biggest of them all – they thrive on the music and writings of Jimmy Buffett. And perhaps most importantly, they believe in “leaving things just a little better than they found them … and having a blast while doing it.”
If you’re wondering just how these Parrot Heads bring that motto to reality, we’ll start with the recent blood drive the club sponsored. Area residents turned out en masse for the event that was held at The Villages Fire Department’s Station 44 earlier this month.
All told, the group collected a whopping 255 pints – close to 32 gallons – to help OneBlood keep up with the growing needs of the community. And it’s important to note that this effort followed another drive in January that saw Villagers and area residents – including 83 Parrot Head club members – donate 58 gallons.
While we’re on the subject of blood drives, we’d like to remind everyone that the Parrot Heads will be at it again Sept. 11 at Station 44 at Morse Boulevard and Pinellas. That date holds a special meaning for firefighters and all first-responders as they remember the many who lost their lives the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
The Parrot Heads are asking folks to make a special effort to contribute blood that day. We’re going to second that motion and ask you think about what could happen if the more than 115,000 people who live here made the decision to donate. It would be a monumental day for OneBlood and those throughout the community who need blood for a variety of medical reasons.
Not surprisingly, the Parrot Heads also ran a successful blood drive last year after Hurricane Irma roared through Central Florida. And they’ve been doing them for several years with the promise that participants will receive such enticements as free movie tickets, hot dogs, refreshments and wellness checks that include blood pressure, temperature, iron count, pulse and cholesterol screening.
You probably won’t find this surprising, but putting on blood drives isn’t the only way the Parrot Heads make The Villages a better place to call home. In fact, they’re involved in so many charitable causes that we could write about them all day and night and still not scratch the surface.
But here are just a few that speak volumes about these good-hearted folks:
- They’ve donated thousands of dollars to Villagers for Hospice over the years to benefit the Hospice House here in our community.
- They’ve sent thousands in cash and plenty of school supplies to Wildwood Middle High School.
- Members have conducted clothing drives.
- They’ve sent several thousand dollars to help veterans in the Ocala National Forest.
- They’ve raised funds to help support the Wildwood Soup Kitchen.
- Donations were sent to Center Hill Children’s Mission, the Lone Palm Foundation and All-One-Family.
- Checks were sent to Wildwood Elementary, Caring Hands and Help Agency. And you’ll be glad to know that Parrot Heads have made veterans a priority through donations to Honor Flight as well.
As we said earlier, we’re huge fans of The Villages Parrot Head Club. We think these folks are pretty special. And we’re quite thankful to call them friends and neighbors here in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
