The Frankie Valente Scholarship Fund recently held a Lake County Hawaiian Luau Casino Night at The Plantation in Leesburg. This fun event was held to raise over $41,000 in funds to support EMT and paramedic education, tuition, books, and supplies.

Over $50,000 in door prizes, raffles, silent auction items and giveaways that were distributed at this event were donated by businesses and individuals. With 330 tickets sold in advance, those attending sampled delicious entrees, appetizers, desserts and drinks from top Clermont and Central Florida area restaurants and caterers, Root and Branch catered this event by roasting and serving a 100-pound pig at this event. Mouthfeel also catered this event with a huge charcuterie presentation. The main event sponsor was Happy Place Travel and Tourism; whereby Kenya Swiss donated a $2,500 cruise for 2 that was raffled and won by Mike Seldin. A $500 Florida Lottery ticket prize was won by Susan Mandell.

Event co-organizer Anthony Valente shared, “I would like to thank the over 100 vendors who donated in kind gifts, or money to support this event. The Hawaiian Luau Casino was successful because of all the volunteers, sponsors, donations, and so many people who spent hours of their own time helping set up and organize this event. The money raised with help others with scholarships or training materials, that will offset the cost so they can in turn, help others.  Helping others, help others, what better way to show how we care for our First Responders.

Joyce Valente added, “We started this scholarship Fund in 2018 as a 501-C3, the year that our son Frankie passed away. Since then, we have created a series of fundraisers to add more support First Responders with college scholarships. We found that Lake Tech has a great EMT, Paramedic and Firefighter program, so we have successfully partnered with them. While working with the South Lake Chamber of Commerce, we have expanded our scholarship fund to reach beyond Clermont, to all Lake County.” 

This new event included a large list of additional sponsors including Guru Indian Restaurant, Root & Branch, Pepsi, Gordon Foods, South Lake Chamber of Commerce, Kendra Scott, Platinum Exteriors, Renovations Outdoors, Patti Kincaid Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway, THM Property  Management, Denise Calderon CPA, Janic Update Vegas Events, Premium Outdoor Products, Follow the Deal Investments, Devoted Health Plans, The Harrison Family, Injury Law Firm Donovan Miller, Clermont Lakes Dental, Kathy Bardsley, White Financial, Larry Oskin Photography, Kiersten and Ryan White. The Planation at Leesburg donated the entire Venue. Anthony and Joyce Valente had over 50 volunteers who helped that night.

The Frankie Valente Scholarship Fund has given away quite a few scholarships with 18 new Lake Tech Scholarships over the past few years. They are working to create a larger Lake Tech Endowment Program with additional funds, so more Lake County students can get the scholarship help they need. The net fund of donations from this newest 2025 Hawaiian Casino Night event will soon be awarded to local students. Some people will be awarded partial scholarships, while some will receive more. With the increasing funds from their events, they will have the ability to help more people, establish different programs and deliver different types of overall help.  

The Valente family believes in the South Lake Chamber of Commerce, while leveraging their relationship to help make a difference while participating in many of the Chamber events. They are planning to hold a golf tournament this coming year.  They are also actively looking to partner with more local companies and organizations to hold mutually benefit events that will help each other.  This is a charity that helps support other charities and community events.”

The Frankie Valente Scholarship Fund is always looking for more companies to become a sponsor, donor, volunteer, or participant in future events. Everyone can help by donating through their website. Call: 585-500-9140, Email AValente@TheFVSFund.com or visit: https://www.thefvsfund.com where you can sign up for their newsletter and follow them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/frankievalentescholarshipfund.