Angela Duncan is a super woman. She’s a stay-at-home mother of two boys ages 9 and 6. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor and has been the publisher for Macaroni Kid Apollo Beach – Ruskin – Wimauma for more than four years.
“I first heard about Macaroni Kid when we lived in Lantana, Florida and I was looking for things to do with my toddler around town, so I subscribed to the local Macaroni Kid there to keep up with family-friendly events,” Duncan said. “My family and I moved back to Apollo Beach in 2014 and I became friends with the then-publisher of Macaroni Kid Apollo Beach – Ruskin – Wimauma publisher, and after a few months, she handed it over to me. I have loved meeting people and engaging with local businesses in our community and it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Macaroni Kid was founded with two very specific goals: to enrich communities and empower moms. Macaroni Kid calls its mission ‘E2,’ and it is the driving force behind the organization. It enriches communities by connecting the libraries, schools, recreation centers, community centers and businesses with local families.
It empowers moms by supporting its publishers and gives them the tools, training and platform to build their businesses and be a force for good in their communities.
“Macaroni Kid is a free resource where parents can discover events and activities for kids and families in their communities,” Duncan said. “Each local edition is published by a local mom or dad, so it’s like getting the scoop from a neighbor who’s always in the know.”
One of Duncan’s Macaroni Kid publishers in California gave all the publishers the idea of starting the Boo Basket Project.
“We knew that Halloween was going to look different this year because of the pandemic,” Duncan said. “Events getting cancelled, not sure if houses will be handing out candy, but we didn’t want kids to feel like they were losing out and we also wanted to start a pay-it-forward event. I reached out to local businesses who helped sponsor the project and it really took off from there. My original goal was to deliver 100 buckets, but we have successfully made up 150 buckets with 80 percent already delivered. Once you receive a basket, we are recommending that the receiver make up a couple more of their own baskets to deliver so the trend keeps going.”
Duncan has already started planning a Christmas-themed project called You’ve Been Elf’d. “I will need more local businesses to help sponsor this project,” Duncan said.
If you are interested in helping with sponsoring Duncan’s holiday project, you can contact her via email at angeladuncan@macaronikid.com.
learn more about Macaroni Kid Apollo Beach – Ruskin – Wimauma or to register to receive email updates, visit www.apollobeach.macaronikid.com.
