Gibertini Hosts Charity Race Fundraiser at Campo Family YMCA

Cami Gibertini’s campaign for honorary mayor of Brandon got a kick start Saturday, June 18, at the , 3414 Culbreath Road, with “Cami’s Combat Challenge.”

Participants took part in a combat training class and received a T-shirt for a $20 donation to Gibertini’s campaign. So how did she come up with the unique fundraising idea?

“It’s one of the classes that I take every week at the Y and, when I decided to run for honorary mayor, I decided to incorporate some of the things that I like to do into the race,” Gibertini said. “Fitness is a big part of my life and a lot of people who take the class are supporting me so it should be fun.”

While she would love to ride in Brandon’s July 4th parade as mayor, Gibertini said the race is about a lot more than who wins.

Gibertini is one of . Barbara Schwabe’s hat is also in the ring. Gibertini is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and her charities are the Emergency Care Help Organization and the Brandon area YMCAs. Schwabe is sponsored by Center Place, where she held a June 17 “Wine & Designs” fundraiser for funds to support the Brandon nonprofit arts center.

“(Fundraisers) are just a way to raise funds for ECHO (Emergency Charity Help Organization) and the Y and bring awareness to my sponsoring organizing, the Kiwanis Club. Whether you support me or Barbara (Schwabe), I would encourage everyone to come out and participate and to have fun and support both our charities. It’s tough out there today. ECHO is serving more people than ever before.”

The candidate who raises the most money for her charities between June 1 and July 4 wins the race. The winning candidate rides in the Fourth of July Parade, their first public engagement. The honorary mayor also appears at community events throughout their tenure.

Ten percent of the funds raised during the mayoral campaigns go to the Community Roundtable to help finance the annual Fourth of July parade in Brandon. Another 10 percent goes to the candidates' sponsoring organization with the remainder of the funds divvied up among the charities.

Gibertini is a member of the Emergency Care Help Organization's board of directors and a senior advisory board member of the Campo Family YMCA. Her next fundraiser, “Cami’s Clay Shoot,” is slated for June 23 from 9 a.m. to noon at FishHawk Sporting Clays in Lithia. For $100, participants also will get lunch.

Schwabe’s next event is a Bunco for the Arts night June 23, at 6 p.m., at Center Place.

For more information on Gibertini’s campaign, visit Cami for Mayor on Facebook.

There is also more infrmation on Schwabe's campaign at her Website.