Kara Starzyk - Photojournalist

With Baby looking over his shoulder, South Florida artist Mark Vose paints finishing touches on Monday, April 30, 2007 to the underwater scene mural along the outside of The Dive Bar in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Miami-born rapper Tay Dizm, right, with manager Marco Mall, left, take a break while filming the music video for 'Beam Me Up' at Metro Zoo in Miami, FL on July 2008. The song was released on the album Welcome To The New World.  

Dog handler Arvind DeBraganca of Gainesville preps Jersey Girl, a 19-month standard poodle, before competing in South Dade Kennel Club Dog Show the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, FL on Saturday, March 1, 2008. Participants from around the country attend the show licensed by the American Kennel Club. Winners in the all-breed dog shows and obedience and rally trials take home ribbons and receive points and status in the dog show industry.

Antiwar protestors march to the Pentagon while supporters line the streets holding signs advocating support for soliders and the American government in Washington D.C., VA on Saturday, March 17, 2007, the four year anniversary of the American invasion in Iraq. 

During a sumo match on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004 in Osaka, Japan, the crowd goes silent when a wrestler injures his knee as he is defeated.

Listening for footsteps, a blind woman extends her arm while asking for a donation of Indian rupees at the Red Fort in Agra, India on Nov. 29, 2005.

Lobsang Dawa from Drepung Gomang Monastery in South India adds black sand to a mandala created at Broward Main Library in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. The Tibetan Buddhist monks are traveling the United States and Canada to share their art and culture in an effort to generate exposure to exiled Tibetan communities that began fleeing to India after China conquered Tibet in 1950.

A monk from Drepung Monastery in South India pours the sand of mandala into the Fort Lauderdale Intercoastal, FL on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007 after working on the mandala for a week at Broward Main Library in Fort Lauderdale. The Tibetan Buddhist monks are traveling the United States and Canada to share their art and culture in an effort to generate exposure to exiled Tibetan communities that began fleeing to India after China conquered Tibet in 1950.

Japanese teenagers dress in formal kimonos for the Bamboo Festival in Usuki, Japan on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004.

In Agra, India, the Taj Mahal is reflected in a vertical pond on November, 29, 2005 as visitors stroll the gardens and photograph the mausoleum that was financed by Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife Mumtaz Hahal.

During the Sunrise Civic Center Theatre's acoustic guitar series on Friday, June 8, 2007, Dave Feder of the Florida Keys performs songs from his album, Black Emerald, that ties in the sounds of American Hillbilly, Flamenco and World Music Jazz. Feder has been playing acoustic guitar for more than 20 years. Between performances, he entertains the audience with stories from behind the music.

Boca Raton residents and Boca Helping Hands kitchen volunteers Estrella Martin, behind, Joey Tedeman and Martha Abitia serve food to those in need on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 at Boca Helping Hands Food Center in Boca Raton. The nonprofit organization collects food to distribute to low-income families as well as to cook hot meals for the needy. Other assistance programs include job mentoring, financial aid, and prescription medicine purchase assistance as well as children's assistance programs that help fund tutoring, school supplies and health insurance.
 In 1998, Boca Raton resident Carolyn Jones formed Boca Helping Hands, which has grown to more than 200 volunteers. The organization gives away about 400 bags of food per month and serves hot meals five days a week. Recent economic strife and rising unemployment rates have contributed to a substantial increase in people seeking assistance, Jones said.  "People who have never asked for help before are coming in. They don't want to be here, but they come for their children," Jones said.  "People always ask, 'There are hungry people in Boca?' The answer is yes."

Four-year-old Bianca Jean Batis of Boca Raton eats with her mother on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 at Boca Helping Hands Food Center in Boca Raton. The nonprofit organization collects food to distribute to low-income families as well as to cook hot meals for the needy. Other assistance programs include job mentoring, financial aid, and prescription medicine purchase assistance as well as children's assistance programs that help fund tutoring, school supplies and health insurance.
 In 1998, Boca Raton resident Carolyn Jones formed Boca Helping Hands, which has grown to more than 200 volunteers. The organization gives away about 400 bags of food per month and serves hot meals five days a week. Recent economic strife and rising unemployment rates have contributed to a substantial increase in people seeking assistance, Jones said. 
 “People who have never asked for help before are coming in. They don't want to be here, but they come for their children," Jones said.  "People always ask, 'There are hungry people in Boca?' The answer is yes."

A Cambodian mother peers from behind a sandstone wall in a temple at Angkor Archeological Park in Seim Reap, while her child solicits money from unsuspecting tourists on Jan. 3, 2005.  Instead of attending school, many children wander the park begging or selling postcards and souvenirs to help support their families.

During the last days of a 12-year battle with Alzheimer's disease, Cathy Starzyk of Davie holds the hands of her mother Anna Nell Winning in May 2008 at a nursing home in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Starzyk intends to someday write a book about her experiences caring for her mother; including the lessons learned from having a loved one with the disease.

Fog covers Bodega Bay on Thursday, June 12, 2008 in Sonoma, CA as Laura Starzyk walks along the shore.  

 During a Parkinson's Boxing and Exercise class on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at F.I.R.S.T. Fitness Training in Davie, FL, front, Tamarac resident Robin Caradonna boxes with exercise physician and sports nutrionist O.C. Ibeji of Miramar while physical therapist and personal trainer Craig Marks of Weston boxes with Tamarac resident Bonnie Cohen. Both women have had Parkinson's disease for more than 15 years and take the exercise program, which combines boxing, Tae Kwon Do, weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise to help improve muscle mass, flexibility, balance and coordination.

  Miami residents Wilton Ochoa, left, and Oscar Rodriguez wave American and Honduran flags during an immigration rally on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 in downtown Miami, FL where advocates for immigration law reform marched. Rallies took place across the country, but participants said the turnout this year was low due to fear of law enforcement.

Nova Southeastern University students and faculty observe as Guy Harvey, an artist renowned for his marine images, as he adds details to 13 species of sharks displayed on a 250-feet-wide, 50-feet-tall mural in the main hallway of the Nova Southeastern University University Center in Davie, FL on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. Harvey, a biologist, conservationist and artist, helped create the university's nonprofit Marine Research Institute in 1999 which was named in his honor. He said he hopes the mural will help create a better understanding of sharks.

Pretending to be injured, Western High School student Angelica Diaz, 15, of Davie, FL is carried on a stretcher by Davie Fire Rescue personnel who work with other first responders during a training exercise at Western High School in Davie on Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 to prepare Davie Police and Fire Rescue First Responders in the event of a mass causality incident.

"Still life objects don't move, but the mind does," said Margo Kawashima while studying a bottle, pears and roses as she draws with soft pastels on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at the Sunrise Civic Center in Sunrise, FL where she teaches eight week art courses for youth and adults.

Davie resident Giovanni Dellalibera, 53, an employee at a local furniture store, sits on the front steps of his mobile home in July 2007 at Dell Trailer Park, FL which has dwindled in tenants since the owner began raising the rent two years ago. "They're trying to scare us to get us out of here," said Dellalibera who is one of the seven remaining tenants who received eviction notices last month despite the town of Davie's one-year moratorium on rezoning mobile home parks. Hanging in the window are colorful pinwheels that Dellalibera said are good luck charms called "reguilete." "The wind took one away so I wasn't getting that good of luck. Maybe now that they are both up, things will change," he said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Antiwar protestors marched to the Pentagon while supporters lined the streets waving American flags and holding signs advocating support for soldiers and the American government in Washington D.C., VA on Saturday, March 17, 2007.

 

Spectators take a break from riding rollercoasters to watch a Victoria Circus clown flip on a trampoline during the Rick Case 15th Annual President's Fest at Markham Park in Sunrise on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007.

Students of Tsurumigaoka High School in Beppu, Japan compete in a caterpillar race in August 2003, which entails tying their legs together and running to the finish line without falling. The event is part of the school's field day when classes in each grade compete.  

  During the Cooper City Cyclones Swim-A-Thon on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at the Cooper City Pool and Tennis Center, FL, front to back, Kara Botti, 14, of Davie and Cole Innis, 12, of Cooper City along with other young swimmers strive to swim 200 laps, 5,000 yards, within two hours to raise money from sponsors to benefit the competitive swim team for swimmers, ages 4 to 18, in the south Broward Couty area. "Swimming is something you can do for the rest of your life. It is important in Florida, for babies on up, to learn how to swim," said swimming coach Jill Ankney of Cooper City.

At Sunset, the bustle intensifies along the Ganges River in Varanasi, India in November 2005 as people congregate to bathe, sell flowers and sweets and panhandle for scrapes of food and change as well as to mingle.

Robert Appel, 12, of Davie watches goat roping from behind the bleachers at Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, FL on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 during the Kids' Buckle Summer Rodeo Series that includes pole bending, breakaway roping, barrel racing and team roping.

Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center Nurse Eliana Moreno of Miami gives a shot to 6-month old Nicole accompanied by mother Deborah Knights of Deerfield Beach on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 at the Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Children's Diagnostic Center offers prevention, intervention and treatment services to children and youth with special needs as well as provides services to their families. Program assistance and community outreach programs, including the Holiday Toy Giveaway to underprivileged families on Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 are made possibly by Sunflower Circle of Friends, a volunteer group that raises awareness and supports the mission of the Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center. 

Bertha Mitchell, a teacher for 37 years at the Florence Fuller Child Development Center, paints with Kendrina Gabot in the 5 and 6-year-olds classroom at the Florence Fuller Child Development Center in Boca Raton Wednesday, Nov. 19. The center serves children of economically disadvantaged families with working parents or who are in career training or who are disabled.

 

A mime listens to participants attending an ArtServe event at the Ritz Carlton in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. ArtServe supports the arts as well as serves the businesses and administrative needs of local artists and nonprofit organizations.