Ft. Myers City Hall (on April 14th), the Fort Myers Police Department’s Do The Right Thing program for April featured three students and one club of teens. One of the students was FMCS fifth grader, Dillon Martino!

The goal of Do The Right Thing is to recognize children for their accomplishments and positive behavior. Children are honored at monthly ceremonies for everything from bringing up a grade in school to turning in lost money to saving a life. Dillon was honored for saving his mom’s life during an incident back during Christmas break.

The annual Do the Right Thing picnic was held on Saturday, April 24th  at Lakes Park in south Fort Myers. A picnic and program was put on by the police departments from Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Lee County and Collier County. During the event, four students will be recognized as “Student of the Year” by their respective law enforcement agencies. 

Dillon Martino

On December 4, 2009, Dillon Martino’s mom began to have an allergic reaction to an over-the-counter pain reliever, so Dillon called a family friend and asked if he would take his mom to the emergency room, but things got much worse very quickly. She started to show signs of a severe reaction and started to lose consciousness. Dillon knew he couldn’t wait for a ride to the hospital so he immediately called 911.

He stayed on the line with 911 operators until Cape Coral Paramedic’s arrived and provided the operators with vital information about his mom’s symptoms. He assisted in her care by following all of the instructions the 911 operators were giving to him. When Emergency Medical Services arrived, Dillon’s mom was given oxygen and transferred to Lee Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert patient. The doctors that worked on her said that without Dillon’s help his mom would not have survived the ordeal.

For the past 13 years, local law enforcement agencies in Southwest Florida have come together at the end of the school year to host a grand event for the “Do The Right Thing” winners, which includes special awards, games, food, law enforcement “show & tell,” such as the K-9 unit, SWAT team, bomb squad and dive team.

These students have saved lives, helped their families or fellow students, earned money for a charity, reported drugs or weapons in their schools, and organized mailings to soldiers. They are role models for their peers, and through the Do The Right Thing program, they can be recognized by the community for their actions.