A coalition of local organizations including the Pinellas County Urban League, the YMCA and the Pinellas County Department of Health will be holding free Covid-19 drive-through and walk-up testing at three sites during the month of August.
The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay connects people and resources to inspire charitable giving and create a meaningful, lasting impact on our region - and they've been doing it for 3 decades. Publisher Joe Hamilton welcomes both "the deep roots and innovative spirit of the CFTB as we strive to connect nonprofits to citizens to opportunities to make an impact." Explore the Catalyst Impact section to watch Impact Catalyst, check the Impact Connector and keep up with all the people working to make our community and world a better place.
Pinellas County is making $34 million in CARES act funding available to nonprofits and child care facilities impacted by Covid-19. Applications for the funding open on Friday, Aug. 7. The county has partnered with the Pinellas Community Foundation to distribute $29.7 million to nonprofit organization that provide community services in the areas of food, homelessness, behavioral health, and legal aid for housing. Eligible nonprofits can apply at www.pinellascf.org/CARES Separately, the county and the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County will provide $4.6 million to licensed child care organizations whose business was negatively impacted due to Covid-19. The Pinellas CARES Child Care Provider Grant will provide one-time grants of up to $10,000 to cover expenses such as employee wages, vendor bills, rent, and health and safety investments. The Early Learning Coalition will contact all eligible providers directly via email with application instructions, a news release said. Eligible providers that do not receive an email or need assistance applying can contact the ELC at 727-400-4436 or ceckrem@elcpinellas.org.
The St. Pete Catalyst is dedicated to helping residents get involved in the community through our Impact Connector. Interested in making sure our friends and neighbors have fresh food to eat? Consider volunteering at the St. Pete Free Fridge, where you can sign up to clean the fridge or bring food to donate. People interested in equine therapy can sign up to volunteer as guides and sidewalkers at Quantum Leap Farm. And Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services is always looking for volunteers in all capacities, including youth mentoring and helping out in the food pantry. Is your organization seeking volunteers? Click here to submit your opportunity.
St. Pete-based children's bookstore Cultured Books has introduced a new initiative to encourage kids to read. The initiative, called The Book Report Project, will allow children to pay for books by submitting a book report. Cultured Books plans to accept book reports as a permanent form of currency and in order to do so, the bookstore needs to show the impact the initiative has on elevating literacy rates. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise money to hire a researcher to track the progress of the initiative. To donate and learn more about The Book Report Project, click here.
Boys & Girls Clubs in Tampa Bay are among the Boys & Girls Clubs statewide in line for funding from the Simply Healthcare Foundation. The foundation is directing more than $125,000 to the organizations to address needs related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding will support initiatives such as transportation, healthy eating and access to healthy food options, the Triple Play program and summer childcare services, a news release said. The Simply Healthcare Foundation is a philanthropic arm of the Anthem Foundation, which has committed more than $50 million to support Covid-19 relief efforts across the country.
Westfield centers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area have partnered with the Pinellas Education Foundation and the Hillsborough Education Foundation on a school supply drive. Through Aug. 15, Westfield Countryside in Clearwater along with Westfield Brandon and Westfield Citrus Park are collecting school supplies at drop-off locations inside the centers. There also will be a day-long, contactless donation drive on Friday, July 31 at Westfield Countryside and on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Brandon and Citrus Park malls. The annual event, called "Stuff the Bus" has been a back-to-school mainstay but is especially important this year given the financial hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Westfield said in a news release. There's also an option to donate online at StuffTheBusPinellas.org where you can also find a list of needed school supplies.
1 Millions Cups St. Pete returns tomorrow, virtually! Tune in to hear from two local entrepreneurs, making their pitch to grow their business with the feedback and connections of the St. Pete community. This week's presenters will be: Bridges and Kin Technologies, Inc - Register here
UnitedHealthcare has awarded Empowering Health grants to two Tampa-St. Petersburg area organizations. Seniors in Service in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties received a $150,000 grant to expand a program addressing loneliness and social isolation among homebound seniors with low incomes by engaging them with telephone check-ins and assurance. Girls on the Run Greater Tampa Bay was awarded $30,000 to expand access to its physical activity-based, positive youth development program for 10 new teams of girls in underserved Tampa Bay communities for the 2020-2021 school year. United's Empowering Health grants are intended to expand access to care and address the social determinants of health for uninsured individuals and underserved communities.
The City of St. Petersburg has approved the installation of an inclusive Pride mural in the Grand Central District at the intersection of 25th St. and Central Ave, which is considered to be the birthplace of St. Pete Pride. The mural will be made up of 11 colored stripes and its installation will be overseen by local LGBTQ artist Andrea Pawlisz. St. Pete Pride is seeking to raise $7,000 to cover the full cost of the installation and maintenance, and has already brought in more than $4,700 in donations. To donate, click here.
The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance website in St. Petersburg, announced a content collaboration with Military.com, a website for the U.S. military and veteran community. The Penny Hoarder will syndicate its personal finance content and provide original articles to the Military.com audience, a news release said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It's the second partnership announced by The Penny Hoarder recently. Last month, The Penny Hoarder and Moonlighting, a platform that helps independent workers find jobs and manage their businesses, said they would partner on content.
You can now check in on the Catalyst's latest content series via a new panel on the StPeteCatalyst.com home page. The current collection includes our TBBCA partner video series, Vintage St Pete, Inside the Boardroom and The Work Around. A full series section is in development and will be launching in the coming months.
