St. Petersburg Police Department K9s King, Nacho and Axel have received bullet and stab-resistant vests valued at $1,800 each from Vested Interest in K9s. The nonprofit embroidered the body armor with “In Memory of K9” and the names Soren, Titan and Stitch. Vested Interest in K9s has donated 5,289 protective vests totaling $6.9 million since 2009.
The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce’s annual tasting tour of Pinellas County’s coastal restaurants began Oct. 7 and will end Sunday, Oct. 15. Tickets are still available, and sales benefit the PARC Center for Disabilities. Tickets are redeemable for a specialty meal at over 50 restaurants from Tierra Verde to Clearwater Beach. For more information, visit the website here.
The United Way recently received $100,000 to help Duke Energy Florida customers pay their electric bills thanks to a collaboration between the St. Petersburg-based company and the Tampa Bay Rays. Duke contributed $1,000 to the Share the Light Fund for every Rays victory. The Share the Light Funds has provided $1.7 million in financial assistance to customers in the last year. For more information on available resources, visit the website here.
Hope Villages of America recently received a $5,000 donation from Solace Insurance that will increase to $10,000 if the local nonprofit receives at least 500 votes and comments. The funding is part of Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance’s 2023 Make More Happen campaign. The official website opened today, and those interested can vote or comment here.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will host its 10th annual Run for All Children fundraiser Saturday. The certified, chip-times 5K and one-mile run starts at the hospital and spans the downtown waterfront before finishing at Poynter Park, which will host a post-race festival. For more information or to register, visit the website here.
TeamSmile, a national nonprofit organization, has partnered with United Concordia Dental and the Rays Baseball Foundation to provide a free day of children’s dental and preventative care services Friday. TeamSmile will bring $650,000 in equipment to create a full dental clinic inside Tropicana Field. For more information, visit the website here.
St. Petersburg city officials have launched a new program under the My Brothers My Sisters Keeper initiative’s umbrella. Cohort of Champions is a youth development program that provides educational, entrepreneurial, workforce and life enrichment training opportunities for minority men and women between 12 and 24 years old. For more information and applications, visit the website here.
The St. Petersburg Museum of History announced it will keep the Civil Rights in the Sunshine State exhibit until Oct. 31, which allows it to remain open Saturday for Free Museum Day. Officials planned to close the Museum as they switched exhibits in the main gallery. Civil Rights in the Sunshine State features artifacts loaned from the Museum of Florida History that were supposed to return next week.
Starting Saturday, Sept. 16, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open a Disaster Recovery Center at the Enoch Davis Center to assist St. Petersburg residents affected by Hurricane Idalia. Residents will receive informational resources, application assistance and translation and accessibility services. The Enoch Davis Center, at 1111 8th Ave. S., is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Empath Partners in Care, an Empath Health member, is participating in the 20th annual SMART Ride Nov. 17 and is looking for cyclists, crew members and donors to support the race. The 165-mile charity ride from Miami to Key West is the nation's second-largest and the only one to give 100% of proceeds to AIDS service organizations. The Clearwater-based nonprofit is hosting a fundraising event Sept. 16 to support the race team. For more information, visit the website here.
The Historic Bethel AME Church, Simply Healthcare, Start With Me and several additional local organizations are hosting a Community Resource and Hurricane Outreach event Sept. 12 in St. Petersburg. Residents can receive hot food, groceries, hurricane supplies, health screenings and other resources and information. The St. Pete College Midtown Campus will host the event at 1300 22nd St. S. from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Boat captain Jeff Brooks and Madeira Beach Commissioner Anne-Marie Brooks spotted a distressed flamingo Friday as they assessed beach erosion caused by Hurricane Idalia, according to a social media post Saturday. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Tampa Bay wrote that the flamingo was about 800 yards offshore and swimming away from land. The SPCA helped rescue the animal and secured temporary housing at the Seaside Bird Sanctuary in Indian Shores.
