The St. Pete Catalyst is dedicated to helping residents get involved in the community through our Impact Connector. Own a restaurant, grocery store or catering company? Donate excess food to a local charity or food scraps for compost through the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger. Interested in giving to those in need? Reach St. Pete is current collecting items such as shorts, shirts and children's clothing supplies and diapers. Want to help support youth athletics? Sign up as a coach with Girls on the Run. If your organization is looking for volunteers, click here to submit your opportunity and we'll share it on our platform.
The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has launched a “Mental Health First Aid” initiative to teach people in key roles how to identify, understand and respond to the mental health challenges in the community. The first aid course is nationally certified and is aimed at empowering people who work in public-facing roles to identify, understand and respond to signs of addictions and mental illness. The Foundation's goal is to train 5,000 people over the next three years and it will cover the cost of the course for people who work at nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, faith communities and other public service organizations across the Tampa Bay region. For more information, click here.
The Pinellas County Foundation announced Thursday that $2.6 million in CARES funding will be allocated to nine Pinellas County nonprofits to add to or enhance programs addressing the mental health impact of Covid-19. Among the organizations to receive funding are Directions for Living, The Well for Life, The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast and the Well for Life. Collectively, these program enhancements will reach 5,500 individuals, including first responders, youth and families and anyone experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression.
Dress for Success Tampa Bay will host its largest annual fundraiser, "Celebrating Success" Thursday, Oct. 15 from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. The event, which will be held virtually, will highlight the organization's achievements and will also include a silent auction and conversation with featured guest Patricia Nash, a handbag and accessory designer. Since its inception in 1998, Dress for Success Tampa Bay has provided interview attire for more than 25,000 women, along with job search assistance and training. To register, click here.
Goodwill Industries-Suncoast is one of six organizations that will share $2.9 million in federal funding to combat human trafficking in central Florida. The award is from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs and its Office of Victims of Crime. Goodwill Industries-Suncoast will receive $349,895, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Other organizations receiving funding include Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice ($500,000); Citrus Health Network ($499,995); United Way of Pasco County ($498,000); Latisha's Home Foundaton Florida ($350,000); and Living Above the Noise ($681,966). The awards will help the organizations rescue, recover and assisting victims of human trafficking, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez said in the news release.
Kahwa Coffee Roasters has joined a campaign by the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research. St. Petersburg-based Kahwa is introducing a signature coffee blend, called Hope Roast, with 43 percent of the net proceeds donated to NPCF. That's because 43 children in the United Stats are diagnosed with cancer each day, a news release said. The fundraising initiative is called Brewing Funds the Cure and involves craft breweries in more than 30 states. Those breweries will donate proceeds from a signature philanthropic beer, called Rising Hope, to the NPCF. The recipe for Rising Hope was developed by Tampa-based Cigar City Brewing and Brew Bus Brewing. National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, based in Tampa, is a nonprofit that has raised more than $27 million and partners with 26 hospitals nationwide.
The Pinellas County Urban League and the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa will expand their workforce development programs through a $75,000 commitment from Bank of America to each organization. The funding will allow the organizations to add virtual trainings, job placement and relief assistance for minority communities in the Tampa Bay area that were hit hardest by Covid-19. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation earlier launched a nationwide $1 billion, four-year commitment to help local nonprofits address economic and racial equality. The two new $75,000 Tampa Bay-area grants are in addition to $25,000 grants the organizations also received earlier this year to address immediate COVID-19 needs in the pandemic’s early stages.
The Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation and the Vinik Family Foundation will donate $400,000 to the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, for the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals. The latest donations bring community contributions for the 2020 NHL playoffs to $1 million, the Lightning said in a news release. The funding is designed to address racial equity and inclusion in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and the news release listed the organizations that would receive grants of $50,000 each. They are: United Way Suncoast and R Club, which work to ensure access to education; Community to Develop Communities in Tampa and the Pinellas County Urban League, which enhance workforce development; foundations for the Tampa and St.Petersburg police departments, to support training, education and fostering positive community relations; and University Area Community Development Corp. and St. Petersburg Free Clinic, both operating in the social service and humanitarian assistance space.
A program that provides food to children and families in Pinellas County needs volunteers. Meals On Wheels for Kids relies on 125 volunteers each week to help deliver frozen prepared meals, fresh produce and shelf stable food to children and families who have opted to attend school remotely. Volunteer drivers are needed to on Mondays and Wednesdays out of Daystar Life Center in St. Petersburg, Catherine Hickman Theater in Gulfport, and RCS Pinellas Food Bank in Clearwater. Routes take between 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Volunteers can also sign up to help pack boxes of shelf stable food on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Click here for more information and to sign up. Meals on Wheels for Kids was launched by the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger in response to Covid-19 school closures. The network also is accepting donations at www.networktoendhunger.org to help support the MOW4Kids program
Regions Bank's annual Share the Good program is serving health care workers in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater who are helping patients and families impacted by Covid-19. Lunch from Chief’s Creole Café was provided to associates at 12 locations of Community Health Centers of Pinellas County, while lunch from Joan’s Catering was provided for associates at 11 TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track clinics. While the bank has provided significant financial support to health care organizations and other community partners, Share the Good provides an opportunity for Regions associates to offer thanks to people who are supporting local communities. Activities are taking place all this week in cities across the Southeast, Midwest and Texas.
Publix and Publix Super Market Charities are increasing efforts to provide support to local communities and families that face hunger. Publix Super Market Charities is donating an additional $3 million to Feeding America member food banks and other nonprofit partners, bringing its total 2020 giving to $5 million. Feeding Tampa Bay will receive $225,000 as part of the new donation. Publix also is continuing a program it launched in April to purchase surplus produce and milk from farmers and deliver it directly to food banks. Since April, Publix has purchased and delivered more than 11 million pounds of produce and 500,000 gallons of milk to Feeding America member food banks throughout the Southeast, a news release said. Publix customers also can contribute toward hunger relief efforts in the stores by making donations at checkout, now through Sept. 13.
Blue Star Families, a nonprofit organization that supports military families, has opened a chapter in Tampa. The chapter will work to support more than 100,000 locally-based military members and their families and Florida’s 1.5 million veterans by creating and utilizing virtual resources to connect them with their civilian neighbors, a news release said. The Tampa chapter is an extension of CSX Pride in Service, a commitment by Jacksonville-based transportation company CSX to honor and serve veterans, military, and first responders. Courtney Bilyeu is chapter director. To learn more about how to support or join Blue Star Families, click here.
