- Every year on the recipient’s birthday, they receive a homemade birthday cake.
- Every year during the holidays, recipients receive a holiday bag packed with goodies.
- Youngest recipient is 20 years old.
on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Goodwill Bookworks
Dr. Alberto Vázquez, HCPS
What an inspiring visit to see Goodwill be able to promote literacy in early childhood through their Bookworks program. It was impressive to see that this program is now impacting eight counties in Florida and nearly 20,000 children annually. Additionally, this program depends on volunteers who will visit Head Start centers and read to children. Ideally, this creates a partnership and an investment from the community to support the efforts of Bookworks.
The opportunity to visit a Head Start center where the majority of its student population is at or below poverty level and interacting with the children by reading to them was both inspiring and rewarding. The appreciation the students demonstrated was humbling as they enjoyed all four books read aloud to them. Most importantly, the children went home with a book donated by individuals who believe in this program and believe that early childhood literacy starts the road to student success.
Junior Achievement BizTown
Ginny Veit, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Members of LT’18 visited Junior Achievement’s BizTown on Community Outreach day. BizTown is a simulated city that gives Hillsborough county’s 5th grade students an opportunity to experience the business world. BizTown is sponsored by local businesses that each have storefronts in the city. The students spend time prior to their visit preparing for the visit, interviewing for their jobs which include salespeople, CEOs, CFOs, medical professionals, DJs, reporters, government workers and even a chance to work at McDonalds’s.
On the day of the visit, each student learns about his or her job responsibilities from a guide for that role. CFO’s cut paychecks, pay bills and receive payments for goods and services. The students experience receiving and depositing a paycheck and making decisions about how to spend and save their money. They also get insight into how businesses operate and make money. Each business begins by taking a loan and the goal of the business is to be able to make enough money to repay it at the end.
Five LT’18 members served as volunteers in various businesses as well as in the town hall helping guide the students through their roles. Most questions were easily answered by referring back to the guides for each student’s role. The volunteers were impressed with the level of depth and detail and by how organized the JA team is. The kids have fun doing their jobs while they learn so much about how the business world works. This organization is a great teaching tool and asset to our community.
Dress for Success Tampa Bay
Jessica Burns Fugate, the Crisis Center
Dress for Success has been serving the Tampa Bay community since 1998 and was the first affiliate in the state. More than 1 million women have received assistance since its inception across the entire organization. We learned that “the suit is actually just the beginning” in the life-changing services provided as Dress for Success works with a variety of agencies throughout the county that make referrals to connect unemployed women for assistance with the interview process. Services are not income eligible and clients include women who are homeless to PhDs.
Upon arriving, women meet with a volunteer to select a professional outfit and accessories for the interview in a boutique-like setting. Once they are hired, clients select six pieces to jumpstart their work wardrobe. Other services include First Impressions (an assessment of resume writing and job search strategies), Moving Forward (a six-week course preparing for interview essentials) and Professional Women’s Group (a networking group once hired).
Dress for Success is able to do what they do through generous community support including a computer lab equipped with computers, printers and ink supplied by Macy’s and Tech Data, a part-time employee sponsored by AARP, 107 volunteers that do everything from meeting with clients to organizing donations and stocking the floor, and so many others. When asked how we could help the most, Katie McGill, Executive Director, said to let others know that they do more than just give out suits. They are truly changing women’s lives!
Meals on Wheels
Kiana Wilson, A Sharper U
Meals on Wheels (M.O.W.) currently has over 600 volunteers in the Tampa Bay area. These volunteers deliver to approximately 750 homes per day (5 days a week) primarily to individuals who are home-bound due to some type of mobility issue. Fresh and nutritionally balanced meals are prepared daily at the Tampa facility between 5:30 – 6:30am by Chef Antonio. With an average recipient age of late 70s, Meals on Wheels may be the only meal and/or interaction these individuals receive. For many, this gives them a reason to get up and get going each day in anticipation of the volunteer’s arrival.
The primary goals of the Meals on Wheels program are to (1) Nourish the body; (2) Enrich the spirit and; (3) Strengthen the community. Keeping in mind that recipients comprise of former bankers, teachers, musicians and others whom have helped to build our community and now need some assistance with maintaining their independence, volunteers are proud to be of service and give back. Monroe E., a paid driver for M.O.W., says the most rewarding part of his job is to see the smiles on recipient faces!
Lastly, Meals on Wheels has approximately 66 partner corporations, small businesses, groups and clubs through their Adopt-a-Route program. Partners provide delivery of meals along a designated route, depending on their availability. This program serves as a great team-building experience while also increasing public awareness and emphasizing social responsibility.