ST. PETERSBURG — It saddens me to announce that I will not be returning as the Transformation Zone leader next year. My heart was filled with indescribable joy when the St. Petersburg community accepted me into their family with open arms. The Transformation Zone’s sacred river of success included being scholar-centered, maintaining high levels of family participation, and a community of wonderful people who love their children.

All children are geniuses, waiting for adults to strike the match of learning possibilities, through the endless landscape of education. It was this match that sparked an academic turnaround at Melrose Elementary and within the Transformation Zone Schools under my leadership. It was this match that sparked clergy, community leaders, and parents to form a triangulation of success not previously witnessed in Pinellas County Schools.

It was this match that sparked a new covenant between the Transformation Zone Team and “THE” ZONE Professional Educators to successfully educate our children. These sparks caused my heart to swell at the thought of endless relationships I have established with:

• Our Scholars & Families
• Men of Yesterday Today and the Future, President Jack Fletcher
• Former Councilman Karl Nurse
• Journeys in Journalism Advisory Committee, President Gretchen Letterman
• Local Business and Corner Store Owners
• Petersburg Police Department
• Zion Progressive MBC, Rev. Louis Murphy Sr.
• Greater Mt. Zion AME Church, Clarence Williams
• The Faith Based Ministers in south St. Petersburg
• Former quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jamies Winston
• Parent Support for Education Council, Pastor Martin Rainey
• The Naomi and Titus 2 Covenant Alliance Ministries, Inc., President Terry Hodge
• First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg, Pastor Craig W. Nelson
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, President Maria Scruggs
• Concerned Organizations for Quality Education for Black Students President Ricardo Davis and Dr. Goliath Davis
• Suncoast Mental Health Counselors, Supervisor Anneta Carter
• Juvenile Welfare Board
• Family Navigators PEMHS Director of Community & Family Services, Courtney Covington
• University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock
• Associate Dean & Professor, Dr. Brenda Walker Ph. D., J.D.,
• AnnMarie Alberton Gunn, Ph. D., Associate Professor Literacy Education
• Former Fla. Department of Education, Chancellor Hershel Lyons
• Horace Mann, John Baron Crager Exclusive Agent Suncoast Insurance LLC
• Pinellas Education Foundation
• City of St. Petersburg
• The Carter G. Woodson Museum
• Transformation Zone Parent Ambassadors, Family Liaisons, Student Services Teams, Head Plant Operators and crew, Cafeteria workers, Crossing Guards, Office Staff personnel

A very special thanks to the families of two individuals who passed away. These individuals, Mr. Robert Southard, Family Liaison (April 13, 2020), and Mrs. Cheryl Maxwell, Special Education Associate (March 9, 2019), served our scholars, families, and community in a commendable way. They were the wind beneath my wings during my two-year tenure as principal of Melrose Elementary.

I will miss the community leaders, parents, faculty, staff, Transformation Zone principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and, most of all, our scholars. Their faces, stories, and love will always be hidden within my heart.

I always remind my strong scholars to not sit in the shadows, but to stand in the sun!  Thank you for being the match sparking this special part of my life’s journey. In “THE” ZONE schools, we educate by the motto: Transformation = Heart + Effort.

From my heart to yours,

Nikita J. Reed

To view the full article by Nikita J. Reed, visit http://theweeklychallenger.com/i-am-because-we-arethe-collective-impact/

It’s not just summer camps that have been affected by lifted statewide restrictions on youth activities. Child care centers that had been limiting their classes to nine children per teacher have now learned they can go back to full enrollment.

A Zoom meeting held Thursday by the Pinellas County Early Learning Coalition’s board of directors planned to discuss a report from last week on what was considered a critical shortage of child care. That has been negated, said Lindsay Carson, the CEO of the organization.

Though Gov. Ron DeSantis focused on summer camps and athletics when he made his announcement Friday lifting all restrictions on youth activities, the final draft of his order arrived Tuesday with the added words “and child care.”

Though DeSantis has said his orders related to the coronavirus pandemic didn’t close child cares, limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people effectively halted the business model that put as many as 25 children together in a classroom. Nearly 60 percent of the child care centers in Pinellas County have closed these past months, and the ELC feared many would never reopen.

Of the 679 private child care centers in Hillsborough County, 312 were closed during the peak of the shutdown, said Gordon Gillette, CEO of the Hillsborough Early Learning Coalition. That number is down to 56 closed centers as of this week. Even with slots reserved for children of first responders and health care workers, there is an estimated 5,000 spaces available in the centers, he said.

“I think parents and families are still keeping their kids home for the most part and the supply of child care is exceeding demand at this point,” Gillette told the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group on Thursday afternoon.

Now the concern in Pinellas is the work force behind the work force. The focus shifts to having enough child care workers to meet the demand as Floridians head back to work. Just as employment is starting to rise, so is the rate of unfilled jobs at child care centers.

In an ELC survey of local providers, the number of unfilled positions went from 2 percent in March to 6 percent in May. It’s not just a local trend. A survey of child care providers conducted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children found that 85 percent of child care operators are running on less than half their regular enrollment capacity, and the majority of those are operating at less than 25 percent of capacity.

“The staff who are furloughed in many cases are earning more on unemployment than as preschool teachers because of the added $600 a week from the federal stimulus,” Carson said.

Plus, closed technical schools and community colleges have shut down the pipeline of newly certified teachers. As a result, the ELC is working with CareerSource Tampa Bay and St. Pete Works to provide online instructions and certifications to get more child care workers trained and certified.

To address the workforce shortage, the ELC is working with CareerSource Pinellas and St. Pete Works to recruit, screen and train new child care workers. There are currently 32 listings on the Community Jobs board on ELC website for local childcare providers, Carson said. “As parents return to work, we’ll need to fill even more positions.

Emergency Care Scholarships worth an average of $5,000 per child ihave been given to first responders and health care workers through the emergency relief funds passed by Congress. But a host of other essential employees, from grocery clerks to delivery drivers, could also be eligible for child care help.

The ELC board voted unanimously on Thursday to seek state approval to allow the organization to prioritize the child care subsidies for low-income, essential workers that don’t qualify for the Emergency Care Scholarships.

Carson also alerted the board that Florida’s free Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program may have an option available to families whose VPK school year was cut short. If a child had not completed at least 70 of their VPK program because of an extreme hardship, they will be able to re-enroll and take VPK over the summer.

“The pandemic qualifies them for re-enrollment and would give them a full summer VPK program,” Carson said, though she noted that might be just a small portion of this year’s VPK class, since kids who started last fall hit the 70 percent mark already. Still, it’s an option for those who might have started VPK late.

Board member Susan Rolston, who also serves on the Juvenile Welfare Board, said when she saw the news that the state would waive its previous policies and allow parents to elect to hold their children back and let them repeat this school year, “I had assumed it included VPK.”

No, Carson said. She said she has been told firmly by the state Department of Education that parents will not have the option of repeating VPK.

“I’m fully aware there’s a cost associated with that, but it is a lot cheaper to repeat a VPK year than it is to repeat a third grade year,” Carson said. “If we can take the time to invest early on at a smaller level and give children those foundational supports, that may be a better investment so they are more successful in the K-12 system.”

Rolston agreed.

Many of the closed child care centers the ELC surveyed plan to reopen in June. They will still have some safety standards in place, such as temperature checks and limiting parents entering the building by having them drop off children at the door.

The ELC will also be advocating for some kind of summer bridge program to help kids whose VPK program was cut short, to get those kids ready for kindergarten. They also want to find ways to get materials to parents who have elected to keep their kids at home, and ways to give kids coping skills.

“Our kids are going through a lot,” Carson said. “They miss their teacher and their friends and when they return to that cozy place, they will find adults wearing masks.”

To view the full news story by Tampa Bay Times, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/05/28/child-care-limits-also-lifted-by-governors-order-but-finding-workers-may-be-tough/

LARGO — The city of Largo has added another safety net for residents suffering financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

City commissioners voted unanimously May 19 to establish the Resident Assistance Program, which will provide Largo households with as much as $4,000 to pay for housing and utility expenses.

According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s May 22 report, 63,981 people were unemployed in Pinellas, compared with 20,577 in March and 13,757 in April 2019.

Pinellas County and the Juvenile Welfare Board have provided assistance programs for those in need, but it’s likely many didn’t qualify or are still in need of aid.

That is where this program will kick in, said Arrow Woodard, housing grant specialist with the city of Largo.

“Our program was designed to avoid duplication of benefits by assisting households that are either deemed ineligible by that program (the Pinellas CARES Act Individual Assistance Program) or if they have utilized the maximum amount under that county program but they are still unable to return to work or they’ve still had extended financial hardship due to COVID-19,” she said. “And so we would be able to provide that additional rent and mortgage assistance up to $4,000.”

Woodward said she hopes the program, which will be funded through state housing funds, will be operational by early June. Payments will be made directly to landlords, mortgage companies and/or utility companies as needed.

Eligibility is limited to low-income households of individuals or families with at least one applicant who is 18 and older and resides within the city limits. Applicants must provide documentation of residency, identification, income, assets and need. Eligible applicants must also be able to document that they were unable to receive funding through other COVID-19 assistance programs.

A link for an application will be provided on largo.com, and applications will also be accepted by calling the city’s Housing Division at 727-586-7489, ext. 7314.

“Thank you for putting this program together,” Mayor Woody Brown told Woodard. “I think it’s going to help a lot of people in Largo.”

To view the full news story by Tampa Bay Newspapers, visit https://www.tbnweekly.com/coronavirus/article_2d93ade6-a03c-11ea-87c8-77ebe56cace4.html

CLEARWATER – It has been a challenging time these past few months, especially for parents and children having to juggle work and school life in new, creative ways.

To help give parents a break and to keep children active, the city of Clearwater will be offering limited-capacity summer camps June 8  through Aug. 7.

New safety precautions will be in place to keep children and staff safe. They include assigning a staff member for a group of nine campers who will stay with the same group all day, daily wellness checks of staff and campers, and eliminating field trips or large gatherings.

With spaces being limited to maintain CDC physical distancing guidelines, the city will be holding a lottery for camp spaces beginning Wednesday (May 27). Clearwater residents, local business owners and city employees will get priority in the lottery. Lottery forms can be found at myclearwaterparks.com/camps and will be collected through Monday (May 25). The lottery will be held Wednesday and parents will be
notified starting Thursday (May 28).

Countryside Recreation Center, the Long Center, Morningside Recreation Complex:
* Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
* June 8-Aug. 7
* 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
* Participants must sign up for the entire nine-week camp. There are no weekly options.
* $700 for those paying upfront for the whole summer or $80 per week with $160 due at registration.
* A limited number of scholarships are available for those who qualify.

Ross Norton Recreation Center:
* Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
* June 8-Aug. 7
* 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
* No Cost – Children must be enrolled in the Juvenile Welfare Board-sponsored out-of-school time program.
* Participants must sign up for the entire nine-week camp. There are no weekly options.

To view the full news story by Tampa Bay Reporter, visit https://www.tbreporter.com/children-and-families/clearwater-to-offer-summer-camps-with-limited-enrollment/

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – Between coronavirus and the mysterious illness in children that’s been linked to it, what will summer camp for hundreds of thousands of kids look like?

“Just because things are opening up does not mean the pandemic is ending. This pandemic is going to continue into next year. There’s no doubt about that,” said John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician, Dr.Juan Dumois.

8 On Your Side asked him if parents should be worried about sending their kids to camp.

“There’s going to be greater potential for kids to transfer coronavirus between themselves. Most of those kids won’t get very sick, some might, but the bigger risk is when they bring those viruses home,” said Dr. Dumois.

8 On Your Side is looking into what local summer camps are planning to do to keep kids safe and how parents can help before sending their kid out the door.

The staff at the Morningside Recreation Complex in Clearwater is busy preparing for camp to start in 2 weeks. They have a lot of precautions including that every child will get their temperature checked before leaving their car.

Kids will be strongly encouraged to bring and wear their own mask during indoor activities. They’ll be separated into “home pods” which will be groups of 9 or less with the same counselor. Kids will remain with that group for the entire summer. Kids will also have their own arts and crafts supplies.

“Each kid will have a container labeled [with their name]. In that container they’ll have their own arts and crafts projects, own crayons, arts and crafts supplies, glue, that way these will not be shared,” said Clearwater’s Recreation Manager Shaun Beasley said.

Clearwater Emergency Manager Jevon Graham says they will be disinfecting constantly and they have a plan if any child does become sick.

“The very first thing is to make sure we separate them from the other students. We’ll do temperature checks again and then make sure to contact the parent to bring them home. If they are having a fever we’re going to require they don’t return for at least 3 days of being fever free and possibly a doctor’s note,” said Graham.

Graham said the most helpful thing all parents can do keep came safe is keep their child home if they become sick or were recently around someone with coronavirus.

The City of Clearwater announced Wednesday that they’re offering limited-capacity summer camps from June 8 through Aug. 7.

According to the city, new safety precautions will be in place, including daily wellness checks of both staffers and campers and eliminating field trips or large gatherings. Staff members will also be assigned to a group of nine campers. The same group will stay together all day.

“With spaces being limited to maintain CDC physical distancing guidelines, the city will be holding a lottery for camp spaces beginning May 27,” city officials explained. “Clearwater residents, local business owners and city employees will get priority in the lottery.”

You can sign up for the lottery on the City of Clearwater website. Forms will be collected May 19 through 25 and the lottery will be held May 27.

The City of Clearwater Communications Department went on to say that at the Countryside Recreation Center, the Long Center and Morningside Recreation Complex will have summer camps with the following guidelines:

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8 through Aug. 7
• 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m
• Participants must sign up for the entire nine-week camp. There are no weekly options.
• $700 for those paying upfront for the whole summer or $80 per week with $160 due at registration.
• A limited number of scholarships are available for those who qualify.

The communications department also said this about the Ross Norton Recreation Center summer camps:

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – Between coronavirus and the mysterious illness in children that’s been linked to it, what will summer camp for hundreds of thousands of kids look like?

“Just because things are opening up does not mean the pandemic is ending. This pandemic is going to continue into next year. There’s no doubt about that,” said John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician, Dr.Juan Dumois.

8 On Your Side asked him if parents should be worried about sending their kids to camp.

“There’s going to be greater potential for kids to transfer coronavirus between themselves. Most of those kids won’t get very sick, some might, but the bigger risk is when they bring those viruses home,” said Dr. Dumois.

8 On Your Side is looking into what local summer camps are planning to do to keep kids safe and how parents can help before sending their kid out the door.

The staff at the Morningside Recreation Complex in Clearwater is busy preparing for camp to start in 2 weeks. They have a lot of precautions including that every child will get their temperature checked before leaving their car.

Kids will be strongly encouraged to bring and wear their own mask during indoor activities. They’ll be separated into “home pods” which will be groups of 9 or less with the same counselor. Kids will remain with that group for the entire summer. Kids will also have their own arts and crafts supplies.

“Each kid will have a container labeled [with their name]. In that container they’ll have their own arts and crafts projects, own crayons, arts and crafts supplies, glue, that way these will not be shared,” said Clearwater’s Recreation Manager Shaun Beasley said.

Clearwater Emergency Manager Jevon Graham says they will be disinfecting constantly and they have a plan if any child does become sick.

“The very first thing is to make sure we separate them from the other students. We’ll do temperature checks again and then make sure to contact the parent to bring them home. If they are having a fever we’re going to require they don’t return for at least 3 days of being fever free and possibly a doctor’s note,” said Graham.

Graham said the most helpful thing all parents can do keep came safe is keep their child home if they become sick or were recently around someone with coronavirus.

The City of Clearwater announced Wednesday that they’re offering limited-capacity summer camps from June 8 through Aug. 7.

According to the city, new safety precautions will be in place, including daily wellness checks of both staffers and campers and eliminating field trips or large gatherings. Staff members will also be assigned to a group of nine campers. The same group will stay together all day.

“With spaces being limited to maintain CDC physical distancing guidelines, the city will be holding a lottery for camp spaces beginning May 27,” city officials explained. “Clearwater residents, local business owners and city employees will get priority in the lottery.”

You can sign up for the lottery on the City of Clearwater website. Forms will be collected May 19 through 25 and the lottery will be held May 27.

The City of Clearwater Communications Department went on to say that at the Countryside Recreation Center, the Long Center and Morningside Recreation Complex will have summer camps with the following guidelines:

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8 through Aug. 7
• 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m
• Participants must sign up for the entire nine-week camp. There are no weekly options.
• $700 for those paying upfront for the whole summer or $80 per week with $160 due at registration.
• A limited number of scholarships are available for those who qualify.

The communications department also said this about the Ross Norton Recreation Center summer camps:

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8 through Aug. 7
• 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• No Cost – Children must be enrolled in the Juvenile Welfare Board sponsored out-of-school time program.
• Participants must sign up for the entire 9-week camp. There are no weekly options.

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8 through Aug. 7
• 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• No Cost – Children must be enrolled in the Juvenile Welfare Board sponsored out-of-school time program.
• Participants must sign up for the entire 9-week camp. There are no weekly options.

To view the full news story by WFLA Channel 8 News, visit https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-concerns-how-tampa-bay-summer-camps-plan-to-keep-kids-safe-and-how-parents-can-help/

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – The City of Clearwater will be offering limited-capacity summer camps June 8 through Aug. 7.

New safety precautions will be in place to keep children and staff safe.

Those precautions include assigning a staff member for a group of nine campers that will stay with the same group all day, daily wellness checks of staff and campers and eliminating field trips or large gatherings.

With spaces being limited, the city will be holding a lottery for camp spaces beginning May 27.

Clearwater residents, local business owners and city employees will get priority in the lottery.

Lottery forms can be found at myclearwaterparks.com/camps and will be collected May 19-25.

The lottery will be held May 27and parents will be notified starting May 28.

Countryside Recreation Center, the Long Center, Morningside Recreation Complex:

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8-Aug. 7, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Participants must sign up for the entire 9-week camp. There are no weekly options.
• $700 for those paying upfront for the whole summer or $80 per week with $160 due at registration.
• A limited number of scholarships are available for those who qualify.

Ross Norton Recreation Center:

• Ages 5 (completed kindergarten) to 12
• June 8-Aug. 7, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
• No Cost – Children must be enrolled in the Juvenile Welfare Board sponsored out-of-school time program.
• Participants must sign up for the entire 9-week camp. There are no weekly options.

To view the full news story by WFLA Channel 8 News, visit https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/clearwater-to-hold-lottery-for-summer-camp-enrollment/

On Monday morning, at the height of the torrential storm surging through Tampa Bay, three Pinellas County School buses pulled into the parking garage of the Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Petersburg.  

Volunteers, masked and gloved due to the coronavirus pandemic, began bringing out palettes filled with boxes loaded with healthy meals and snacks for children and families in need. 

Over the weekend, the lobby of the theater, closed because of stay-at-home regulations, had been turned into a food-packaging site — a staging area for Meals on Wheels for Kids, a new program launched by the nonprofit Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger.

“Our goal is to fill a gap and help struggling families and children, and we’ll continue to do that until school opens up,” says Caitlin Peacock, executive director of Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger.

About 55,000 children in Pinellas County receive low-cost or free lunches through National School Program, says Peacock. But with schools closed, that service was no longer available. While there are other emergency food distribution sites at community centers, libraries, and YMCAs, as well as food pantries, not all families can get to them.  

“A family may not have a car or the head of household may be chronically ill or have too many small children at home to be able to walk to a distribution site,” says Peacock.

Tampa Bay Network To End Hunger had already identified a need for a program that would allow an alternative option for children during spring break and summer vacation. But with COVID-19, the need became even more urgent. “We thought, we have got to launch tomorrow,” says Peacock. 

Working in partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kids Hungry, Pinellas County Schools Food and Nutrition, Daystar Life Center and the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, as well as the Foundation for A Healthy St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Network To End Hunger launched the first-ever Meals on Wheels for Kids on March 23.

The program is now serving about 550 children or 25,000 meals per week. The meals are delivered directly to the children’s home, similar to the long-standing Meals on Wheels program for seniors. But rather than volunteers driving to each recipient’s home using his or her own car, the food is delivered by school buses between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Two Meals on Wheels volunteers accompany each school bus.

“The boxes are too large to fit into a typical car,” says Peacock. “We are giving families a week’s worth of food items — enough for five to seven family-style healthy meals, along with frozen items and produce. One of our volunteers was a bus driver and suggested we use school buses. We thought this was a fantastic idea and the school system supported that idea. “

In April, the program got another boost when Bill Edwards, a St. Petersburg entrepreneur, donated $100,000 through the Edwards Family Foundation. The former owner of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Edwards manages the Mahaffey Theater under a long-term contract with the city.

“Bill recognized that with school closed, there might be a gap in children receiving free lunch every day. He said, ‘I want to do something to feed hungry children’,“ says Amy Miller, Executive Director of the Edwards Foundation For The Arts, the fundraising arm of the Mahaffey Theater. 

In addition to his gift to expand the number of meals delivered to area children, Edwards agreed when Miller suggested using the lobby of the theater, closed during the coronavirus, as a food distributing staging site for the program.  

“It became this cool trifecta with all of us — the Edwards Family Foundation, The Mahaffey Theater staff, and the Edwards Foundation For The Arts — all coming together to help make this happen,” says Miller. “We’ll continue to do this as long as we can.”

In addition to the Mahaffey Theater, Daystar Life Center and Clearview United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, as well as the Catherine A. Hickman Theater in Gulfport are serving as weekly food distribution staging sites, enabling the program to reach an even broader group of children in both St. Petersburg and Gulfport.

The program currently serves St. Petersburg zip codes 33701, 33703, 33704, 33705, 33707, 33708, 33709, 33710, 33711, 33712, 33713 and 33714, and is expected to expand to include neighboring zip codes.

“Support from our community is critical during this difficult time,” Peacock said in a press statement. “Our new partners will allow us to provide a much-needed service by distributing more meals to children that are at home and unable to access an emergency feeding site. They will also allow us to bring together community members to volunteer their time to help prepare the food that will be delivered.”

According to the Tampa Bay Network To End Hunger Meals on Wheels For Kids website, more than 75 volunteers are needed each week to assist with packing over bags of food and riding along on school buses to assist with meal delivery.

For more information, to make a donation, or to assist as a volunteer with meal packaging and distribution, go to the Network to End Hunger website.

To view the full news story by 83 Degrees Media, visit https://www.83degreesmedia.com/forgood/community-groups-unite-to-feed-hungry-kids-in-Tampa-Bay-051920.aspx

GULFPORT./LEALMAN – Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger, a tri-county leader in hunger relief, research and program development, has two new partners.

The Catherine A. Hickman Theater of Gulfport and Clearview United Methodist Church in the Lealman area will host weekly meal packing events and help deliver food to children and families in Lealman and Gulfport through the Meals On Wheels for Kids program.

“We are grateful MOW4Kids is serving our community, especially with summer approaching, this ensures our children have the same access to good and healthy food as we enter what may be a long and uncertain summer,” Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson said. “We are happy to support the Network’s mission to help children and families in Gulfport. This program also gives our employees the opportunity to give back by helping our community.”

Volunteers will assemble shelf stable foods and produce at the Catherine A. Hickman Theater on Saturday for delivery on Monday and at Clearview United Methodist Church on Tuesday for delivery on Wednesday. On delivery days, volunteers load school buses with produce and shelf stable foods to deliver to the homes of children and families around St. Petersburg.

“As COVID closed schools and took its toll on the economy, we were so grateful to have space to offer when the Network approached us about hosting this program,” Clearview United Pastor Keri LaBrant said.  “We and the Network both value the most vulnerable people around us, and doing more together for families who are struggling is a win-win.”

The Network’s MOW4Kids program launched this past March, in partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kids Hungry, Pinellas County Schools Food and Nutrition and Transportation Departments, Daystar Life Center, St. Petersburg Free Clinic and Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.

MOW4Kids, the first program of its kind, was developed in response to COVID-19 school closures, to serve children, 18 years or younger, with meals delivered to their home by volunteers. MOW4Kids delivers to: 1) kids, ages 18 and under; 2) kids that can eat solid food.

MOW4Kids is an alternative option for kids that are not able to access meal distribution sites throughout the county; and/or 2) kids that have difficulty accessing open food pantries. The program currently serves these St. Petersburg zip codes: 33701, 33703, 33704, 33705, 33707, 33708, 33709, 33710, 33711, 33712, 33713 and 33714; and will continue to expand the program to include neighboring zip codes.

“Support from our community is critical during this difficult time,” said Caitlyn Peacock, executive director of TBNEH. “Our new partners will allow us to provide a much-needed service in St. Petersburg by distributing more meals to children that are at home and unable to access an emergency feeding site. They will also allow us to bring together community members to volunteer their time to help prepare the food that will be delivered.”

At the core of this Meals on Wheels program is nutritious food delivered to the homes of children and their families. The program provides meals, shelf stable groceries, along with produce, as resources allow. Children may experience an increase in overall nutrition, health, and food security. Eligible recipients may also report decreased feelings of loneliness and increased feelings of safety from volunteers stopping by.

Meal packing events take place each week at these sites: Saturdays-Catherine Hickman Theater, 5501 27th Ave. S., Gulfport; Tuesdays- Clearview UMC, 4515 38th Ave. N; and Saturday- Daystar Life Center, 1055 28th St. S.

Interested in volunteering? Go to networktoendhunger.org/volunteer to complete a volunteer application. If you or anyone you know could benefit from this program, call Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger at (813) 344-5837 or submit an application at NetworktoEndHunger.org/MOW4Kids. If eligible, meal delivery service can begin the following week, while school is closed.

TBNEH is committed to ending hunger in Tampa Bay by bringing people together to find solutions that eliminate barriers, increase access and knowledge, and expand the amount of nutritious food available. TBNEH has more than 350 members and serves a tri-county area, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. TBNEH is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency and relies on its community for support.

To view the full news story by Tampa Bay Reporter, visit https://www.tbreporter.com/social-services/meals-on-wheels-for-kids-expands-to-gulfport-lealman/

Due to event cancellations prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Petersburg has been sitting empty and unused.

But beginning Saturday, its lobby will be filled with volunteers receiving and packaging up food for families in need.

In late April, St. Petersburg entrepreneur Bill Edwards gave $100,000 to the Meals on Wheels for Kids program through the Edwards Family Foundation. The money is helping the program launched March 23 deliver at least 25,000 meals as well as shelf stable groceries to families in need.

Meals on Wheels for Kids was launched by the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger, in partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kids Hungry, Pinellas County Schools Food and Nutrition, Daystar Life Center and the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. It was developed in response to the school closures caused by the threat of COVID-19 as a way to replace school meals and to get food to people who have trouble accessing distribution sites and food pantries.

And now, the Mahaffey Theater, which is run by the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts, will become a packaging and distribution site for the meals, every Friday through Monday through August.

“This is the best use for it in my opinion,” Edwards said. “If we can’t put on shows, we should use it to help people.”

Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts president Amy Miller coordinated with the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger to facilitate use of the space. State Representative Jennifer Webb, who is a business development consultant for the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger, will be an onsite coordinator.

This Saturday, volunteers — including Miller and other staff from the foundation — will assemble the meals with food delivered by the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger. They will pack them into three school buses parked outside, and then on Monday, volunteers will deliver 1,500 meals each around St. Petersburg.

Miller said that Meals on Wheels for Kids is providing gloves and masks for the volunteers and that deliveries will be contactless.

If you are interested in getting meals through the program, you can call the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger at (813) 344-5837 or submit an application at NetworktoEndHunger.org/MOW4Kids. If eligible, meal delivery service can begin the following week.

The goal is to increase the amount of meals to 3,000 per week and to feed 50,000 families by the end of August. If schools don’t reopen, they’ll keep going, Miller said, “until they tell us to stop” or if the theater reopens.

The Edwards Family Foundation has been helping underprivileged children for 19 years, through its annual Christmas Gala Celebration that feeds and gives gifts to hundreds of families. School children in need can take part in the Bill Edwards Foundation of the Arts’ Class Acts program, which provides the opportunity to see a show.

“It’s important right now that we get these poor families fed during the worst time I’ve ever seen in my history,” Edwards said.

Since March 23, Meals on Wheels for Kids has delivered meals to 575 kids per week, said Lauren Vance, manager of the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger.

Vance said the Edwards donation helped them reach more families throughout St. Petersburg, which is the area the program determined has the most need. But their ultimate goal is to reach all of Pinellas County.

Instead of asking for support of the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts on Giving Tuesday in early May, president Miller used a social media campaign to bring more awareness to Meals on Wheels for Kids.

“I encourage anyone in town who wants to contribute to help,” Edwards said. “We can’t do this alone. It’s important that we get this accomplished.”

To view the full news story by Tampa Bay Times, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/05/12/mahaffey-theater-will-become-distribution-site-for-new-meals-on-wheels-for-kids-program/

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas (ELC) continues to emphasize the importance of childcare providers – several of which stayed open through the stay-at-home orders to care for children of essential workers, while others now begin to reopen for business or work on plans to do so.

After scaled-down or fully closed operations, some early learning and childcare providers now face a multitude of struggles, from financial hardships to structural to workforce, loss of clientele, loss of staff, and other challenges; as they look toward resuming regular business operations.

The ELC, in partnership with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB), produced this video – which features community leaders, essential workers, and parents – to thank childcare providers for caring for children during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the support they have always provided and will continue to provide working families. JWB also partnered on a second video to raise awareness about the essential work of childcare providers whose work makes the work of others possible. These videos are viewable on YouTube.

In support of childcare providers and the families they serve, the ELC developed the Emergency Childcare Support Fund to help ensure childcare for families who have been financially affected as well as aid for providers as they reopen. To contribute to the Emergency Childcare Support Fund:

Visit https://bit.ly/PinellasKids or text HELPKIDS to 71441.

“Childcare providers have stepped up to care for the children of all working families during this pandemic,” said ELC CEO Lindsay Carson. “They are vital in order to restart our local economies. Without childcare, many parents cannot return to work. Our providers deserve our support as they seek to maintain services or seek to reopen their centers.”

To partner with the ELC on efforts to support providers and families, contact Rosa Rivera, Director of Community Engagement, at RRivera@ELCPinellas.org.

To view the full news story by The Patch, visit https://patch.com/florida/stpete/thanking-childcare-providers