Trevor Burgess, chief executive officer of Neptune Flood Insurance, and his husband, Gary Hess, have donated $1 million to the St. Petersburg Free Clinic and launched a challenge for the community to, collectively, match their gift.
In gratitude of the gift from Burgess and Hess, the SPFC volunteer program will be renamed the Gary Hess Volunteer Services Program. Hess joined the board of directors for SPFC in 2019. In 2021, he joined the volunteer team and is currently serving at the drive-thru located at SPFC’s Jared S. Hechtkopf Community Food Bank, where he organizes produce and food items and packs them into vehicles that visit.
Burgess’ company, Neptune Flood Insurance, has organized annual holiday meal volunteer days driving business engagement with the needs of the community.
“It is the generosity of individuals like Gary and Trevor that allows SPFC to respond to overwhelming, and growing, need in the community,” said Jennifer Yeagley, CEO of SPFC. “Last month alone, SPFC provided over 34,000 individuals access to nutritious food through our We Help FRESH Pantry locations. This is as many people as we served in a full year just five years ago. Gary has seen, firsthand, our community’s need for food increase year-over-year and month-over-month as a regular volunteer at Jared’s Drive Thru FRESH Pantry.”