Education & Philanthropy

What’s more iconic in modern American culture than the golden arches behind the infectious smile of everyone’s favorite clown, Ronald McDonald? Yet, behind the scenes, the global brand of McDonald’s has long been committed to making a difference across its local communities. The Tampa-based McDonald’s franchisee Caspers Co., a third-generation family-owned enterprise, has been supporting

Neighbors helping neighbors: It’s more than just the motto of the Pinellas County-based senior-care nonprofit organization, Neighborly. It’s a value that shows “everything that’s right,” as the executive director of Neighborly, David Lomaka, explains. “We always read in the news about what’s wrong with the world, or wrong about the country, but in the Neighborly

Metropolitan Ministries is sending out urgent pleas, to the Tampa Bay area community, for help collecting food ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. “Preparations for distribution to those in need are already underway, and it is only through donations from the community that the Ministries can keep up with the demand for Thanksgiving assistance,” a statement

For more than 30 years, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has been dedicated to making charitable giving easy, and impactful, throughout our region. It connects donors with nonprofit organizations, collaborates with philanthropists to create, and manage, foundations and invests, and distributes, endowments. When the coronavirus crisis hit, the Foundation mobilized its funding resources and

It’s been a tough few months. Most of us are ready to get back to something close to normal. We don’t know when that will be, or what it will look like, but Volunteers of America is directly bringing resources and donations to the region’s most vulnerable. The faith-based, nonprofit organization has been serving low-income

Zoom confined their images to rectangles, but the virtual meeting room could not contain their passion. The American Cancer Society’s Southwest Florida team recently gathered a dedicated group of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer leaders, from Naples to New Port Richey, to swap tips, gain inspiration and emotionally connect for the cause. The Zoom meeting

LEMA Construction and PDQ restaurants worked together to help give back during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 28, LEMA Construction and PDQ started efforts to drop off nearly 150 meals, to health care professionals at AdventHealth locations, in the Tampa Bay area. “LEMA Construction is proud to partner with our friends from PDQ and their

Much of our attention, as Americans, has been focused on the effects of the current crisis related to our finances and health. Millions are adjusting to being suddenly unemployed, working from home and adhering to shelter in place orders. Wage loss, job insecurity and lack of access to resources plague our communities with worry and

Either of George L. Hanbury’s two careers would be considered remarkable achievements. For 30 years, he was a city manager, where tenures are often short-lived amid the volatility in local politics. He started as an assistant manager in Norfolk, in his native state of Virginia, and worked in Portsmouth and Virginia Beach before serving as

To motorists driving east on Interstate 4, from Tampa to Orlando, the looming white structure to the right of the road, somewhere in Lakeland, is an object of both admiration and anonymity. Many a motorist has doubtlessly wondered about this behemoth, yet majestic, building. It resembles a white Pegasus, its louvered arms like the mythical

There’s still time to do some good! Metropolitan Ministries is still collecting donations to help meet the need for families ahead of Christmas Day. The number of households pre-registered for Christmas assistance and still left to serve is 15,000. The Ministries purchased toys and gifts over the weekend, but 10,000 are still needed. There are

More than 2,000 adults and children in Hillsborough County will be homeless over the course of a year, according to estimates from the 2019 Point in Time Count, a measure of the number of homeless people on a specific day. Laquisha, a Tampa mother of seven, became homeless while pregnant with her youngest child after