Making it the most wonderful time of the year for someone less fortunate turns the famous holiday song to the truth.
With turkey day almost here, Giving Tuesday on Nov. 30 and Christmas around the corner, the season of offering is here. The Tuesday after Black Friday fuels the spirit of giving globally annually, and Greater Tampa Bay feels love locally 365 days a year through numerous active charities and nonprofits.
One of these is Metropolitan Ministries, which collaborates with up to 65 neighborhoods to feed and shelter the less fortunate. The need is more significant during the holidays, with the ministry president using YouTube to spread the word.
“We need turkeys, and we need a lot of them,” Tim Marks said on behalf of the nearly 33,000 local families teetering on the verge of homelessness, taccording to the nonprofit that serves Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties.
Donating a box of food, hosting a meal drive or volunteering at any county sites, including the Tampa and Pasco Holiday Tents, takes little time and money to make a meaningful difference for all family members. For example, Feeding Tampa Bay encourages children as young as 5 to help sort and box food with an accompanying adult. Meals on Wheels Tampa also welcomes adolescents to deliver warm meals and gifts.
Tampa Bay residents started charities that give extra during the holiday, including Michelle Patel’s Kids Helping Kids that will host its fourth annual Thanksgiving food drive on Nov. 20 at Land ‘O Lakes Heritage Park and welcomes gifts for the 2021 Angel Tree and Love. Mary Nastukov’s With Love, an anonymous charity, requests Thanksgiving meals, donations and volunteers. Torrie Jasuwan’s Babycycle hosts Holiday Brunch 2021 on Dec. 11 to raise more money for diapers, wipes, cleaning cloths and other basic needs for low-income children locally.
For children of incarcerated parents, this season can be challenging. Prison Fellowship Tampa 2021 Angel Tree brings families together, with local congregations bringing them into church life, giving gifts to children on behalf of incarcerated parents, sending kids to summer camp and more.
Similar challenges affect domestic violence victims, who find refuge at the Spring of Tampa Bay. Due to the sensitivity and privacy of the charity, monetary donations to fund the temporary shelter are the best way to offer seasonal giving.
From visiting a lonely senior during the holidays to petting an orphaned four-legged friend, the region has many ways to make the season brighter. With the litany of need as long as a child’s Christmas list, finding ways to offer a few moments of joy and share in the spirit of giving really makes this season the most wonderful time of the year.
By Angela Underwood
