Junior League Of Tampa Inc

Programs: The junior league of tampa established the food 4 kids project to overcome a deficit in the food supply of school aged children in tampa. According to feeding tampa bay, 1 in 4 school aged children in tampa are hungry, living in homes where food is scarce. These children receive most of their meals at school and/or after school programs. When weekends arrive, these children are often underfed, and therefore return to school on monday morning hungry, which interferes with their ability to learn and excel. Volunteers pack and distribut bags of nutritious food providing a family of four to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner over the weekend and school holidays. Children who are sufficiently fed during non-school days return to school feeling nourished and have the ability to focus on learning. During the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the junior league of tampa distributed over 11,000 bags of food to over 300 children and their families at various after school programs. In addition to these regular distrubutions, the committee also hosted mobile food pantries throughout the year.

every year approximately 2,000 children in hillsborough county, aged newborn to 17 years old, are removed from their homes to protect them from issues of neglect, abuse, or criminal charges. These children are removed from their home with no opportunity to take any personal belongings. Love bundles is a project the junior league of tampa formed in partnership with the hillsborough county sheriff's office (hcso) and eckerd kids. A committee of junior league volunteers packs backpacks containing appropriate clothing, toiletries, books, comfort items and snack foods to ease the transition into foster care for these children. The children receive their "love bundle" within 24 hours of removal from their home. During the 2016-2017 year, volunteers provided more than 1000 "love bundles" that were distributed by the hcso, as well as clothing for the eckerd kids closet.

the children's literacy project offers a three- pronged approach to improving literacy among children in underserved schools in hillsborough county; family literacy nights, classroom readings, and the mobile interactive learning opportunity (milo). In partnership with the hillsborough county school district, the junior league of tampa volunteers hosted more than 950 children and their families at 15 family literacy nights to showcase and train parents on educational activities that promote literacy in the home. Volunteers also distributed over 3,000 books to establish and increase home libraries and brought in speakers that further educated parents on how to enhance their child's learning experience. The children's literacy project sent trained volunteers into classrooms in 5 disadvantaged schools across hillsborough county to read to students each month. Last year, over 400 students enjoyed 30-minute reading sessions each month and were given over 9,000 books to take home to build their own home libraries. In partnership with the tampa-hillsborough county public library, wedu pbs, and the children's board of hillsborough county, the junior league of tampa introduced a mobile literacy unit, which traveled monthly to various destinations around hillsborough county. Milo provided literacy activities and books to children while also educating parents on an online literacy learning platform available to all school children in hillsborough county.

the junior league of tampa invests thousands of volunteer hours in community agencies and other programs that support our issues in areas of child welfare and education.