Many of St. Petersburg’s not-for-profit organizations provide vital services to our community. If you have time or resources to give, it can go a long way to helping those in need. To submit news or needs for publication, email [email protected].
Friends of Strays is Paving the Way to a No Kill Pinellas
With the help of a $250,000 grant from Best Friends Animal Society, Friends of Strays Animal Shelter’s new Pinellas Cats Alive! program is estimated to save the lives of 2,800 community, or free-roaming, cats in 2021. Pinellas Cats Alive! is a Return-To-Field (RTF) program, the widely recognized lifesaving method that avoids euthanasia of healthy yet unadoptable cats. RTF reduces community cat populations through the proven practice of humanely trapping, spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and then returning the feral or free-roaming community cats to their place of origin. It is the humane option for community cats that would have otherwise been euthanized, while also working towards the goal of reducing the overall community cat population. For more info about Friends of Strays, visit www.friendsofstrays.org.
St. Petersburg Free Clinic: From Volunteer to Chief Operations Officer
Shaina Bent will fill a role new to St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Chief Operations Officer! Shaina shares, “When I began as a volunteer with the Free Clinic eight years ago, I was completely unaware of the level of need in our community. I quickly learned that so many members of our community faced challenges and hardships that seemed unimaginable – not having enough food to feed your family, living with an illness because you don’t have access to quality, affordable healthcare, or suddenly finding yourself with nowhere to live. Our core values of dignity, compassion, and respect drive what we do and are one of the reasons the work of the Free Clinic is so important to me. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to serve our community and the Free Clinic in my new role.” For more info about St. Petersburg Free Clinic, visit stpetersburgfreeclinic.org.
Clothes To Kids Has Huge Need for Clothing & Shoes
Clothes To Kids (CTK) has a huge need for elementary school clothing and shoes, and young men’s middle and high school clothing. Clothes To Kids provides bags of “Clothes To Go” to school-aged children (Pre-K4 to 12th grade) in need in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. CTK clothing racks are very low and in need of the following items: Little girl tops sizes S-XL; Little girl shorts and pants sizes 12,14,16; Little boys Jackets size M, L, XL; Young Men’s short sleeve shirts size S and M; Young Men’s Jeans ALL sizes; Youth girls socks size M; Girls and Boys shoe sizes 2,3 and 4. Please donate new or gently used clothing, shoes, and jackets to Clothes To Kids at their locations in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. $50 provides one child a week’s worth of school clothing. Help Clothes to Kids clothe a kid and change a life. All donations are gladly accepted Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm. For more info about Clothes to Kids visit www.clothestokids.org.
