Thirty-four non-profit agencies in Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties are being awarded grants of up to $10,000 of each to support their COVID-19 relief efforts, the GiveWell Community Foundation and United Way of Central Florida announced today.
Category: Activism
Posted inActivism, People
Stadium Message Beams Love to Lakeland Regional Health
A message created with Christmas lights at Bryant Stadium beamed appreciation to the medical staff at nearby Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, 10 News reports. Red lights formed a large heart visible from the hospital and white lights spelled LRH. The display was created by Jill Bevis, whose husband is a physician, and her family.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
Grocery Hoarding Throttles KidsPACK Food Supply
KidsPACK, which provides meals for 1,800 food-insecure children in Polk County, is reaching out to the community for donations of food and other assistance, saying their bulk suppliers are hampered by grocery hoarding | KidsPACK website Source: News Channel 8
Posted inActivism, Obituaries, People
Nancye Thornberry, Polk Senior Games Founder, Dies at 89
Lakeland has lost one of its matriarchs. Nancye Thornberry, who founded the Polk Senior Games and helped start Mayfaire-by-the-Lake when she led the Polk Museum of Art, died Tuesday night after a long illness, She was 89.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
United Way, GiveWell Collaborate on Local Relief Fund
The United Way of Central Florida and GiveWell Community Foundation have formed a United Community Relief Fund at unitedcommunityrelief.org to “support local nonprofit organizations serving those most vulnerable to the economic and health-related impacts triggered by a community crisis.”
Posted inActivism, Public Safety
Tracy Moore Recognized for Helping Lineman Families
Tracy Moore, the widow of a Lakeland Electric lineman who died in a work-related accident, started a foundation devoted to helping lineworker families through crises and educating about safety. She is a WFLA Remarkable Women finalist | Highline Hero Foundation Facebook page Source: News Channel 8
Posted inActivism, Recreation
Homeless Runners Group Getting National Attention
This story is so uncommon that you might one day see it on TV — or a bigger screen. It’s a most unusual combination: 15 or 20 homeless men running for miles on the streets of Lakeland. Begun about three years ago, it was the hope and prayer of Matt Nipper, a 40-year old young […]
Posted inActivism, City Hall
Revenue Ideas Rile Supporters of Golf Course, Theater
Supporters of the Cleveland Heights Golf Course and Lakeland Community Theater took to Facebook recently to rally public sentiment behind the two long-time institutions. They were spurred to action by comments made Jan 17 to the City Commission by Steve Scruggs, head of the Lakeland Economic Development Council; he floated several wide-ranging ideas to increase […]
Posted inActivism
At MLK Event, Pastor Talks of Action to Bridge the Digital Divide
Pastor H.B. Holmes spoke of bridging the digital divide at Lakeland’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast, disclosing he is using his background as a communications entrepreneur to bring free wifi to residents near his church, Word of Faith International on Skyview Drive. He also said he’s talking with the city of Lakeland about […]
Posted inActivism, Schools
Polk Teachers Rally in Tallahassee, Lakeland
Because they were warned not to attend, Polk teachers were cheered when their buses arrived in Tallahassee for a rally supporting public education Monday. The 600+ on the buses plus several hundred more who carpooled made Polk’s probably the largest delegation at a statewide rally whose size was estimated at 4,500 by Tallahassee police. Coverage […]