TAMPA — The second annual Give Day Tampa Bay encourages donors to pledge funds to a local charity on their computers, smart phones and tablets, but that doesn’t mean there was no human interaction Tuesday.
The online format is meant to emphasize how easy it is to give, but some of the 549 nonprofits involved couldn’t help but take to the streets of downtown Tampa with free events and giveaways for those offering their support.
The idea seemed to work. During its innaugural event last year, Give Day Tampa Bay collected nearly $1.1 million for 385 nonprofits during the 24-hour event. Contributions came in from 5,144 donors, according to the givedaytampabay.org.
This year’s event surpassed those totals by early evening, raising almost $1.3 million from nearly 8,000 donors by 7:30 p.m., with several hours left before the event ended at midnight.
Vicki Anzalone, founder of Where Love Grows Foundation and coordinator for Tampa Bay Local Motion, started the day with a walk from Lykes Gaslight Park in downtown Tampa to Cotanchobee Park off the new Tampa Riverwalk. Local Motion meets for walks on the first and third Friday of every month and brought some much-appreciated foot traffic to the booths and tables scattered throughout downtown, Anzalone said.
Her group, Where Love Grows, provides fresh, home-style meals to about 150 children in Hillsborough County each month at local community centers and Boys and Girls clubs. The organization is entering its third year.
“We’re small, but this event is crucial to helping the community learn about everything we’re doing,” Anzalone said. “You can’t change the world with one meal, but you can with the love behind it.”
Ciccio’s restaurant group and Fresh Kitchen are just a few of the businesses that have teamed up with Where Love Grows since last year’s Give Day Tampa Bay.
This year’s event, hosted by the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and the Florida NEXT Foundation, also offered special promotional donations like $5,000 from the Tampa Bay Rays to the organization that got a donation closest to sunset and $500 from SYKES to a non-profit every hour.
While money is important, the event also aims to introduce locals to the many nonprofits in the area.
Meals on Wheels of Tampa attracted at least 10 new volunteers and five potential business partners during the Tampa Bay Emerge Nonprofit Volunteer Fair at Channelside. Emerge, an off-shoot of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce for young professionals, decided to hitch their third annual fair to Give Day Tampa Bay to provide a physical presence for the online fundraiser.
More than 20 local organizations, including Metropolitan Ministries, the Florida Special Olympics and the Hillsborough Education Foundation, participated in the fair, and nearby restaurants offered additional fundraising opportunities for the charities.
“It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was absolutely fabulous,” said Meals on Wheels of Tampa communications director Lauren Vance of the group’s first time participating in Give Day Tampa Bay. “The location was perfect because we got kids on field trips, business people on their lunch break and UT and USF students hanging out downtown that were interested in our mission.”
By noon, Meals on Wheels of Tampa had raised more than half of its $12,000 goal for the event. That money will be used to pay for “hurricane packs” full of water, shelf-stable meals and other necessities for each of the 40-year-old organization’s 750 home-bound meal recipients to have on hand during hurricane season.
Also participating was Kat Leibbrandt’s new charity, I Am More, which works with children with disabilities and terminal illnesses to help them “find their identity outside of their illness,” she said. Leibbrandt, 24, and her co-chair, New York Yankees catcher John Ryan Murphy, are working with kids organizing things like photo shoots for young aspiring models and clinics with Major League Baseball players every month.
But Tuesday was about connecting with the kids and residents in the community through bubble machines, giant Jenga games and furry hugs from Tampa Yankees mascot Blue.
“We want people to know our mission, but we want them to have a fun time doing it and just hear about how awesome our kids and volunteers are,” Leibbrandt said. “The response has been incredibly encouraging.”
adawson@tampatrib.com
(813) 731-8093
@TBOadawson
About Meals On Wheels of Tampa:
Meals On Wheels of Tampa has been committed to nourishing and enriching the independent lives of the homebound and seniors of Tampa since 1975. Today, Meals On Wheels of Tampa serves over 700 people with a hot meal during the lunch hour. Meals On Wheels of Tampa is a 4-star charity and relies on its community for support by not accepting government funding.
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