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Charities Offer Opportunities To Help

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A staff report

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

Area agencies, which receive support from United Way of Pasco County, were asked for their holiday wish lists. Here are some of the agencies' needs:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay

SERVES: 9,000 each year - children 5 to 18 years of age in Pasco and Hillsborough counties
NEEDED: Food baskets for families (especially needed at the site in Lacoochee); clothing; financial support - no amount is too small

TO DONATE: The best way for potential donors to get items to the clubs would be to drop them off directly at the club of their choice. Clubs are typically open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but call the club so that staff can make arrangements to have someone available to help unload and carry in items.

Pasco sites: Lewis Abraham Lacoochee Club, 38749 Patti Lane, Dade City, (352) 583-2994 or (352) 583-9356; Port Richey Youth Center, 8239 Youth Lane, Port Richey, (727) 842-5673; Shady Hills Club, 15840 Greenglen Lane, Shady Hills, (727) 856-7831.

Youth and Family Alternatives Inc.

SERVES: Community Based Care programs provide foster care and adoption services serving Pasco, Hillsborough, Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Osceola counties; youth crisis shelters; and Family Intervention Teams provide assistance to troubled families
NEEDED: New toys, baby care items or educational materials for children, especially newborns to age 6. A monetary gift would help better meet specific family needs. YFA works with several lead agencies to provide vital services.

The three youth crisis shelters located in New Port Richey (Rap House), Brooksville (New Beginnings) and Bartow (Harris Shelter), providing respite services for teens from seven counties, would enjoy giving their clients clothing and toiletries. Books and CDs for teenagers are also encouraged.

Family Intervention Teams work with the Pasco and Polk sheriff's offices providing counseling and family intervention to families in need of additional coping skills. FIT serves babies to teens and their parents. Clothes for adults, children, tots and babies would be helpful, as would be toys for all age ranges. Baby and toddler care items are greatly needed.

Christmas food baskets are needed. All gifts will be acknowledged if we have the donor's address.

TO DONATE: All gifts and donations may be delivered to the main office, 7524 Plathe Road, New Port Richey. Secure financial support can be made online at www.yfainc.org. For information, call (727) 835-4166.

Premier Community HealthCare Group

SERVES: East Pasco residents and operates three nonprofit migrant/community health centers in the Dade City and Zephyrhills service areas.

NEEDED: Baby clothes for gift bags for new mothers in need. Clothes for newborns are much needed. Also, laptops are needed for the PACES team, which goes into homes to do assessments and Food Stamp/Medicaid/KidCare applications. Money to be put toward electronic health records.

TO DONATE: Call: (352) 518-2000

Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind

SERVES: Provides blind and visually impaired persons with the skills needed to achieve their maximum independence. Lighthouse has been providing vision rehabilitation services for more than 25 years to Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Programs are provided for individuals of all ages, birth through the senior years.

The Lighthouse provides training in independent living skills to adults and teens. The classes provide training in safe cooking strategies, adapted housekeeping techniques, personal management and other skills that enable someone who has lost significant vision to continue to live and function independently.

NEEDED: Appliances are needed. The agency can use anything for the kitchen, including large items such as a washer/dryer and dishwasher, as well as a microwave, toaster oven, etc.

Vehicles are needed to transport clients to classes and staff to homes of clients for training. Monetary donations are welcome.

TO DONATE: Call 1-866-962-5254

Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services

SERVES: About 50 programs throughout Florida help 50,000 clients annually. Locally, the nonprofit organization servesmore than 2,000 children in the foster care system, and young adults ages 18 to 22 who have aged out of the foster care system.

NEEDED: Food for a pantry used for clients in need, nonperishables preferred.

Clothing is a need for women in several of our programs. The women and children in the Pasco shelter usually have little clothing for themselves. Holiday gifts of toys or clothing for children, ages 6 through 18, and adult clothes are appreciated.

Office furniture - anything from desks and bookcases to file cabinets and chairs. There is a great need for conference room chairs and tables.

TO DONATE: Items may be dropped off at 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater. Staff also may be able to pick up items. E-mail Leslie Kille at lkille@gcjfs.org and Mike Smith at msmithj @gcjfs.org to coordinate pickup. For information, call (727) 479-1861

YMCA of West Pasco County

SERVES: Children and families in the west Pasco area

NEEDS: The YMCA has many family members who are in need of help this year. There is a Giving Tree at the YMCA, which has tags with ages and gift ideas hanging on the tree. People can come in and pick up one or more of these tags and buy for a family for Christmas.

TO DONATE: Pick up a tag from our tree at the New Port Richey SunTrust YMCA, 6130 U.S. 19 or the James P. Gills Family YMCA, 8411 Photonics Drive, New Port Richey (Trinity area), and drop off the item for distribution before Christmas.

Suncoast Harvest Food Bank

SERVES: Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties. The food bank is at 5829 Ehren Cutoff, Land O' Lakes.

NEEDS: Food, money and a truck for donation pickups

TO DONATE: Call (813) 929-0200 or (813) 728-8809 and pickup can be arranged.

Gulf Coast Community Care

SERVES: homeless women and children in Pasco

NEEDS: Food; also collecting blankets and jackets to give to the unsheltered homes on Homeless Memorial Day, Dec. 22

TO DONATE: Drop off at the shelter, 7801 Maryland Ave., Hudson. For information, call (727) 861-4840.

The Center For Independence

SERVES: Adults with developmental disabilities through an array of person-centered services and supports. The agency operates two adult day training facilities (east and west Pasco), three group homes and an assisted living facility (Port Richey, northwest Pasco, Dade City and Zephyrhills).

NEEDS: Cash and items that could be used at the Adult Day Training or residential facilities including:

A TV, a VCR, a set of plates/bowls, tan or cream latex paint, acrylic craft paints, two sheets of 3/4-inch acrylic; volunteers to teach classes; resurfacing of the cabinets/countertop; full-size sofa (not a hide-a-bed); washcloths, full-size towels, and hand-size towels in white only, 24 of each; three rubber bath mats that fit inside the tub or shower area, preferably suction-cup type; three bathroom rugs for the purpose of stepping out on when wet; and a food processor (heavy duty - not a blender).

TO DONATE: Bring donations to the main facility at 13910 Fivay Road, Suite 8, Hudson (in Scott Medical Plaza next to Bayonet Point Regional Medical Center), or call Lynn for pickup at (727) 861-5600, ext. 240.

Childhood Development Services Inc.

SERVES: Pasco families; assists with school readiness programs and parenting programs

NEEDS: Clients need Christmas gifts for their children. Other needs are assistance for families in foreclosure to find housing and assistance with food.

TO DONATE: Contact the agency at 6740 Commerce Ave., Port Richey, or call (727) 569-1004, ext. 216.

Connections Job Development Program

SERVES: Two distinct groups of clients - job seekers, unemployed or under-employed individuals ages 18 and older, who generally reside in Pasco County. The job applicants attend an orientation program and then have access to an array of services that includes resume assistance, one-on-one job counseling, computer training, interview clothing and more. The second group of clients is area employers. Connections works with companies that are hiring workers in all fields and at all levels of experience, from entry level to advance-degreed managers.

NEEDS: Working Windows-based computers for the student computer lab, and the Good Connections Thrift Shoppe accepts new and gently used donations of clothing, household goods, books, etc.

The biggest need is for volunteers to assist computer students, perform clerical duties, such as answering the busy phones, registering new clients, filing, etc., and working in the thrift store.

Office and computer volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Store volunteers are needed any time from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

TO DONATE: Thrift store donations can be made directly at the store during operating hours at 6636 U.S. 19, New Port Richey, two blocks north of Main Street. Computers also can be taken to the store or delivered to the office at 5831 Main St., New Port Richey, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For information, call (727) 849-4724 or go to www.connectionspasco.org.

Community Aging & Retirement Services Inc. (CARES)

SERVES: Pasco County's 60 and older population

NEEDS: Cash donations, gift cards to Wal-Mart, Target, or any grocery store and nonperishable food items.

TO DONATE: Donations can be mailed or dropped off at our main office: Community Aging & Retirement Services, Inc. d/b/a CARES, 7505 Rottingham Road, Port Richey FL 34668.

For information, call (727) 862-9291 or go to www.caresfl.org.

East Pasco YMCA

SERVES: Clients range in age from infants to senior citizens. There are programs for all age groups. The East Pasco YMCA provides financial assistance to families, children and adults so that they can become members and participate in programs at the YMCA. This past year, the East Pasco YMCA will have provided more than $200,000 in assistance to the communities of Zephyrhills, Dade City, Wesley Chapel, San Antonio, etc.

NEEDS: Monetary donations. All donations are tax deductible.

TO DONATE: Contact the YMCA at 37301 Chapel Hill Loop, Zephyrhills or call (813) 780-9622.

PACE Center for Girls Inc.

SERVES: PACE provides intensive educational services; individual, group, family and crisis counseling; a nationally-recognized life management curriculum; and three years of follow-up services to at-risk girls ages 12-18 in Pasco County. There is no charge to attend PACE.

NEEDS: Unrestricted donations, nonperishable food, feminine products and computer stations for a computer lab.

TO DONATE: Items may be dropped off at 5462 Grand Blvd., Suite 205, New Port Richey, or call (727) 849-1901 to make arrangements.

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