Bloomingdale/FishHawk
11 C E L E B R A T I N G
April 2020 Volume 19 Issue 4 Ph: 657-2418 1 8
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Osprey Observer Continues Publishing To Keep Public Informed During COVID-19 Alert
By Marie Gilmore, Managing Editor new Superintendent Addison Davis released the following, “The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Because of this, we are taking steps to make sure everyone is following the requirements of the Florida Department of Health.” For the latest update, visit Hillsborough Schools.org/coronavirus. Starting on March 17, the county administrator Mike Merrill made a special order for all restaurants, bars, clubs and other businesses serving food and drink that they must close by 10 p.m. and limit load capacity to 50 percent. Shortly thereafter, the county released a second order limiting all public and private gatherings, including churches, to 50 people. Experts say social distancing is the most effective way to slow the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) and to ensure public health facilities are not overwhelmed. The practice means refraining from large gatherings and keeping a 6-foot distance from other people when possible. Hillsborough County’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Business: https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en /residents/public-safety/emergency-management/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-business. Current numbers for the state of Florida of COVID-19 cases: http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseasesand-conditions/COVID-19/index.html. As of this printing, all local schools, libraries and many public facilities will be closed until further notice.
C O M M U N I T Y
N E W S
Seeds Of Hope Offers Drive-Through Food Bank Distribution To Meet Need
By Linda Chion Kenney
Driven to I’ve learned from “nourish hope Hurricane Irma, among people in there’s an energy to need through the this that’s unique. actions and help Tomorrow will be provided by our taken care of. I don’t local students,” worry about that. Seeds of Hope Our job is to do what has adopted we can today to get drive-through to tomorrow.” services to ensure Toward that end, folks who need volunteer students Seeds of Hope Founder Leda Eaton food can get it (center) with food bank volunteers (from have been involved while volunteers in a myriad of recent the left) Gabriel Rodriguez, Luke LaFrance, Sebastian Rodriguez and keep their social activities, including Dylan Higham. distance. unloading and sortDrive-through distribution has ing food from Feeding Tampa Bay been instituted at the food bank and a food distribution drive-through every Thursday, 5 to 7 p.m., at 710 at Pinecrest Elementary School. East Bloomingdale Ave. in Brandon, Seeds of Hope is a registered in the parking lot of the Presbyterian 501(c)(3), charitable, all-volunteer Church of Bloomingdale. Meanwhile, organization which also provides a drive-through collection drives took mobile pantry “that silently takes care place at Bevis Elementary School of local needs” and a backpack prothroughout March. gram for students to ensure food Additional drives and distributions security for students and their famiare updated as needed on the Seeds lies. The food bank does not require of Hope Facebook page. people in need to show identification “I think it’s nice; everybody sits in or verification. their car, drives by and volunteers For more information and to put the food in your trunk,” said Ellis donate, visit www.sohopefl.org. ‘Lois’ Donaldson, a Seeds of Hope beneficiary. “It’s efficient and it works really well,” added Sebastian Rodriguez, a Newsome High freshman. “For me personally, and most of the kids here, we take this seriously because people come here every week for food, Thank you for your patience and if we’re not here they can’t feed and understanding. Some of our themselves or their families.” stories and advertisements were After cutting its teeth on approved well before printing of this Hurricane Irma, the all-volunteer edition so please note times, locaSeeds of Hope charity, established tions, dates and details may have 10 years ago in Lithia, is faced again adjusted, changed or rescheduled with another major crisis, with since publication. We appreciate Founder Leda Eaton at the helm your support and readership of working tirelessly alongside volunYour Community Newspaper. teers to meet the needs of neighbors. Marie Gilmore “People look to us as a leading organization that can take care of www.ospreyobserver.com this situation,” Eaton said. “One thing
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As your community newspaper, the Osprey Observer will stay open for regular business hours and will continue publishing our newspapers during the next eight weeks. We are monitoring every press release and every advisory from Hillsborough County, the state of Florida and the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and it is our top priority to keep our readers, our advertisers and our families safe and healthy during the next two months. With that in mind, we are here to help local businesses craft their brand messaging, their social media and how to reflect their best practices to give the community confidence in their services. Please call us at 657-2418 if you need guidance on any services, openings or assistance needed and our team will do everything we can to help. We are also collecting a list of organizations that need our help in this time, including Seeds of Hope, ECHO of Brandon (Emergency Care Help Organization), Meals On Wheels of Tampa and so many more. Please let us know of any community resources that could be of assistance to our readers, and thank you for reading! While reading the upcoming editions, please know that some events may have announced a delay, a postponement or a rescheduled event after the paper has gone to press, so please contact the organization directly for the latest information. For Hillsborough County schools,
P O S I T I V E
See Ad on Page 40
Offer Available April 1 - May 19 The School District of Hillsborough County is offering free meals to students at schools throughout our area. Last month, during spring break, trucks delivered food to Student Nutrition managers at Durant High School in preparation for the distribution which will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 23 locations on weekdays. Visit www.sdhc.k12.fl.us to learn more.
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