St. Petersburg, Fla. (September 28, 2017) – Hundreds of volunteers will participate in various projects, yard work, painting, minor home repairs, neighborhood cleanups and more throughout St. Petersburg neighborhoods on Saturday, September 30, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
CareFest St. Pete 2017 starts and ends at Lake Vista Park, 1401 62nd Ave. S., with group captain check-in and light morning refreshments at 7:30 a.m., followed by projects conducted from 8 a.m. to Noon. Once finished at project sites, participants are invited back to Lake Vista Park for volunteer recognition, lunch and entertainment between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The event wraps up with CareFest organizers presenting certificates to all volunteer groups, starting at noon.
Presented by Somebody Cares Tampa Bay under the umbrella of CareFest USA, the annual week of compassion-related activities culminates with a day of service that gives back to the community – benefitting individual homeowners, neighborhoods, parks, and non-profit organizations.
The city’s Community Services Department spearheads the day of service activities in St. Petersburg, where 73 groups and more than 1,000 volunteers are pre-registered and ready to take on 72 projects. For a list of projects, visit http://www.carefestusa.com/projects/pinellas-county/st.-petersburg/ or http://www.stpete.org/ican/ and click on “St. Petersburg CareFest.”
In addition to registration at 7:30 a.m. and the wrap-up celebration/lunch at 12 Noon at Lake Vista Park, a few PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES between 8 and 11 a.m. include:
- Palmetto Park Community Garden: 2519 Third Avenue South – cleanup and preparation for fall planting by Palmetto Park Neighborhood and MWUGL of Florida Masonic District #26.
- Blackthorn Memorial cleanup: I-275 and Skyway Bridge (first Rest Area) – shoreline cleanup with Keep Pinellas Beautiful, City on a Hill Church and a Boy Scout troop.
- 3054 14th Avenue South: Painting of a single family home by Duke Energy and City’s N-Team.
- Deuces Live Main Street: 833 22nd Street South – cleanup of vacant lots along 22nd Street South corridor by Free Methodist Church and Deuces Live.
- International Day of Play at Kiwanis Park: 1801 38th Avenue North (Kiwanis Park) International Day of Play by Florida Kiwanis District 13 and Harris Park Neighborhood.
In addition to the city of St. Petersburg and Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, CareFest partners include Keep Pinellas Beautiful Inc., Friends of Crescent Lake, CASA, Daystar Life Center, Pinellas Hope, and Florida Dream Center.
St. Petersburg CareFest 2017 is possible through generous sponsors including: Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, Duke Energy, Walmart, Chik-fil-A Fourth Street, The Fresh Market, Papa John’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Salvation Army, Trader Joe’s, GFS St. Pete, Westshore Pizza, Firehouse Subs, Earl of Sandwich, BB&T Bank, Domino’s, Fray’s Donut House, St. Pete Bagel, Lantmannen Unibake, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
This year’s CareFest theme is “Be Caretagious” throughout the year. The one-day citywide work effort involves some advance prep work at various project sites and homes and CareFest St. Pete involves several auxiliary projects over several weeks in September and October.
Starting with a cleanup/mulching of Booker Lake Park by North Kenwood Neighborhood and Radius Church on September 23rd, CareFest continues the tradition of projects on other days in addition to the annual event; Holy Family Catholic School conducted a Week of Caring to collect donations to assist with the recovery in Puerto Rico. Additional, upcoming CareFest St. Pete activities include the 49th Street Cleanup with the City of Gulfport, Mirror Lake Park Cleanup and painting of several houses on October 7 by various neighborhood, faith, and community groups.
For nine years running, St. Petersburg has captured the ‘City of Compassion’ Care Cup trophy for having the most volunteers among participating bay area communities. Organizers believe CareFest St. Pete succeeds because of the collaborative effort that brings together ourneighborhood and community-based groups, houses of worship, corporate teams, school clubs, businesses and individuals.
Visit www.Carefestusa.com for more details about ongoing programs.