I received a city generated text invitation to attend a disaster preparedness event. Didn't have to…read moretell me twice, as I was really curious as to what it would involve and my personal benefit and takeaways. WOW, I was not prepared for how big this would be. In short, please attend if you can. I imagine they have this every June before our hurricane season begins. Feeding Tampa Bay hosted an amazing event, with well over 4 dozen vendors and fire trucks / vehicles etc parked outside. I'm so glad I went and am thankful to FTB for bringing amazing value to my time there. Plenty of resources I had no idea were available. Top service also as my friend was ill, and despite no water stands or machines to purchase (they need to fix that next year!), they kindly got a water bottle for her to feel better. Great service!

My family has had the pleasure of volunteering with Feeding Tampa Bay, and I'm truly inspired by…read morethe incredible work they do. From the moment we arrived, there was an immediate sense of community and purpose. The team at Feeding Tampa Bay are welcoming, dedicated and encouraging. They have created an efficient and respectful environment that allows families, colleagues and friends to work together for a great cause. I love that my young children are allowed to help out and feel valued. The new facility is HUGE with plenty of parking. There's also an area for volunteers to enjoy a beverage or snack. I encourage anyone looking to make a difference in Tampa Bay to get involved.

I am sure for what I hear this ministry is doing great work, however when it comes to their…read moreadvertising pick up of goods three years in a row they never showed up. Not just for my house but for our whole entire block and community. I just got another piece of bright mail to put out goods for May18th, but I will donate it to another local ministry nearby. I will still support you this ministry but will not count on them for our block pick up.

I have been volunteering for 8 years with our company as part of giving back I can say every time…read moreI come to Metropolitan ministry we are always greeted with a smile. Everyone is always helpful and we have fun with everyone keep doing what doing and we will keep volunteering thank you again

Came here for a work event and CUP was connected to the building we were in so I decided to come in…read moreand grab a drink. I opted for a lavender matcha which was absolutely delicious! This was the recommendation of the staff making drinks. They have all sorts of cute drink stuff also, like cups and tumblers. Staff was so nice and helpful.

Great coffee amazing employees, they are so kind people i really love and respect them and…read morerecommend them they have great tea also.

Love this idea and concept. great place to finish DIY…read moreprojects with someone there for some advice.

This is a great place to go to learn how to be a maker or get a chance to hang out with other…read moremakers. If you want to check them out they have an "Open Make" on tuesdays that lets you try it out before becoming a member. A must visit always something interesting going on.

I have never been so disheartened in my life at the humanity of this organization. Went to pantry…read moretoday and waiting in line for 2 hrs only to be told they couldn't service me because of zip code location. I am currently homeless staying in a hotel when able to afford and was refused service. If this is a need based facility I'm not sure how this is ever an option turning away someone in need asking for help. Response I was given is "we can't feed all of Tampa Bay" absolutely crushed a facility could do this in my most time of need

This food pantry is associated with a church in Carrollwood and has distribution hours, two days a…read moreweek, Wednesday and Saturday. They are open Monday through Friday for volunteers to come and help with packing and distribution of food items that are donated from local grocery stores. My son started to volunteer here when he was a freshman in high school, which was more than six years ago, and now I volunteer a few days a week to help with packing the fresh food items. High school students can volunteer here on a regular basis for their community service hours that goes toward scholarships in the state of Florida. Monica Wilson, and Franny Tough as well as Carol. Are the stable employees. They keep everyone going.

I've been shopping at the thrift store and made donations multiple times. The cool thing about this…read morestore is that when you donate items, they're offered first to those who are being assisted by MM free of charge, then they're sold at the thrift store to help cover the cost of operating the various shelters and ministries. It's easy to find, on Florida Ave. about halfway between downtown and Seminole Heights. The thrift store is across the street from the large housing building. All staff have been helpful and treated the donations respectfully...didn't throw stuff around.

A diamond in the rough for sure. Small and quaint, but if you're patient, you can find some pretty…read morecool stuff. In the middle of a thrift store and boutique.

There comes a time in everyone's life when you will have the opportunity to reach out and make a…read moredifference in someone else's life, and unless you are a cold-hearted slug you'll make the effort to step up and do your part to make our community a better place to live. Visiting the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Tampa was one of those wake-up opportunities for me, and I found the experience to be very powerful and heart-warming. One of the ladies from my church coordinated for a group of us to visit the RMH on Davis Island, right behind Tampa General Hospital, and prepare a meal for the families. I very gladly accepted the opportunity to help. When we first got there, one of the volunteers gave us an overview of the mission of RMH. We learned that The Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-from-home for families of pediatric patients in area hospitals. Donations to the RMH help families stay close to their sick kids. It costs $80 per night to house one family and donations pay for these stays. RMH asks families to donate towards their stay, but most cannot afford it with time away from their jobs and extra medical bills. That's where donations and community volunteers can help. Many families travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children. The treatment may last a day, a month, or even longer. It's a long time to be away from home, or to divide a family. In 2013 the Tampa Bay area RMH's cared for 1,683 families who came from Florida, 35 states and 11 countries to stay an average of 8 days while their child received treatment in one of the Bay area hospitals. There are four Ronald McDonald Houses in our region, the one on Davis Island behind Tampa General Hospital, and three in St. Petersburg near All Children's Hospital. During our tour we saw that the rooms at RMH are set up for families, and they have a private multi-use bedroom and bathroom, and then share common areas for eating and recreation. There are specialty rooms for teens, young kids, and even a nursery area. There's a communal living area for the parents and a big outdoor play area for the kids. They have computer rooms as well as fully-equipped laundry rooms. Our tour was led by a volunteer who told us that she donates half-a-day of her time a few days each month to answer phones, greet visitors, lead tours, etc. Volunteers are the backbone of the organization, and RMH depends upon people to assist in a variety of roles. Housewarmer volunteers assist the families and make them feel welcome, help keep the kitchen and dining areas clean and keep a watchful eye on activities around the house. Other duties include light housekeeping, such as straightening the common rooms and tidying the kitchen, assist groups preparing and serving meals and provide a listening ear for the parents who have a need for someone to share the burden of their child's hospitalization. They also have need for Meal Program volunteers, and that's where our church group stepped up. Families need and look forward to a well-balanced meal after a long day at the hospital. The folks at RMH need the community's help by either cooking a meal at RMH or bringing in prepared food from a restaurant or packaged food from a grocery store. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be accepted. Homemade casseroles must be prepared at the Ronald McDonald House. In most cases you only need a group of 6 - 10 people in the kitchen to prepare a meal for 20 - 30 hungry folks. (I'm wondering if our local Yelp community might have an interest in doing something like this next year?) Obviously RMH is also looking for big corporate sponsors to help underwrite some of the heavy-lifting costs of running this facility, so if you have expertise in fund raising I'm sure they would appreciate your help. One other way to help is to organize special fund-raising events for the RMH. Individuals or groups are needed to assist in planning and working special events. If an organization enjoys working together on events or if we would like to organize an event to benefit the RMH families, then they'd like to hear from you. (This might work for companies based in the area, or for groups like Yelpers?) I will tell you that preparing and serving the meal was a lot of fun, but the memory that will stick with me was sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree and playing games and laughing with some of the kids. Very powerful moment for me, and I'd like to find a way to continue to help the people at the Ronald McDonald House. This was a very amazing experience, and something that I recommend for anyone who would like to give back some of your time, effort, and money to help improve our community. I think that there's an opportunity for our local Yelpers and Yelpettes to get involved. Please contact me if you're interested.

Ronald McDonald house is one of third organizations that you hope you never have to use, but if you…read moredo, you're in great hands. The purpose of the house is to provide families, whose children are in the hospital, a place where they can stay-all free of charge. The house runs on donations from the community. One way you can help is to cook a meal for the families who are staying there. The company I work for is big on giving back to the community, which is one of the reasons why I love working for novo nordisk. Tonight was our night to serve this wonderful organization. Becky, one of the volunteers, took us on a tour of the home. Each family gets their own room and bathroom, allowing them to be minutes away from their sick child. Being at the house and seeing their ongoing needs was wonderful and opened my eyes to another unmet need in our community. This is definitely an organization worthy of our support.

I and 20 others from where we work volunteered to help this amazing farm produce food for people…read morewho need it most. We spent quite a few hours weeding, planting and moving compost around. It was a hot Florida summer day but we persevered. I love that we volunteer one workday a year to do something to help our community. This farm has an amazing setup with fish and tanks of bacteria that turn the waste in to fertilizer and then grow green plants for the fish to eat. It was a beautiful day on the farm and life is good!

I'm a huge animal rescue supporter and I donate to several groups that I trust. There is no rescue…read morebetter than Pawlicious Poochie Pet Rescue. She is totally transparent on where the money goes, and takes us on her journey from rescue to vetting, to a forever home. Jaime doesn't take the easy rescues. She takes the older, special needs, and dogs that have been neglected for years. Once vetted, and at her home, they blossom. She posts videos for all to see their progress. One thing I especially love is that she insists that any adopted rescue that doesn't work out, she wants back, no questions asked. Lastly, she is a one woman show. No corporate sponsors, no grant money, only the donations from her loyal followers from all over the country. Pawlicious Poochie Pet Rescue is the real deal.

We used Jamie's Real Estate services, she was also so committed and patient with us. Our dog loves…read morehis new house!

They are the best caring and kind volunteers giving us some love . They offer two meals , juice ,…read morecoffe,cakes ,bread . You can shower receive letters and much more I give them a 5 start but they deserve 10 .

5 Stars for their goal - to feed the hungry Monday through Saturday. Motto is to "Serve our…read moreneighbors in need with dignity and respect". To feed those that are homeless, in financial difficulty or otherwise in need of a hot meal. No cooking is done on site, it is brought in each day at lunch. Guests are called Sir or Madame and are served plates of food of their choosing, not a buffet line. Their food donors include Panera Bread, Pane Rustica, Starbucks, & Krispy Kreme. The building is new and clean. All managed and maintained by volunteers from seven nearby churches.