Founded in 2019, Sing Out and READ (SOAR)’s mission is to empower at-risk, struggling readers, ages 6-12, to overcome illiteracy and become proficient readers through the power of singing. Their primary program, the Family Literacy Project, or FLiP, improves reading fluency rapidly through a cloud-based reading intervention delivered to children, “in-home” on a specially configured tablet. As a result, kids build confidence, feel successful, and see a brighter future. SOAR served 697 young readers in 2023 and projects helping approximately 750 Pinellas and Hillsborough County youth to make significant and sustainable gains in reading this year.

The James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center has served the community for 33 years. Their mission is to cultivate a community where children and families are valued, loved and destined to succeed. The James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center offers an exemplary after-school program that improves school success and provides engaging enrichment activities. To empower adults, they provide family support services, a free computer lab, Dress for Success and adult education programs.

Founded by the late Helen Gordon Davis, a champion for the rights of women, minorities, and the LGBTQ population long before it was commonplace, The Centre for Women is a nonprofit organization that started 47 years ago. For decades, the organization has actively engaged to empower, educate and elevate all women and girls. Their mission is to help women in the Tampa Bay region to succeed both personally and professionally. They offer diverse programs, such as the Tampa Bay Women’s Business Centre to help female entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, The Pat Collier Frank Leadership Institute to help women advance in their careers, Behavioral Wellness Counseling to enable people to overcome everyday challenges, Workforce Development including those for nontraditional roles, and Construction Services which serves low-income seniors and people with special needs. The Centre for Women serves more than 5,000 clients annually.

Where Love Grows believes that proper nourishment should never be denied to children, as nutrition strongly affects individual growth and development which ultimately impacts the entire community. Children facing hunger struggle in school and beyond. They are more likely to repeat a grade in elementary school and experience developmental issues with motor skills and language, along with potential behavioral problems. As they get older, increased crime has been linked to hunger too. Therefore, Where Love Grows has been hosting “Family Dinner Nights” since 2013 and launched a Summer Cooking Camp in 2014, inspired by the Chinese Proverb, “Feed a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Children are taught important culinary skills and self-sufficiency while using items they would easily find in their pantries.