TAMPA, Fla. — The holidays came a little early for hundreds of families. Tampa Family Health Centers hosted its third annual holiday drive for its patients.
What You Need To Know
300 families were given some holiday help at Tampa Family Health Center’s Holiday Drive
An additional 1,100 families will also be served
The need for help significantly grew this year
“Not only toys, they got clothing and everything else and all kind of accessories,” said attendee Justina McKinley.
McKinley and her family picked up food, shoes, clothes and other essentials. McKinley said she is grateful for the help.
“A lot of people are going through a financial hardship right now. So, this is helping the community,” she said.
All the donations were collected across the community for months, and volunteers got there early on Saturday to make sure it got to those in need.
“I’ve been blessed with my family, and I feel like giving back is the only way to really show gratitude,” said volunteer Andrea Wolfe.
Tampa Family Health Center president and CEO Sherry Hoback said the need has grown every year. Last year, 150 families were served, and this year, more than 1,400 families are getting help.
“It was really easy for us to identify that this year it was going to be a year of great need and that life is happening,” said Hoback. “We’ve got inflation, we’ve got tightening of housing and so our families are struggling not just from a health care perspective.”
This was the McKinley’s first time at the event, but they left with very full hands.
“This event is needed. I want to thank Tampa Family Health Center for doing this,” McKinley said.
300 families picked up their donations on Saturday.
An additional 1,100 families will be served in the next two weeks.