{"id":109917,"date":"2026-01-08T03:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/109917\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T03:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:29:10","slug":"community-leader-honored-for-her-courage-amid-health-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/109917\/","title":{"rendered":"Community leader honored for her courage amid health battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Community leader Tonya Lewis is a real-life energizer bunny.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

Children With a Vision<\/a>\u00a0founder Tonya Lewis is one of four being honored at the annual MLK Parade Gala in Tampa
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Lewis was diagnosed with cervical cancer for the second time in September. She documents her journey online to inspire others
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A Fish Fry and BBQ will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to raise money for Lewis’ medical and household expenses. The fundraiser will be at 4015 E. Hillsborough Ave.\u00a0
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To follow Lewis’ journey, click here<\/a><\/p>\n

“She does some of everything, she all over the place,” said community partner Derrick Engram.<\/p>\n

Lewis runs a nonprofit, Children with a Vision<\/a>. For more than 30 years, she has been dedicated to helping the community \u2014 whether it’s giving away food, back-packs or celebrating grandparents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“She has come through on so many levels, I can’t even explain to you,” said neighbor Sadie Ross.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Lewis, it’s a good day when she can help. But not all days have been so good.<\/p>\n

Back in September of last year, Lewis was diagnosed with cervical cancer for the second time. Her hospital bands sit on a pile on her computer desk.<\/p>\n

“I was angry, because it wasn’t supposed to come back,” Lewis said. “After going through all that chemo, radiation, it wasn’t supposed to come back.”<\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Tonya Lewis said the hospital bills have been overwhelming. Now, the community is rallying to support her. (Spectrum Bay News 9\/Dalia Dangerfield)<\/p>\n

Yet, even through the anger, Lewis wanted to share her story online to inspire others. It hasn’t been easy, mentally or financially.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lewis said the hospital bills have been overwhelming. Now, the community is rallying to support her. A fundraiser will be held Saturday, Jan. 10, to help offset some of the costs. A website has also been created for those who’d like to donate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And while her health battle is far from over, Lewis wants to keep it moving by doing what she does best \u2014 helping others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It takes my mind off of everything,” Lewis said.<\/p>\n

Her journey has inspired a community.<\/p>\n

“Courageous woman, I can say that much,” Engram said. “Courageous.”<\/p>\n

She is proving to the world, even when she is down, she is never out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you’d like to follow Lewis’ health journey, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Fish Fry & BBQ Dinner fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 4015 E. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Community leader Tonya Lewis is a real-life energizer bunny. What You Need To Know Children…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1011,274,4252,276,1190,115,135,137,136,278,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-109917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-app-human-interest","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-dalia-dangerfield","11":"tag-hillsborough-county","12":"tag-human-interest","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-tampa","15":"tag-tampa-headlines","16":"tag-tampa-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}