Registration open for Lots of Hugs summer camp
Plant City Black Heritage Celebration Inc.’s annual Lots of Hugs Summer Reading Camp will be back at Hope Lutheran Church, 2001 N. Park Road, for another nine-week session of education, character development and fun for local kids age 6-14.
This year’s camp runs from May 31 through July 30. From 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, campers will participate in the “Just Read” literacy program, complete writing exercises and water safety lessons, go on educational field trips and eat healthy meals for breakfast and lunch (with snacks included). And, of course, the campers will get plenty of chances to play.
Lots of Hugs started in 2010 at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church and moved to Hope Lutheran in 2018 due to a steady increase in enrollment. The purpose of the program is to fight the “summer slide” kids experience when school is out and kids are less engaged academically, which can put them at a disadvantage when they return to school in August.
The group announced registration for the summer camp is now open. The cost is $80 per child and there is an open house at the church at 10 a.m. May 22 that all parents or guardians of registered campers must attend. To register, download and complete the application form from celebration2.homestead.com and contact Sharon Moody at sharonmoody91@yahoo.com or call 813-453-7134. Cash, check and money order are accepted for payment.
Hiring employers for Future Career Academy job fair announced
Future Career Academy announced the list of local employers who will participate in today’s FCA Future Career Fair, which begins at 8:30 a.m. for high school seniors and 3:30 p.m. for all other adults.
“Hiring and recruiting at this year’s Future Fair will include entities such as BayCare Health System, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Stingray Chevrolet, Star Distribution Systems, Inc., The Beck Group, Keel Farms, Moffitt Cancer Center, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Hillsborough Title (Florida Agency Network), National Aviation Academy, Livy O’s Catering Co., Evergreen Packaging, Columbia Restaurant Group, Swim Digital Group, Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Inc., DuCon LLC, Coastal Mechanical Services, LLC, the City of Plant City, Patterson Companies, Inc., QGS Development and International Paper,” the FCA said in a press release.
Sponsors for the job fair include Associated Builders and Contractors Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, Sudler Real Estate, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP and the Plant City Economic Development Corporation.
The job fair is completely free and all job seekers can pre-register online at thefuturecareeracademy.com. Employers who are currently hiring and wish to participate can also sign up at the FCA website.
United Way Suncoast, CareerSource assists United Food Bank of Plant City
United Way Suncoast’s annual Week of Caring event benefits many residents of its five-county region, Plant Citians included.
Staff from UWS teamed up with employees from CareerSource Tampa Bay this week to lend a hand at the United Food Bank of Plant City, volunteering there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
“UWS collaborates with its strategic community partners to create a list of projects that could use some volunteer help,” Ernest Hooper, UWS Vice President of Communications, said. “It then matches those projects — more than 120 this year — with corporate partners and community volunteers to fulfill those needs.”
Hooper said Week of Caring evolved from the original Day of Caring event into its current state since 1992. The COVID-19 pandemic hit UWS quite hard, resulting in a near-50 percent decrease in volunteering and an approximate loss of $252,846 in “value to the community normally contributed by UWS volunteers” in 2020. Thus, UWS hopes to get those numbers back up as state residents increasingly get vaccinated.
“As we move towards a new normal, this will be one of the most important Week of Caring efforts in the history of the outreach,” Hooper said.
To learn more about UWS, visit unitedwaysuncoast.org.