The Ronald McDonald house is often described as a home away from home. Houses all over the world provide a ‘home’ with a warm meal and a place to sleep for families whose child is receiving critical medical care at a nearby hospital. St. Petersburg is home to three Ronald McDonald houses for children receiving care at All Children’s Hospital. Over 44,000 families have been helped at these RMH houses. Annually 2,000 families step through one of the three doors. This organization has been in the St. Petersburg area for over 33 years; however, there is something unique about the Central Ronald McDonald House.… Read More

What is essential for life is not what is seen, but what is felt. It’s the feeling of companionship, of community, and love. It’s the comfort that makes you feel at home, which in return, creates a passion that pushes your desire to be involved with your surroundings. You invest yourself into where you live because, when you love your home, a piece of you is sewn into the community. More and more people are discovering our hidden gem and falling in love. Can it be the preserved parks, up-and-coming downtown, or the beaches? It can’t be just that. There is something St.… Read More

This Christmas story happens to be true. It begins on a late December day in upstate New York in 1971. Although it was almost forty-two years ago, the images are as fresh in my mind as if they happened just yesterday.

I was a young man then, two years out of college with a wife and two sons, Johnny, almost two, and Justin, barely a month old. My life was full of endless possibilities and uncertainties. However, I was still at that age, twenty-two, where I considered myself immortal. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune –failure and tragedy – could not touch me or my family.… Read More

Imagine visiting a foreign country, not knowing a word of its language. Imagine meeting the people – ignorant of their customs and culture – and a feeling of incongruity sets in. Drive their cars on the other side of the road using the other hand to shift gears, and you are likely to be regarded as an unskilled driver. Gazes linger on you just a little longer than what is comfortable. You want to communicate, but you simply speak another language. You do things your way. Among us is a community of children and adults who communicate differently from many, but are blessed with their own talents and skills, dreams, ambitions, and potential.… Read More

Florida ranks above the national average of the percent of children between the ages of 10-17 who are overweight or obese. Nationally, one out of three children or adolescence are overweight or obese, with numbers continuing to grow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that childhood obesity has more than doubled in children, and tripled among adults in the past 30 years. This epidemic has made obesity the number one public health issue in America, ranking over drugs and alcohol. To fight this battle, a local family may start from a root… a plant root that is. One local garden uses the love of a family to grow more than just food.… Read More

There is much to love about our beautiful city: Stretches of waterfront green space. Renowned museums and local farmers’ market. Historic hotels, beaches and baseball. A downtown that seems to grow more vibrant each day.

But this idyllic sketch of the Sunshine City may be masking the complete picture. Too often overlooked are the deeply rooted issues of social justice on the Southside of St. Petersburg.

Perhaps the most striking evidence of injustice lingers in the hallways of our public schools, where 70% of African American males are expected to drop out before graduating high school. This harrowing statistic puts Pinellas County on the national map, neck-and-neck with cities like Chicago and Milwaukee.… Read More