By LOIS KINDLE
The Hillsborough County Department of Community Impact and Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation Department recently collaborated with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay, Enterprising Latinas, Allegheny Franciscan Ministries and Discover Wimauma Inc. to present the Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair.
TIKILA BROWN PHOTO
Wimauma resident Kayla Holder, of Saving Our Legacy Land, left, and Brandon resident Tonya Burney, of Mindset Moves Mountains, greet visitors at the Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair, handing out information on financial literacy and personal growth and development.
ENTERPRISING LATINAS PHOTO
A volunteer with the Bethune Park Boys & Girls Club supervises children working on a craft activity at the Nov. 15 Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair.
COURTESY PHOTO
The Sligh Middle Magnet School Steppers perform Nov. 15 at the Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair at Bethune Park.
More than 700 people turned out Nov. 15 for the free, family friendly event at Bethune Park Boys & Girls Club, 5809 Edina Street, Wimauma. Admission was free.
“Events like this bring the community together, create opportunities for relationship building and promote unity,” said Liz Gutierrez, CEO of the Enterprising Latinas.
The three-hour festival featured representatives of 49 service and health care organizations—including the Sun City Center Shriners, Moffitt Cancer Center, Florida Home Partnership, Suncoast Community Health Centers, RCMA, Beth-El Farmworkers Ministry and both the South Shore Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club of SouthShore—who connected with visitors and shared information about their services and work in the community.
MICHAEL ORTIZ PHOTO
HCSO Community Service Aide Sonibel Girard, Detention Deputy Christina Valentin and Master Deputy Robert Acosta staff the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office booth at the recent Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair.
ENTERPRISING LATINAS PHOTO
Lisselott Ramirez, left, Nathalie Warren, Georgina Romero and Yarimar Birriel, of the Enterprising Latinas, are all smiles as they await visitors at the Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair.
The majority of vendors had never been to Wimauma before. In addition to giving residents a unique opportunity to meet them and learn about the important resources they offer, the event featured live music, activities and entertainment, and celebrated Wimauma’s rich history. It was also “intended to be a connector for bridging the significant gap between Wimauma locals and new residents of communities built in Wimauma within the past five years,” said Jackie Brown, founder of the new nonprofit startup Discover Wimauma and member of the Wimauma CDC.
“It was a huge success,” she continued. “That same day, Hillsborough County, the Sheriff’s Office and many others expressed interest in our doing this again soon. We’ll definitely be planning another one for next year.”
ENTERPRISING LATINAS PHOTO
Retha Brown, 90, a civil rights leader who advocated for racial equality during the 1960s, stops by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office booth at the Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair, Nov. 15, at the Bethune Park Boys & Girls Club.
Jeannette Palencia, senior community outreach coordinator for Moffitt Cancer Center, said she’ll be back.
“It was a great event,” she said. “I was there to give out information on a program we have with the state of Florida, giving any woman over age 40 living in Hillsborough County the opportunity to qualify for a free mammogram at no charge. I also shared information on our new Moffitt Cancer Center SouthShore in Ruskin.”
For more information about joining the next Wimauma Heart of Hillsborough Community Festival & Resource Fair, contact Brown at discoverwimauma@gmail.com or call 813-541-1202.