For the third year, the Pasco Juniors have collected items for and assembled Blessing Bags for our homeless and at risk population in Pasco County. Metropolitan Ministries mission is to "care for the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless in our community through services that alleviate suffering, promote dignity and instill self-sufficiency… as an expression of the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ". Their goal is to be America’s most effective caregiver to poor and homeless people.
To service the Pasco County area specifically, they have 2 outreach centers along with their mobile unit, the Metro BrigAIDe. This mobile unit carries resources to help alleviate homelessness throughout the Greater Tampa Bay Area, including Pasco County.
This year the Pasco Juniors were able to collect 100 bags worth of essentials for the Metro BrigAIDe to have on hand for those in need. Each drawstring backpack included a a baseball hat, reusable water bottle, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, comb, tissues, Q-tips, deodorant, lip balm, hand sanitizer, washcloth, razor, bar of soap, alcohol wipes, Advil, Neosporin, bandages, sunscreen packet, poncho, sewing kit, hand lotion, crackers and granola bar.
A huge thank you to Lucas, Macyszyn & Dyer, Injury Law Office for donating our physical bags to fill, The Cleaning Pros for donating shaving razors, Florida Department of Health for our reusable water bottles, the Hampton Inn in Odessa for donating soap and the Tampa Bay Woman's Club for donating the baseball caps for each of our bags.