CareFest, a well-known service project in the Tampa Bay area, has been helping those in need in Plant City for several years. But a new partnership with the Improvement League of Plant City will soon bring more service to the area.
The two groups have joined forces to create the Martin Luther King Day of Service, which will be held Monday, Jan. 18. The day will be a one-time extension of CareFest’s services, which are typically held in September. For one day, CareFest unites churches, nonprofits and individual volunteers to complete housing and maintenance projects from referrals from the city’s Code Enforcement department or other entities.
“We wanted to keep the fires burning, so to speak,” Improvement League volunteer C.L. Townsend said.
PLANNING PROCESS
The seeds for this team-up were actually sown in September 2015, when the Improvement League was first approached by CareFest representatives. The two groups, which have overlapping members in the Plant City Democrats Club, painted a home on Laura Street.
“It turned out to be a real good thing,” Townsend said. “I think all the members enjoyed it.”
The partnership resurfaced later, as the Improvement League was in the middle of planning the city’s annual MLK Festival. There were several projects that were not adopted during the CareFest in September — which isn’t unusual — and the groups sought to find a way to knock some of those projects out without having to wait a full year.
That’s when the idea for the MLK Day of Service was born.
HELPING HANDS
The partnership and event were formally announced in December.
“As this is the 30th year Plant City has celebrated the MLK Festival, it’s fitting that we find new ways to engage the community in the festival,” Bill Thomas, president of the Improvement League, said in a press release. “Since Dr. King’s message and mission was directed at the entire community’s betterment, it is all the more fitting that partnerships be developed with other organizations and sectors of (the) community.”
The day will officially begin at 7 a.m., with a kickoff event to be held at the Bing House. Work begins at 8 a.m. and ends at noon.
Projects will be selected from the CareFest website, though the ones selected will most likely be suited to the basic skills of the volunteers.
“Some of those projects had a pretty high demand for resources and skills, many far beyond what your average volunteer team might be up to,” Townsend said. “Electrical work, carpentry, repairing roofs.”
At press time, the Plant City section of CareFest’s website had ten projects available for adoption.
Anyone is welcome to show up on the day of the event and help out, but they will be required to fill out paperwork. The Improvement League is hoping that people will register to volunteer beforehand, so that it may get an idea of how much food to provide for breakfast and lunch.
For more information about the MLK Day of Service, contact Townsend at (813) 638-2260.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.