Community organizations throughout Tampa help kids prepare for the school year

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Many children in the Tampa area are getting ready to head back to the classroom this week.

But many families have been preparing for the first day of school all summer and cost of back-to-school shopping can bear a heavy burden on families.

Community organizations and partners around the Bay Area are working to ensure every child has everything they need to start the school year on a positive foot.

On Tuesday, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority and the NFL Alumni Association's Tampa Bay chapter held a back-to-school event at Jordan Park.

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"There's a transformation that has occurred here in Jordan Park, and it's a new day," Michael Lundy, the President and CEO of the St. Petersburg Housing Association, said.

Lundy says they've poured so much time and money into renovating and improving the Jordan Park neighborhood for hundreds of families and children.

He says this event is helping continue to transform the community through education and engagement.

"Without us working together as a community," Lundy said. "Many kids would go to school when it opens without the supplies that they need."

Community partners handed out around 200 backpacks and school supplies to families on Tuesday. There were also other community engagement activities and resources for families.

"It's important to have a good start when you go back to school and to have the supplies and the community coming out to help," Lundy said. "Our kids don't get a whole lot better than that. The kids are our future."

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On Friday, REVIVE Church of Tampa held a back-to-school event in West Tampa aimed at investing in that community.

"It's nice. I mean, the community really like a pull to pull a string for this because they cost a lot of money to do this in general," Xander Lamars, who attended the event, said. "And it's just a really nice community out here."

The event was held at Fremont Linear Park. Event organizers said they were proud to see how far the park has come. 

"But to see the changes and the changes that that's happening in the neighborhood, it just warms my heart," Ray Gathers, the Campus Pastor at REVIVE Church of Tampa, said. "Like I lived through the bad part. So this is the good part."

The events are part of a bigger picture in efforts to pour into communities and create a stronger future for hundreds of children.

"When you're hungry, when you don't have the proper supplies when you're not adequately fed, those are the things that hinder your growth," Walter Carter, the President of the NFL Alumni Association's Tampa Bay chapter, said. "So we want to be one little small piece of that. It's growth."