Script:
METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES IS IN NEED OF HELP TO CONTINUE HELPING OTHERS. OVER ONE HUNDRED VOLUNTEER SHIFTS HAVE GONE UNFILLED IN THE PAST DAY, BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. THEY ARE ASKING FOR VOLUNTEERS ALL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 178 OPEN VOLUNTEER SHIFTS THAT NEED FILLED. ALL FOLLOW C-D-C GUIDELINES. TO VOLUNTEER VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.METROMIN.ORG/VOLUNTEER.
Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2020
For the first time ever, Metropolitan Ministries sees a 60% drop in volunteers
Volunteers urgently needed as COVID-19 response continues
TAMPA, Fla.— One hundred and twenty-five volunteer shifts will go unfilled tomorrow. Metropolitan Ministries is calling for volunteers to help keep serving families in crisis across West Central Florida.
Nearly 40,000 emergency nonperishable food boxes have gone out to Tampa Bay families in need since the pandemic started. That’s an average of 1,500 boxes per week.
Additionally, Metropolitan Ministries continues to cook 3,000 hot grab-and-go meals daily and distributes them throughout Tampa Bay through 30 partner organizations. Ministries' staff are filling the volunteer gap in addition to their normal duties.
The need continues to grow. Volunteers are urgently needed in Metropolitan Ministries’ off-site warehouse to build food boxes next week with additional needs on the Tampa and Holiday campuses as well as for the upcoming holiday season. There are currently 178 open volunteer shifts designed in accordance with the CDC’s guidelines. Temperature checks and face masks are required.
Volunteer drivers are also needed to make deliveries to homebound residents and seniors. More than 1,500 home deliveries have been made since the emergency response began.
“The scope of need is unprecedented," said Tim Marks, Metropolitan Ministries' president and CEO. “We’ve been so fortunate to have the communities’ support, and I have faith that we’ll rally together once again to meet this challenge.”
Register to volunteer online at: www.metromin.org/volunteer
MEDIA CONTACT
Billy Somerville
Director of Brand Communications, Metropolitan Ministries
Mobile: (813) 361-2112