Helping Out for a Better Tampa Bay

At Patch, we believe that you can’t truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with “Give 5,” through which we donate free advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers.

Yesterday, Patch Editors from many of our 23 sites partnered with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful to help give some TLC to an area of Tampa Bay that needed it. We biged up dozens of bags of trash along Hillsborough Avenue and George Road. This week, Patch employees from more than 900 sites from New York to California will take part in a Give 5 event.

There are also many charities here in Tampa Bay that need more help. We've compiled a list of 5 charities for you to consider giving to, whether with your time or your wallet. If you work with a charity we didn't list, please use the comments section to tell us about your organization and how folks can get involved. Or better yet, post an article about it.

Yesterday, Patch partnered with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful. If you'd like to work with them, there are many ways to get involved. From volunteering to becoming a sponsor of an event, they have endless possibilities like community cleanups, road adoptions and community service hours for high school and college kids. 

If you realize you have some time to give, and want to be able to volunteer at just about any time, check out Habitat for Humanity. In Pinellas County, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas has volunteer openings. And with all of the work they do, you can find a place to pitch in just about every day.

Equestrian Inc. in the Carrollwood area takes care of horses. Equestrian Inc. was founded about 30 years ago and has been serving as a nonprofit horse rescue for the last few years. The organization survives off donations and does everything it can to rehabilitate horses get them adopted to families that will provide good homes and love. You can sign up now for their next orientation for volunteers.