Many across Tampa Bay are still without food and water after Hurricane Milton.

To help bring those necessities to residents, Hope Florida has made a trip to St. Petersburg- stopping at three sites in the Tampa Bay area.

Droves of vehicles lined up at a parking lot off 18th Avenue South in St. Petersburg— twisting and turning their way around for a special distribution.

“We are here today to help replenish the food that they lost as a result of the hurricane,” said Karen Rae, executive director of Positive Impact Ministries.

It’s all coordinated by Hope Florida— an initiative founded by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis to help after these disaster situations. Made possible with some help from local organizations.

“They are very grateful; they are very patient,” said Beth Houghton, CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. “It is a bit of a long wait, but they’re very grateful that the local partners, as well as the state of Florida, have come together to get them what they needed quickly.”

It has even brought out volunteers who, on a weekly distribution day, would be lining up themselves. Volunteers like Tej Clarke.

“My brother and I, today, we went to work and when we were going home, we saw the line and we know this part because they do this every Saturday,” said Tej Clarke, a St. Petersburg resident. “So, I told my brother let’s stop, I want to talk with somebody and see what’s going on so I can help.”

And despite the recent hurricane, community is still showing up.

“It’s been hard on all of us,” says Rae. “It’s very emotional, it’s very personal- it’s just a real blessing to be able to serve the community and out here meeting the dire need for food but, not only the dire need for food but, for other products as well.”

Community coming together for one another.

“It feels good to help!” said Clarke. “You know? It feels good to see smiles on people’s faces and the children in the car when you take a pastry to them- it feels so good!” 

With a car full of food and a smile goodbye, it makes it all worthwhile. And depending on how much food and supplies are left over, there may be another distribution tomorrow.

Read the article as originally published at https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2024/10/13/hope-bus-makes-pitstop-in-st–petersburg-offering-food-and-water-to-residents-impacted-by-hurricane-milton

Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Pinellas County

Laura Peele, CGCIO, Named JWB’s First Chief Information Officer. As CIO, Peele provides leadership, supervision, and oversight of IT strategies, policies, and personnel to ensure IT investments and operations align with and successfully support JWB’s mission as well as strategic and tactical plans. JWBpinellas.org/laura-peele-named-jwbs-first-chief-information-officer/

Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Pinellas County

Robbi Stivers has joined the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) as CFO. He is responsible for development and use of sound fiscal and contracting policies and practices to support JWB’s mission and activities while furthering its strategic plan. www.jwbpinellas.org/juvenile-welfare-board-welcomes-robbi-stivers-as-new-chief-financial-officer

Laura Peele, director of information technology at the Juvenile Welfare Board, has been promoted to the JWB’s newly-created position of Chief Information Officer.

The promotion makes Peele the newest member of the JWB Executive Team.

“Laura Peele has long been an important and effective member of the JWB Team,” Beth Houghton, board CEO, said in a press release. “This promotion is well-deserved and puts Laura in a position to have even greater strategic impact.”

Peele earned a B.S. in Technology Management from St. Pete College while working full-time at JWB, and she has been a Certified Government Chief Information Officer since 2016.

She has more than 30 years of experience with JWB, serving in a variety of roles.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_2dc6d582-7a8e-11ef-93a2-17a9c30b9e38.html.

As CIO, Peele provides leadership, supervision and oversight of Information Technology (IT) strategies, policies, and personnel to ensure that IT investments and operations align with and successfully support JWB’s mission, as well as strategic and tactical plans.

She earned a B.S. in Technology Management from St. Pete College while working full-time at JWB, and she has been a Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO) since 2016.

For more information, visit www.jwbpinellas.org/laura-peele-named-jwbs-first-chief-information-officer.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tampabay.com/sponsored/movers-shakers/2024/09/27/laura-peele-named-jwb-cio/.

Deeply committed to the mission, Peele has more than 30 years of experience with JWB, serving in a variety of roles: After initially joining HR, she moved into IT, where she progressed steadily and led a series of firsts: From creating and administering a five-county software system for the Florida Children’s Services Councils (CSCs) and leading the effort to create JWB’s first data warehouse to leading the infrastructure side of JWB’s transition to a remote workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

See the coverage as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/shuffle/laura-peele/

JWB Marketing Associate Elicia Hinson was interviewed on Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend news show about the Turbo Babies early learning campaign and special Read Along events happening on September 7th, 2024.

Inspire your Turbo Baby’s love of reading this National Read-A-Book Day! Racetrack Read-Along events are happening this Saturday, Sept. 7 at three Pinellas County Libraries:

• West St. Petersburg Community Library – 6700 8th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710
• Largo Public Library – 120 Central Park Dr., Largo, FL 33771
• Tarpon Springs Public Library – 138. E. Lemon St., Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

For more information, visit TurboBabies.com/Read.

View the segment as originally published at https://www.abcactionnews.com/morning-blend/national-read-a-book-day-turbo-babies-hosting-read-along-events-at-three-pinellas-county-libraries

One of our favorite things to see in St. Pete is support for children’s literacy and our public libraries. This weekend, we’re getting an opportunity to showcase both, thanks to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. This weekend brings in National Read a Book Day, and JWB’s Turbo Babies is celebrating with some great children’s read-along events around Pinellas County.

On Saturday, September 7, young families can join one of three read along gatherings happening throughout the area, all of which are completely free to attend. The Racetrack Read Alongs invites families with infants and toddlers (0-3) to come together at city libraries for guided storytime, giving young ones and their parents an opportunity to read together, make new friends, and explore the treasure troves that are our local libraries.

Interested families can register here. Each of the three read-alongs take place from 10:15-11:45 am on Saturday, September 7 and will have free breakfast, entertainment, and giveaways while supplies last.

Join a Racetrack Read Along:

• St. Pete West Community Library – 6700 8th Avenue North
• Largo Public Library – 120 Central Park Drive (read along in English and Spanish)
• Tarpon Springs Public Library – 138 E Lemon St

While we await National Read a Book Day, families can also enter a drawing for a chance to win a Fisher-Price Toy Car and educational toys valued over $100. The car comes fully loaded with exciting activities, educational toys to rev up your baby’s learning, and much more. Entry is free, and details on how to enter can be found here.

The ethos behind Turbo Babies is to ensure our young ones start learning from the day they’re born. They emphasize that not only does learning start at birth, so should reading. Even just hearing new words helps their brain grow: at age one, children recognize about 50 words, and by age three they can recognize nearly 1,000 words.

Turbo Babies represents the rapid pace at which children from birth to three develop and grow. The campaign is fueled by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County to encourage early connections, nurture a baby’s drive to learn, and support parents and other caregivers as their child’s first and best teachers. Follow them on Facebook to see the latest.

Read the article as originally published at https://ilovetheburg.com/jwb-turbo-babies-readalong/

JWB Community Engagement Manager Yaridis Garcia was interviewed on Despierta Tampa Bay about the Turbo Babies early learning campaign and special Read Along events happening on September 7th, 2024.

Inspire your Turbo Baby’s love of reading this National Read-A-Book Day! Racetrack Read-Along events are happening this Saturday, Sept. 7 at three Pinellas County Libraries:

• West St. Petersburg Community Library – 6700 8th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710
• Largo Public Library – 120 Central Park Dr., Largo, FL 33771
• Tarpon Springs Public Library – 138. E. Lemon St., Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

For more information, visit TurboBabies.com/Read.

Watch the segment on YouTube.

Marketing Associate for the Juvenile Welfare Board, Elicia Hinson, joins Gayle Guyardo, the host of the global health and wellness show, Bloom, to share more about how you can boost your baby’s brain power, including why it is crucial to start focusing on learning and reading from birth.

Turbo Babies is celebrating National Read-A-Book Day on September 7th. Join in on all the fun with the Turbo Babies Pit Crew on Saturday, September 7th from 10:15AM-11:45AM at select Pinellas Libraries, the West St. Pete Community Library, Largo Public Library, and Tarpon Springs Public Library. For more information, visit TurboBabies.com/Read.

View the interview and read the article as originally published at https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/read-early-talk-early-boost-your-babys-brain-power/

Government | New Hire

Robbi Stivers Hired at Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) is pleased to announce that Robbi Stivers has been named Chief Financial Officer of the organization. Stivers is a proven leader with 20-plus years of finance experience with local and state governments and public higher education. “We are extremely fortunate to have Robbi join our team,” stated Beth Houghton, JWB Chief Executive Officer.

See the announcement as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/potmsearch/detail/submission/6548732/Robbi_Stivers