The Sharing Center in Longwood is hoping more people will donate at the ‘Giving Tuesday’ event. The nonprofit said that hunger is an ongoing issue in Central Florida.
Like Second Harvest Food Bank, other groups agreed that hunger is a social issue that people needed to address.
Giving Tuesday
In a report with Click Orlando, Nina Yon stressed that Giving Tuesday is vital to all the nonprofits in the community. Yon is the CEO and president of the organization.
She explained that it became an avenue for the public to help people in need. Yon said she invited everyone to share in their passion for feeding the hungry. She and her group encouraged more groups to help them with their cause.
The CEO admitted that nonprofits like theirs relied on the community to support those in need. She added that it took a team effort to feed the hungry in Orlando.
New Oasis
Yon told the news outlet that they noted an increase in homeless people visiting their Oasis department.
According to Click Orlando, the Oasis is a center that allows homeless communities to take hot showers and do their laundry. The center also provided meals for their homeless clients.
She reported a 37 percent increase in the number of people accessing the center's services. The increase in demand prompted the board to approve the expansion of the Oasis.
According to the nonprofit, they expect to complete the expansion project by May 2022. The faith-based organization converted three empty spaces into one with 3,600 square feet.
The new space will continue to provide free showers, haircuts, and laundry services for homeless communities.
Yon noted that the Oasis is the only place homeless people from Volusia, Seminole, and Orange County could go. There, they could have access to a hot meal and a shower. She also said volunteers wash their laundry.
She added that the new facility doubled the number of its shower stalls.
The nonprofit will also have more outreach activities thanks to a new bus provided by funds from Seminole County.
She said that they intend to go into wooded and rural areas to pick up homeless people who have no access to transportation.
The CEO added that their homeless clients would also have access to mental health services at the new Oasis.
The Sharing Center also offers a food pantry and a rental assistance program.
It Takes a Community to Help Community
Greg Higgerson shared that more people needed to step up and help the community. Higgerson is the CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank.
He told the news outlet that one in every five children in Central Florida goes to bed hungry every night. The CEO encouraged more people to do their part in helping people in need.
Higgerson stressed that they were not meeting the need that was out there. According to the CEO, the nonprofit distributes 250,000 meals a day.
Hunger Problem in Florida
Feeding America says that Florida has a hunger problem. Studies said that more than 2 million people are experiencing hunger in Florida. Out of these numbers, over 700,000 are children.
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