Born in Uganda, Youth Coordinator Denise Birungi Evans joined the local nonprofit Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance (HCADA) in 2013 after completing her bachelor’s degree in public health. Denise is focused on training students to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco use (including vaping) among their...
By Sylvie Griffiths Living in the days when coronavirus is spreading globally isn’t my ideal topic. In part because I like to do positive and humorous writing when I’m down. Writing is my escape; clearing my head when thoughts overwhelm my brain, expressing things I would...
By Jackie Sue Griffin As a journalist, I thought I’d mastered all forms of written and oral communication. Then my son, Devon Tyler Konyha, was born September 18, 1990. My son has high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Raising Devon has provided me the opportunity to relearn everything I...
March is National Social Worker Month, and we couldn’t let it pass without celebrating the amazing women who dedicate their mental and emotional energy to serving our most vulnerable neighbors every day—our elderly, the ill, those with substance abuse or mental health conditions, the developmentally...
Rose first volunteered at Goodwill’s BookWorks program in 2017--at the tender age of 89. She’d retired from her career as a secretary at the age of 80 and jumped wholeheartedly into a second career of community service and volunteering. Rose gives her time to her neighbors...
By Anna M.A. Stracey I graduated from NYU a semester early back in 2003 and decided to spend a few months traveling outside my normal comfort zone. I didn’t have a clear destination in mind, so when a friend suggested I visit Panama, I purchased a...
By Ellen Nastir When was the last time you were alone? Really alone. No podcasts, TV or watch/exercise tracker vibrations. No cell phone, computer chirps or video game tings. No books, no articles. Just you! Alone. With your thoughts. Without interruption. We spend most of the day in contact...
By Elizabeth Olson I've always been an over-the-top animal lover. My mother said as soon as I could walk I would go up to any dog or cat I saw. I cried when King Kong died. I've had dogs my whole life; I can't imagine living...
Nancy Blount credits two men for helping her find her ultra-feminine passion project—her husband David and TV personality Mike Rowe. David was enjoying Rowe’s Facebook Watch series, “Returning the Favor,” when a nonprofit called I Support the Girls was featured. “David said, ‘Nancy, you’d love this!’ and...
By Elizabeth Bunbury I was asked to write my story. There are so many stories I don’t even know where to begin. But I guess the best place to start is with the story that had been shaping my life, the true story that will be...