This year brought exciting growth across Seniors in Service, creating new ways to engage volunteers and more opportunities to help seniors, veterans, children, and families thrive.
Celebrating a Breakthrough Year for Our Literacy Programs!
This year, we welcomed 109 new Classroom Grandparents and expanded into 15 new schools across Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. With more volunteers, more classrooms, and more family engagement, we’re helping more students build confidence, strengthen reading skills, and feel supported every day.
Our Readers in Motion program—trusted for more than a decade to engage entire families through at-home reading challenges and hands-on STEM activities—has now expanded from Tampa into high-need schools in St. Petersburg, bringing the same education and family support to even more children.
Delivering Healthy Food with a Powerful Side of Social Connection
Health Buddies and Operation: Veteran Connect launched a new service this year to deliver fresh produce to seniors with chronic conditions and isolated veterans living in poverty. Each food delivery comes with friendly conversation, encouragement, and cooking tips. For those managing chronic illness or limited resources, these deliveries provide more than food—they offer nourishment, skill-building, and a pathway to better health.
“I ate junk food just to keep from going hungry. The vegetables and cooking lessons you provided helped me fill the gaps with healthier choices.” -Tony, Veteran Served by Operation Veteran Connect
New Companion Transportation Program Brings Relief and Rides to Seniors
We have so many passengers who cry,” shared Program Coordinator Michelle Mason about our new Companion Transportation Program in Southshore. “These are tears of joy and relief.”
This program fills a vital need for older adults in South Hillsborough County who struggle to reach routine and life-saving medical care. Our team of 11 compassionate volunteers does far more than drive. They ease anxiety, offer companionship, take notes during appointments if needed, and help connect seniors to services that promote healing.
Thanks to the generosity of Community Foundation Tampa Bay and AdventHealth, we launched this program in June 2025 with a goal of providing more than 500 rides in the first year—ensuring seniors feel supported every step of the way.
Launched Senior Disaster Support to Build Resilience Before the Storm
We’ve transformed the way 575+ older adults face disasters. Too often, seniors weather floodwaters, powerless apartments, and long, sleepless nights completely alone. Senior Disaster Support is changing that.
Built on the simple belief that strong community connections build resilience, we began by creating neighbor-to-neighbor networks in eight senior communities hit hardest by recent hurricanes.
Our relationship-centered disaster support program offers monthly activities that foster trust, build camaraderie, and provide vital guidance on evacuation planning, home safety, emergency alert technology, and recovery strategies.
By helping neighbors truly know and rely on one another, we’re creating something storms can’t wash away: a community grounded in care and connection.
On the Move: Our Outreach Van and Trailer are Helping Us Reach New Heights of Service
We proudly launched our brand-new mobile outreach van and trailer, made possible through the generous support of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.
Their investment is making a difference by bringing disaster support resources directly to seniors, delivering books and educational supplies to children and families, and connecting isolated veterans—some of whom haven’t left their neighborhoods in years—to new experiences and opportunities for engagement. By taking our services on the road, we’re breaking down barriers and reaching seniors, veterans, and families in new and meaningful ways.
Our Tampa Office Got a Face-Lift
Our office is now a safe, welcoming space where volunteers can gather, learn, and share their passion for service. This year’s renovation added a new deck and canopy, a storage shed, fresh flooring, brighter lighting, and improved landscaping.
