The Brief
- 500 families received full Thanksgiving meal boxes at Sligh Middle Magnet/Thaddeus M. Bullard Academy.
- WWE legend Thaddeus Bullard (Titus O’Neil) and Metropolitan Ministries partnered for the sixth year to serve one of the area’s with the most need.
- Metro Ministries expects to help 33,000 families across four holiday tent locations this season — and says donations and volunteers are urgently needed.
TAMPA – Just days before Thanksgiving, hundreds of Tampa families lined up outside Sligh Middle Magnet — also known as the Thaddeus M. Bullard Academy — for a holiday meal they might not otherwise have.
For the sixth year in a row, the Bullard Family Foundation and Metropolitan Ministries teamed up to distribute 500 “Boxes of Hope,” each packed with a full Thanksgiving meal, including a turkey or ham, fresh produce, and pantry staples.
This year’s event took on added weight as it unfolded in a neighborhood facing some of the most significant hardships in the state.
“It’s the sixth-highest zip code for children living in poverty in Florida,” Thaddeus Bullard said. “For that to be happening right here in the Tampa Bay area, it’s ridiculous.”
What they’re saying:…