Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
President Trump's new $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program will offer one-time payments to farmers facing rising diesel costs, with applications opening in January 2027 and specialty crop growers in the Ruskin area urged to submit fuel cost data now.
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Community
Hannah Carroll won first place and $300 in the GFWC Ruskin Woman's Club's first teen coastal art contest, with her winning artwork set to become an 8-by-13-foot mural at The Beach House in Ruskin.
Community
Rotary's Camp Florida in Brandon named former ECHO CEO Eleanor Saunders as executive director, renewed a five-year school partnership for pediatric cancer families, and raised nearly $100,000 through a single Rotarian's fundraising efforts.
Community
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office completed annual training for more than 300 crossing guards on July 28, preparing volunteers to staff 350+ school crossing locations countywide before classes start Monday, August 10, at Lennard High, East Bay High, Apollo Beach K-8, and other area schools.
Community
Beth-El Farmworker Ministry is intensifying weekly field visits and food pantry operations this summer to protect Ruskin-area farmworkers facing extreme heat and food insecurity, and is asking residents to donate water bottles, sunscreen, and non-perishable food.
Community
Inspira Tampa Bay's H.E.L.P. Program used a $6,500 grant from 100 Women Who Care Southshore to take 11 neurodivergent children and their families bowling in Riverview on Feb. 28, giving counselors a chance to observe families practicing everyday skills in a public setting.
Community
Haven of Hope of Hillsborough, a faith-based nonprofit founded in Ruskin, gave a donated 2009 Buick LaCrosse to Maggie Carr, a 62-year-old woman released on parole after serving 32 years for first-degree murder, helping her pursue employment and independence through the LEAP re-entry program in Miami.
Community
Rock & Roll for Rescue, a live music and comedy fundraiser on Monday, July 27, benefits Ruskin's C.A.R.E. no-kill animal shelter, which relies entirely on community donations to operate.
Community
Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, the 50-year-old Ruskin-founded nonprofit, published a warning on Tuesday, July 21, that local farmworkers face daily pesticide exposure with little enforcement of federal protections, and outlined ways South Shore residents can help.
Community
ECHO's Riverview center received at least 60,000 pounds of food from the May 9 Stamp Out Hunger drive but missed its 80,000-pound target, even as the nonprofit tracks toward serving 34,000 people this fiscal year.
Community
Apollo Beach K-8 student Melina Fenton won the Tax Collector's Choice Award as Hillsborough County's Kids Tag Art program raised a record $38,632 for school art programs in 2025-2026, with each of 66 participating schools receiving $585.
Community
Apollo Beach K-8 School is receiving a $3.6 million air conditioning overhaul this summer, one of dozens of campus improvement projects funded by the voter-approved half-cent sales tax that has generated more than $1.33 billion countywide.
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