Cornerstone Ministries Seeks Help During Coronavirus Crisis

TAMPA, FL — Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, Cornerstone Family Ministries is continuing to nurture young bodies and foster hope.

Nearly 17,000 children within five Tampa Bay counties are helped by the organization each year through the more than 150 child care centers the ministries sponsor on the Florida Department of Health and USDA Child Care Food Program. Children receive three nutritious meals each school day thanks to Cornerstone’s sponsorship.

“We take a government program, cover it with prayer and connect centers under our sponsorship to the hearts, hands and feet of a loving community—making it possible for over 5,000,000 meals to be served, thousands of donated books and weekend care packages to be distributed and support and technical assistance to be offered to these small businesses so that they can keep their doors open like we have for over 125 years," said Executive Director Cathy Stone,

Since the Coronavirus outbreak, more than half of the child care centers that Cornerstone sponsors have temporarily closed and many parents have lost their jobs. Centers that are open are struggling financially due to low attendance and their staffs are at risk without proper personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.

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As a result, Cornerstone is committed to getting the word out to provide donated resources to the open and closed centers they work with to ensure they are safe and able to continue to help families now and when the pandemic is over.

Through Cornerstone’s Grab-N-Go Nutrition and Literacy Program, parents enrolled at Cornerstone’s participating partner sites can preregister all of their children ages 12 years and younger to receive five days' worth of free breakfasts, lunches and snacks. Registered families arrive at the center once a week to receive their bags of nutritious food and books.

Given the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent advisory for children 2 years old and older to wear face masks, Cornerstone would like to add child-size face masks to each weekly Grab-N-Go package. Cornerstone is asking the community to make cloth masks to be distributed to their sponsored child care centers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Pasco counties as soon as possible.

Through the reimbursement Cornerstone receives from the Florida Department of Health Child Care Food Program, most of the cost of the meals its sponsored centers will distribute will be covered. However, Cornerstone is seeking the following unmet needs from the community:

• 7,000 child-size cloth masks
• 1,000 adult masks for teachers
• Thousands of large brown paper or reusable shopping bags
• Diapers (large sizes 3, 4, 5, 6 and pull-ups)
• Baby wipes
• Sandwich-size Zip Lock bags
• Gently used children’s books
• Coloring books and crayons
• Food purveyors in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk and Manatee Counties who will waive purchase limits on items so child care centers can purchase larger quantities of nonperishable Grab-N-Go food items that meet specific nutrition requirements.

So far, First St. Petersburg United Methodist Women made enough masks for the teachers at Cornerstone’s Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center but about 1,000 more teacher masks are needed for Cornerstone’s sponsored centers that are still open and serving children.

A few groups have answered the plea on the organization's Facebook page for children’s masks but a huge need still exists.

Bay Hope United Methodist Church Westchase, New Hope United Methodist Women, Land O' Lakes United Methodist Women and a group of veterans in Carrollwood have all committed to sew up to 100 children's masks.

Email cstone@cornerstonefm.org with questions.

In addition, tax-deductible financial contributions to Cornerstone can be made online at its website www.cornerstonefamilyministries.org or by mail to Cornerstone Family Ministries P.O. Box 4576, Tampa, FL 33677.

Cornerstone Family Ministries is a faith-based 501c3 organization located in Tampa, serving the five-county Tampa Bay region (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco and Manatee counties) and registered with the state of Florida.

The organization sponsored 161 early learning centers serving 16,800 children in the Tampa Bay Area in 2019. In addition, Cornerstone’s Rosa Valdez Early Childhood Learning Center and Lab School has served as a model early learning center in Tampa.

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