Hillsborough County Heroes Come Forward During Coronavirus Crisis

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Westfield, which owns Westfield Citrus Park and Westfield Brandon, is making sure Hillsborough County's firefighters, paramedics and staff keep their strength up during the coronavirus pandemic by supplying the station with meals from Red Robin.

Firefighters and paramedics spend 24 hours on a single shift, which requires them to head to the local grocery stores to feed themselves.

After learning this, Westfield stepped up to provide meals for three of Hillsborough County Fire stations, Stations 6, 13 and 38.

Feeding Seniors

Last week, Feeding Tampa Bay doubled the amount of prepared meals made at Trinity Cafe in Tampa and sent an additional 10,000 meals into the community for senior citiziens and neighborhors with medical needs, thanks to partners like The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge, The Italian Club of Tampa, The Karol Hotel, Amalie Arena, Culinary Specialties, Food Truck Convoy and Uber Eats.

Wheelchairs 4 Kids Parade

Tarpon Springs-based charity Wheelchairs 4 Kids teamed up with Tampa Fire Rescue and Tampa Police Department to provide a little fun for families who are staying home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The charity group recently hosted a parade past some homes of children they have helped in Tampa. The parade included fire trucks, police cars, the Friendly Kia Trolley, Elsa from Frozen, three-time World Series Champion Randy Knorr of the Washington Nationals, WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil (aka Thaddeus Bullard) and decorated cars and local business vehicles.

"We had to cancel five of our inclusive events, so we thought we would bring a little fun to the kids," said Wheelchairs 4 Kids Executive Director Madeline Robinson. "This seemed to be the perfect solution."

Although most of the staff is working from home, W4K has continued to provide custom wheelchairs and other equipment for kids with physical disabilities. It has completed 22 requests in the last month during the stay-at-home order. The nonprofit is no longer delivering to the homes. Instead, it's having the equipment shipped.

Wheelchairs 4 Kids is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children with physical disabilities by providing wheelchairs, home and vehicle modifications as well as other assistive equipment at no charge to the families. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Wheelchairs 4 Kids website or call 727-946-0963.

Video by Ghaith Khder

Top Chef Treats Top Doctors, Nurses

A group of local AT&T retail employees treated 25 doctors and nurses at Tampa General Hospital to dinner recently.

The AT&T employees wanted to find a way to support both health care workers and a local small business during the coronavirus pandemic.

So they placed an order with Chef Rudy Clark of Top 10 Restaurant in the Hall on Franklin, who prepared roasted chicken with brown butter and lemon herb, paella, homemade three-cheese baked gnocchi bolognese, chargrilled Caesar salad and garlic bread.

The AT&T employees personally delivered the meals to the hospital with "Thank You" signs in hand.

Earlier this week, AT&T announced it is offering three months of free wireless service on the FirstNet network to nurses and doctors nationwide.

Globetrotters Surprise Kids

A group of nine 9-year old boys were disappointed when they could not perform their Globetrotters-inspired basketball routine for friends and family during their elementary talent show in late March in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

So, instead, the parents organized a Zoom meeting for the boys to perform their routine virtually. When the parents tipped off the Globetrotters’ organization of their plans, Globetrotters stars Hammer Harrison and Cheese Chisholm decided to orchestrate a surprise.

In the video below, the Globetrotters entered the Zoom meeting at the end of the students’ performance with a surprise routine of their own via Hammer’s home in Tampa and Cheese’s apartment in New York City.

Video courtesy Harlem Globetrotters