The American Dream
comes alive at Congress

TAD Report to the Community

July 2010

By Bob Loring

(For distribution to all our media friends)

With all the sparkle of our Glorious Fourth now over, it’s time to turn our attention to the second half of ‘The Year of Our Lord’: 2010. As I type, drop boxes are in place throughout the community collecting school supplies for needy Pasco County children.

At our school distribution we expect to provide backpacks and an abundant amount of school supplies for (approximately) 1500 deserving and fully pre-registered students.

Our annual Toys for Tots ‘toy-drive’ will commence in late October. Again this year, we hope to assist well-over 4,000 pre-registered children throughout the Middle and East Pasco County. This holiday season, we plan to hold five separate distributions to include: Dade City, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and also a distribution for the children living in the Tri-communities of Trilby, Lacoochee & Tri-Lacoochee.

This year, as one might easily suppose, the challenge will be daunting. With more and more of our friends and neighbors out of work, or finding themselves in some form of a financial downturn, we expect an increased number of hard-pressed families will be seeking our assistance for their children. To the community we pledge the following:

1.) Your caring donations will go directly to deserving children living in, or near your local community. And 2.) we shall go to any length to assure that toys and other collected items benefit our most needy children.

This, in my 12 th year as your East Pasco Toys for Tots coordinator, we have, indeed, made progress. We have learned much about how to collect, store, sort, and distribute goods and services. Importantly, we’ve initiated several highly visible educational endeavors. However, what is clearly missing our community building effort is our ability to objectively evaluate successes, and importantly our failures. Three key questions continue to haunt me: 1.) What are we doing well? (i.e. what is working?) 2.) What do we need to change, modified, or discontinued? And 3.) what will the future hold for us here in the Pasco County?

To face these and other vexing questions, I am currently circulating a proposal that would address this growing need. It is my belief that we need to create a viable community oversight institute here in Pasco County. I call it the “Center for Community Studies.” I’d be most interested in discussing this initiative with any interested party. (Note: in my view, here’s a breathtaking opportunity for our local institutions of higher learning to “step-up” and take the leading role.)

In 2010, the challenge to meet the needs of our community will be tested. We, again, will seek assistance from our hard-pressed, Pasco neighbors, to donate goods and services to our children in need. On a personal note, until I see some enduring jobs being created here in Pasco County, I will continue to expect the hard times ahead. We can, and must prevail. It will take effective networking and imaginative partnerships connecting our child-care providers and the greater community. What is needed here is to institute a ‘total community’ approach in facing our growing poverty situation. However, it is my firm belief that, together, we are fully capable of offering all our Pasco children the chance to discover for themselves, The Great American Dream.

Pray call or contact me.

Semper Fi,

Bob Loring (352) 588-4230

Redbobbin@tampabay.rr.com

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