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Features
Free Fitness Camp Hopes To Attract Health Conscious Citizens
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Freddie Mitchell, Sr.
said it’s so easy and com- monplace for people to make up excuses for not exercising.
“The excuses range from not having the time, to not being healthy enough to ex- ercise, or not having the will power. All of those are men- tal blocks, and at my exercise camp, that’s an area I play close attention to.”
Mitchell is 61 years old, and runs 12,000 miles a year. He said he wants to create awareness to health issues in the African American com- munity.
“When you look around, we’ve become accustomed to everything happening fast, and that includes our eating habits. With all the time we devote to doing nothing, why not use that time to get in shape.”
Mitchell operates a boot camp for people to get in- volved in exercising and other activities. They are held the second and fourth Satur- days of every month, and are
held in the parking lot of One Buc Place on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
“The way I have it set up is, you come in at the desig- nated time for the activity you want to participate in.
“From 5 a. m. to 7 a. m., the people who want to run participate. From 7 a. m. to 9 a.m. are the cyclists, and from 9 a. m. to 11 a. m. are the walkers.”
Mitchell said he’s trying to get more peel to start car- ing about their health and staying in shape.
“Staying in shape involves more than the physical work- outs. It also involves mental preparedness and overcom- ing your own fears and short- comings.
“The camp will work on only the physical aspect, but if anyone needs anything deeper, I will work with them on a one-on-one basis.”
Mitchell said he has 5- to-10 people involved in the camp right now, and anyone else interested in participat- ing needs to RSVP him at (863) 712-2424.
Commissioners Approve Increased Funding For Summer Programs
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The Hillsborough County board of Commissioners re- cently approved funding to help low-income households. The funding will be adminis- tered by the Department of Social Services.
The amount of money in- creased from $664,206 to $2,058,715. The funding is earmarked for Summer Pro- grams.
Les Miller, Jr., Hills- borough County Commis- sioner for District 3 said, “We normally work on sending kids to the Florida A & M University College Explorers Program every year. This year, some were not going because of family income. That program is definitely needed in our community.”
The increase will help provide and implement sev- eral programs. It will provide
LES MILLER, JR. Hillsborough County Commissioner, District 3
funding for 76 students to re- ceive assistance in education in a GED Program. It will also provide assistance for up to 60 students who are strug- gling and in need of assis- tance with college tuition.
This summer, as a result of the funding, at-risk school aged children will have an opportunity to attend the
Florida A & M University College Explorers Program. The funding will allow 52 stu- dents to attend the program.
A total of 45 individuals can receive college scholar- ships to achieve higher edu- cation and 38 other students will be provided an educa- tionally-enriched after school program.
The money will also be used to create an interven- tion program for 50 students to attend the Hillsborough Community College Explor- ers program.
The Commissioners re- evaluated the budget to pro- vide the funding, taking funds from other areas to in- crease funding for the sum- mer programs, Commissioner Miller said.
“We have some other ini- tiatives that we are working on that are not in this budget,” he said.
Non-Profit Files Lawsuit Against City’s Panhandling Ordinance
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, a Tampa non- profit organization filed a lawsuit against the City of Tampa. The lawsuit is chal- lenging the city’s ordinance pertaining to panhandling.
The organization, known as Homeless Helping Home- less, Inc., filed the lawsuit in federal court to block the en- forcement of the ordinance. The ordinance bars soliciting donations on roadways and medians. The ordinance per- tains to all areas of the city.
Ms. Casey Gardner,
spokesperson for Homeless Helping Homeless, Inc., said, “We have had a great rela- tionship with the police. We want to avoid arrests and confrontations and let the courts decide.”
Attorney Kevin Mar- tin, of the Boston-based firm of Goodwin, Proctor, and Martin, who is one of the at- torneys representing the or- ganization said, “The First Amendment exists precisely to protect unpopular speak- ers, whether they are anti- war or anti-abortion protestors or homeless solic- itors, from discriminatory
and overly broad speech re- strictions.
“If there are solicitors who pose a danger to traffic or who are acting aggressively, a city can and should enforce other laws to protect public safety.
“Homeless Helping Homeless is challenging laws that criminalize even peace- ful and safe solicitation. We look forward to the opportu- nity to present Homeless Helping Homeless’s claims in court.”
“Homeless Helping Homeless, Inc., contends in the lawsuit that the ordinance restricts speech based on its content, cover an unreason- ably broad area, is under in- clusive and violates the U. S. and Florida Constitutions. The city does not ban other forms of solicitation, such as newspaper sales, calls, for prayer, or participation in personality evaluation.
“HHH relies largely on charitable donations from in- dividuals. Before enactment of the ordinance, HHH repre- sentatives respectfully so- licited in the now-prohibited areas without any serious complaint to the Tampa Po- lice or citations for inappro-
priate behavior. HHH does not challenge the City’s long- time ban on aggressive solic- itation, and its representatives have never been accused of violating that ban,” Ms. Gardner said in a press release.
The organization esti- mates that it has lost more than $20,000 in charitable donations and is requesting that the courts block enforce- ment of the ordinance so that it may resume fundraising until a legal decision is ren- dered.
Homeless Helping Home- less, Inc., was created in 2009 as a nonprofit emer- gency shelter provider. The organization has 89 beds at six different facilities to pro- vide assistance to the under- privileged. It provides help to families, battered women and children. It also provides free meals to approximately 3,000 individuals each month, distributes hygiene kits, offers temporary em- ployment opportunities, and assists individuals with ob- taining identification that is required to receive some so- cial services, become em- ployed, or register children in school.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015