TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Community Tampa Bay is the proud recipient of $30,000 in excess donations from the Tampa Statue Relocation Fund, which raised private funds to remove and relocate a Confederate statue from the Hillsborough County Courthouse in 2017.
Tampa civil trial attorney and activist Tom Scarritt championed the fundraising efforts. A lifelong Southerner who studied at The University of the South and who spoke passionately at the post-Charlottesville candlelight vigil in St. Petersburg, Scarritt always felt that the statue's location in front of a place for justice was inappropriate. After seeing how decisively other cities removed Confederate statues, Scarritt felt that Tampa had an opportunity to come together to find a solution and begin to repair race relations.
The GoFundMe account he created received hundreds of donations and surpassed its goal of $140,000 within 24 hours. After the monument was moved in September 2018, Scarritt sought input from the donors on how to best utilize the extra funds. While many suggestions were submitted, Scarritt and his wife Linda chose to donate the money to Community Tampa Bay.
"We were moved by the donations that poured in to remove the statue, but even more so by the conversations this issue stirred in our neighbors," said Scarritt. "It is only through respectful dialogue, compromise, and common ground that we can start to make a difference. Community Tampa Bay has been leading the effort to change our communities and eradicate prejudice for decades and was a perfect recipient for these funds."
The donation will help further the mission of Community Tampa Bay and support diversity education and leadership training programs for more than 1,000 individuals each year. Through programs such as ANYTOWN®, a youth leadership development opportunity; professional diversity and inclusion trainings; and community dialogue events, Community Tampa Bay focuses its efforts on empowering inclusive leaders of all ages in all sectors of Tampa Bay. Their nationally recognized programs provide strategies and tools to help eradicate prejudice and discrimination one relationship at a time.
"We are deeply grateful to Tom and Linda Scarritt for their leadership in this important issue," said Community Tampa Bay Executive Director Allison Singer. "The response to this call to action demonstrated a collective commitment to a shared value of inclusion. Community Tampa Bay is honored to have been selected to steward the excess funds to continue our work in furtherance of a community free from all forms of discrimination."
About Community Tampa Bay
Community Tampa Bay's (CTB) mission is to cultivate leaders to change communities through dialogue and cross-cultural interactions. CTB envisions a community free from discrimination in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect. CTB values diversity, inclusion, and engagement. ANYTOWN® is CTB's critically acclaimed youth education program where students learn about the impact, causes and consequences of prejudice stereotypes and discrimination, which provides the foundation for building inclusive leadership skills. Learn more at https://www.communitytampabay.org/.
Press Contact, Allison Singer, Executive Director, CTB
(813) 335-0766
[email protected]
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SOURCE Community Tampa Bay
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