A heartfelt and humble thank you goes out to all of our dedicated partners, vendors, volunteers, donors, and staff who made Sacred Heart’s 2022 Homeless Outreach Event at the North Campus such a huge success.

Held Jan. 11, this was just the second event of its kind hosted by Sacred Heart, and the first since 2019. Originally scheduled for Sept. 2021, the event was postponed due to COVID concerns, similarly to why the event was unable to be held in 2020. Despite those challenges, organizers remained in contact and mobilized in droves last week to help address the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community.

Eighteen attendees were placed into housing directly from the event, with three others qualifying for conviction expungements, and dozens more linked to mental health, substance abuse, health and veteran services.

From shower trucks and haircuts, to health screenings and legal assistance, more than 100 attendees were assisted by the more than 25 service providers on hand, which included:

• ACTS
• Seace Law
• Heights Dental
• Tampa Police Department
• Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART)
• Hillsborough Co. Sheriff’s Office
• SVDP CARES
• Hillsborough Co. Government
• Early Learning Coalition
• 2 The Next Chapter
• Florida Blue
• Cove Behavioral Health
• AA
• Tampa Crossroads
• Hillsborough Co. Veteran Services
• Brandon Elks Lodge 2383
• Bikes 4 Christ
• Hunter Law Group
• Created Women
• Tampa Hope
• Catholic Charities
• Nzema Community Development
• Metropolitan Ministries
• Community Pet Project
• Family Health Care Foundation
• Unbroken Dreams
• Guided Path Foundation

Special thanks to organizers Felix Vega, Michael Fabianski, Don Murray, and all of our parishioners who volunteered!

View a gallery of photos from the 2022 Homeless Outreach Event Below:

In 2021, resilience, philanthropy, and determination were well and truly on display within the Sacred Heart parish community. As we continue to struggle with the unknowns that clouded much of these last two years, paths were forged by the parishioners, friars, ministries and staff of Sacred Heart throughout 2021, evidenced by dozens of successful outreach & donation campaigns and fellowship events.

• 2021 saw the continuation of our “Giving From the Heart” donation drives, with six separate events taking place throughout the year, and goods being collected for charities like Love INC, St. Vincent de Paul, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, and many more.
• Assisting our partners at Catholic Charities, the Diocese of St. Petersburg and the City of Tampa, we saw Tampa Hope, a new homeless rehabilitation facility, open its doors.
• Catholic Charities recognized the parish with its annual Angel Award, in part from efforts like those just described.
• We relaunched our choir, docent tours, and fellowship activities, providing a more familiar environment for our parishioners and visitors.
• Service awards were presented by the Diocese of St. Petersburg to parishioner Kathy Palmer (St. Jude Medal) and faith formation staffer Maria Giral (20th anniversary with DOSP) for their continued service to Sacred Heart and the broader Catholic Community of Tampa Bay.
• A new historical marker was placed in downtown Tampa by Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa recognizing one of Sacred Heart’s founding families and their role in the establishment of our parish.

Take a look through the blessings from 2021 in the gallery below. (Photos will load slowly)

The flowers displayed in our sanctuary for the Christmas Season have been given in remembrance or honor of loved ones whose names are listed on the following pages.

Click here for a complete list of names and tributes.