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Hurricane Katrina

Mardi Gras party will aid Katrina relief efforts

By AMBER MOBLEY
Published September 16, 2005

Although the good times have stopped rolling in New Orleans, the Carrollwood Area Business Association is bringing a taste of the Big Easy to Lutz.

On Saturday, the group is throwing a Mardi Gras party to benefit the American Red Cross Katrina fund from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m. at the L.A. Hangout, 16411 N Florida Ave.

Gasparilla beads will be for sale as well as hurricane rum punch.

All money donated will go to the American Red Cross, and Cingular Wireless will match all donations. The goal is to raise $10,000.

All About You Moving Co. will have trucks there to collect food, water, kitchen supplies, new socks and underwear, hygiene and baby items for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Admission is free and attendees must be at least 21 years old.

For more information, call the Carrollwood Area Business Association at (813) 264-0006 or the L.A. Hangout at (813) 964-5631.

- AMBER MOBLEY

Local Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts include:

- United Way of Tampa, 1000 N Ashley Drive, Suite 800, is collecting donations for hurricane victims. Call 274-0900 or visit www.uwtb.org Donations also may be made at any SunTrust bank branch.

- Hillsborough County is collecting monetary donations and supplies through Sept. 28. Donations are accepted from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. weekdays in the lobby of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd.

- Carrollwood Care Center, 15002 Hutchison Road, has launched a Hurricane Katrina relief campaign, "Seniors Lending a Helping Hand," to send personal care kits to the Bay Area Food Bank in Theodore, Ala. The center is accepting donations of hygiene items, such as razors, brushes, facial tissue, lotion and snacks, through Tuesday. Cash donations are not accepted. Call 960-1969.

- The Kiwanis Club of New Tampa is accepting donations to the Red Cross. Send checks to the Red Cross or the Kiwanis Club of New Tampa, Hurricane Katrina Relief, P.O. Box 47475, Tampa, FL 33647. Items such as water, nonperishable food, clothing and diapers may be delivered to Jason Wortham at his AllState office at 3248 Cove Bend Drive in Tampa.

- The Tampa Bay Lightning offers a free preseason game ticket to anyone who donates $20 or more to the American Red Cross through Ticketmaster or at the McDonald's Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum. Ticketmaster has waived all fees for ticket purchases on www.ticketmaster.com

- Local author Erik Welker of Lutz will donate to the American Red Cross proceeds from the sale of his book, Embracing the Eye of the Soul, through Oct. 1. The book costs $14.95 and can be ordered online at www.remodelyourmind.com or by calling 1-866-946-3745.

- Ideal Image, 17504 Preserve Walk Lane in New Tampa, will donate up to $100 to the American Red Cross for each laser hair removal treatment performed during September. For information, call 289-2500 or visit www.idealimage.com

- Sweetbay and Kash n' Karry supermarkets are collecting donations for the American Red Cross through Saturday. Visit www.kashnkarry.com or www.sweetbaysupermarket.com for locations.

- America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay seeks donors to support a nationwide campaign to raise funds for food banks directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and for food banks in nearby states serving evacuees. Money raised will be used to secure, transport and distribute food and grocery products to agencies directly involved in the response efforts. Visit www.a2htampabay.org or call 1-800-344-8070.

- Metropolitan Ministries, which has opened its K-5 charter school to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina, is accepting donations of food, clothing and money at its donation center at 2101 N Florida Ave. Financial donations also can be made at www.metromin.org or by calling 209-1000.

- The Florida Aquarium is collecting donations for the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. A donation box is in the Florida Aquarium lobby. Mail checks to the Aquarium Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, c/o The Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 33602. For information, call 273-4000.

- Centro Ybor presents an afternoon of international dance and food and live music from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the International Bazaar, 1600 E Eighth Ave. Cost is $10. Canned goods and cash donations will be accepted. Proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Also at Centro Ybor, the Tampa Improv Comedy Theater will donate $2 of every ticket sold for the Sunday show. GameWorks is offering 30 minutes of game play for $5, all of which will be donated to the relief fund. Big City Tavern is offering a free drink with a $5 cover charge for the relief fund, and FYE music store will match donations up to $50,000.

- The Dubliner, 2307 W Azeele St., hosts a "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" party beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $10. All proceeds go to the Red Cross.

- MacDinton's Irish Pub, 405 S Howard Ave., hosts happy hour from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday. The $10 cover charge will be donated to the Red Cross.

- Bern's Steak House, 1208 S Howard Ave., will donate to the Red Cross 100 percent of the profits from the sale of Blackened Delmonico Steak and Maine Lobster Etouffee through Sept. 25. Cost of the entree is $44.95.

- The Carlyle at Waters Apartment Homes, 8415 N Armenia Ave., has pledged its vacant units to FEMA in order to house the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The management is seeking donations of furniture and food to aid the relocated families. For information, call 933-6265.

- Celebrate the legacy of one of New Orleans' most famous figures with a presentation of Satchmo: The Life and Times of Louis Armstrong through Sept. 25 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Jaeb Theater. The center will donate $1 to the American Red Cross for every ticket sold. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $28.50. Call 229-7827 or 1-800-955-1045 or visit www.tbpac.org

- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will collect money for the United Way of Tampa Bay's relief effort during every home game in September. Collection points will be set up at Gates 1, 4 and 5 at Tropicana Field. The annual "Shirts Off Our Back" promotion Oct. 2 also will benefit hurricane victims. For a $1 donation, fans can win autographed uniform shirts of players and coaches.

- Congregation Schaarai Zedek, 3303 W Swann Ave., and the Tampa Unity Church, 3302 W Horatio St., will host a bagel breakfast from 8 to 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Sunday. All donations will go to hurricane relief efforts. Call 876-2377, ext. 206.

- Middleton High School is collecting donations and personal hygiene items for the Red Cross through Wednesday. For information, call Angela Jennings at 233-3360, ext. 282, or Terrell Cogman at 767-1441.

- American Stage presents a staged reading of Tennessee Williams' classic New Orleans play A Streetcar Named Desire at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at 211 Third St. S in St. Petersburg. A $25 minimum donation will go to the American Red Cross. An art auction will include one-of-a-kind photos of Jon Voight and Hersha Parady in their production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Call 727 823-7529 or visit www.americanstage.org for information.

- Knology will donate $10 to the Red Cross for every new customer who signs up for Knology cable and Internet services during September. For information, visit www.knology.com

- The University of Tampa's John H. Sykes College of Business has kicked off a campaign to help a Louisiana shelter. Student groups, including the Student Activities office, are collecting donations for the Red Cross, and a UT Facilities Maintenance team and truck have been authorized to assist with repairs at Dillard University in New Orleans.

UT also has accepted two local students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Donna R. Simpson of Brandon and Alberto J. Martinez of Tampa were attending Tulane University in New Orleans. Simpson, an entering freshman, entered the UT Honors program. Martinez was in his third year at Tulane and intends to return to the school after New Orleans recovers.

-R'Club Child Care Inc., which operates learning centers throughout Pinellas County, offers free child care programs for families who have relocated to the area from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. For information, visit www.rclub.net or call 727 578-5437.

-Great Harvest Bread Co., 500 S Howard Ave., raised more than $3,000 Sept. 8 for the hurricane relief effort. All money from sales that day was donated to the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. The bakery also donated 60 loaves of bread to the relief effort coordinated by Smith & Associates Realtors, which delivered supplies to the hurricane-ravaged area.

-Brownie Troop 1110 of Tampa hosted "Breakfast on the Block" in New Suburb Beautiful on Saturday to aid hurricane victims. Starbucks donated coffee and pastries, and Kash n' Karry provided orange juice. The girls, ages 8 and 9, raised $3,000 for the American Red Cross. Lowe's Home Improvement plans to match it.

- If you or someone you know has helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, please help us spread the word. Go to www.sptimes.com and click on "Tell us what you've done to help." For notices about relief efforts, contact Anne Arsenault at aarsenault@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 15, 2005, 11:02:11]