Soup cans stand for those in need

The display is intended to spur donations.

By CASEY CORA, Times Staff Writer
Published December 12, 2007

Norman Paschall walks through a Metropolitan Ministries display on Tuesday morning in Lykes Gaslight Square Park. Paschall, 50, lives in a secluded spot on the streets of Hyde Park, occasionally venturing downtown for coffee.
	[Casey Cora | Times]

TAMPA - In an effort to raise awareness about the plight of needy families this holiday season, volunteers placed about 15,000 cans of donated soup in organized rows in Lykes Gaslight Square Park on Tuesday.

Volunteers with Tampa's Metropolitan Ministries hope the display will boost donations to the group's Holiday Center.

Organizers originally predicted 15,000 families would seek help. Instead, 21,000 families have registered for "boxes of hope" that feed a family of four for three days and "bags of joy" stuffed with toys.

Included in that estimate, organizers say, are 30,000 Tampa Bay area children.

"That's one toy per seat in Raymond James Stadium," said ministry marketing director Justine Burke.

The Lykes Park display, "Food for Thought," featured guest speakers. Then volunteers were to load the cans onto police-escorted trucks destined for the ministry's warehouse, where they will be distributed.

FAST FACTS

Learn more

To learn more about Metropolitan Ministries and see what's most needed this holiday season, visit the agency's Web site at www.metromin.org.

[Last modified December 12, 2007, 00:22:09]