This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Triple Your Impact on Giving Tuesday

Even though your pocketbook may be lighter now that Black Friday, Small-Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are over, you can still stretch your dollar to give the gift that truly counts this holiday season.

And Bank of America wants to help.

Today is Giving Tuesday, a national movement during the holidays dedicated to charitable giving. If you are looking to honor the day by making a contribution, but aren’t sure where you can make the biggest impact, I’d like you to consider Feeding America and your local food bank, Feeding America Tampa Bay, which distributes more than 30 million meals in our region every year.

Find out what's happening in Largowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To help fight hunger this holiday season, we’re partnering with Feeding America to extend the impact of donations to fight hunger across the country and in Tampa Bay. Feeding America’s Give A Meal campaign allows everyone to give meals to those in need, and Bank of America will match every $1 donation with an additional $2 — resulting in three times the impact. 

Working families are finding it harder to keep up with the rising costs of food, transportation, housing and reliable childcare, putting additional burden on their already strained budgets. Simply put, too many Tampa Bay citizens are on the line between working-poor and homeless. In west central Florida, 700,000 people struggle with hunger, including 250,000 children.

Find out what's happening in Largowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Many Americans can’t begin to think about long-term financial planning or college savings if they don’t know when, or if, their next meal will come. We believe fulfilling this basic human necessity is the first step on the pathway to financial stability.

For every $1 you donate, Feeding America Tampa Bay can provide seven meals. With the Give A Meal match from Bank of America, a $10 donation can provide over two hundred meals for those in need this holiday season.

We’re calling on all Tampa Bay citizens to use their connections to bring meals to those in need by donating to the Give A Meal campaign at http://www.bankofamerica.com/give. On the site, you can choose to donate nationally, or enter your zip code to donate directly to Feeding America Tampa Bay.

Tweet, email or post on Facebook to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in our community and act by donating to Give A Meal. 

Whether helping provide a meal, training for a new job, or providing a safe place to live, the path to vibrant communities starts with us all working together to help individuals at their point of need.

Bill Goede is the Tampa Bay president for Bank of America.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?