Pioneers Keep Pioneering Going in Florida 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Pioneers in Florida are staying in touch with their families, friends and fellow Pioneers and continuing to make a difference in their local communities. They have used this time to take part in a variety of volunteer projects.

For many months, Pioneers have been making masks for elderly and health compromised neighbors and friends. In Daytona Beach Shores, Pioneers have made over 200 masks and have sent them to families and Pioneers out of state, delivered them to medical groups, and sent them to a hospital in West Virginia.

South Florida Pioneers have also cooked and delivered meals twice to their local Ronald McDonald House since they are not able to go inside to prepare and serve. Guests of Ronald McDonald house were very thankful for this contribution.

River City Pioneer President Terri Thomson hosted a virtual clothes closet for PACE Clay County School for Girls. Pioneers sorted the clothes and washed them. They also reached out to the PACE Clay Center to obtain what the sizes and needs there are for clothing so Pioneers can assemble personalized bags of clothes.

Pioneers are also continuing to help the many students who come from food-insecure homes and depend on school lunches to eat. Schools across Florida have implemented programs to continue to provide meals for students, but since the COVID-19 pandemic began, snacks have dwindled. Pioneers contacted their partnered schools to find out how they could get involved, and they shopped for and purchased the snacks, helped to prepare the snack packs, and delivered them to schools throughout Florida while staying their social distance.