Celebrate Outreach

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Celebrate Outreach Celebrate Outreach! is a partnership of St. Petersburg faith-based congregations and individuals who are dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.

A Growing Concern

The homeless population in Pinellas County has grown at an alarming rate during the past decade. Over 7,000 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night; hundreds of our neighbors continue to sleep on the streets, in their cars, and in other places not meant for human habitation. In addition to a growing homeless population, the face of homelessness has changed over the years. Because of economic conditions and many social factors, homelessness has increased and now includes more families with children, an increased number of veterans and a greater number of working poor households. Even though insufficient income is cited as the most common reason for homelessness, more than 33% of homeless adults work full or part-time, and about 23% receive disability, veteran or retirement benefits. Despite these sources of income, low wages or other personal or environmental barriers have led them to the streets or into emergency shelters. The loss of a significant number of public housing units has also contributed to the problem. About Us

Founded in 2007, Celebrate Outreach! is a nonpartisan, grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to treating all members of our community with dignity, and working with those who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness to the end that they are liberated from homelessness, hunger, violence, discrimination and injustice. Our mission is to prevent and end homelessness in our area through social justice, advocacy, community education and direct service. We envision a society in which all people are treated with dignity and respect, and as a result insures that everyone has safe, decent, affordable housing, enough food to eat, and a means to make an honest living. Preventing and Ending Homelessness

While there are private and public agencies that serve the homeless on the micro level and coordinate systems of care on the macro level, there are not many agencies which have the sole function to prevent and end homelessness. There are even fewer that implement this mission from a faith-based perspective. From this vantage point, forged through open and frank dialogue, individuals and congregations have bridged religious and cultural divides to form a dynamic partnership dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in St. Petersburg and beyond. No one should be homeless; housing is a human right. No one should be poor; wealth should be distributed equitably rather than concentrated in the hands of a few. No one should be hungry; the earth still produces enough food to feed the 7 billion who live here. People need affordable housing, livable incomes, fresh food and water, health care, education, and protection of their civil and human rights. This is our cause, and if this resonates with you, We invite your organization or faith based Congregation to join with us in this campaign to transform our community and world. There are many ways in which to support and get involved. You can make a difference! Visit us at www.celebrateoutreach.org and join us today!

CELEBRATE OUTREACH UPCOMING EVENTSThree major Celebrate Outreach events are coming up. The dates are below; the details...
10/02/2026

CELEBRATE OUTREACH UPCOMING EVENTS
Three major Celebrate Outreach events are coming up. The dates are below; the details follow. Mark your calendars and join us!

HELLO, DOLLY!Support Celebrate Outreach and honor Dolly Parton at Remembering Dolly Drag Queen Bingo! All proceeds of th...
10/02/2026

HELLO, DOLLY!
Support Celebrate Outreach and honor Dolly Parton at Remembering Dolly Drag Queen Bingo! All proceeds of this fabulous family-friendly festivity go to Celebrate Outreach. For more information contact Chris at (727) 674-8541 or [email protected].

BLESSING BAGSAs part of Remembering Dolly Drag Queen Bingo, support Allendale UMC United Women in Faith's Blessing Bags ...
10/02/2026

BLESSING BAGS
As part of Remembering Dolly Drag Queen Bingo, support Allendale UMC United Women in Faith's Blessing Bags by scanning the QR code below to buy hygiene kits, fruit cups, mosquito repellent, socks, trail mix, flashlights and other items to fill backpacks passed out at the breakfast. For more information, contact Linda Thielmann at (727) 276-9505 or [email protected].

36th ANNUAL STILL... NO ROOM IN THE INN CAROLINGFor 35 years, Still… No Room in the Inn Christmas carolers have brought ...
10/02/2026

36th ANNUAL STILL... NO ROOM IN THE INN CAROLING
For 35 years, Still… No Room in the Inn Christmas carolers have brought joy to homeless shelters and other sites in downtown St. Petersburg. Bring your friends, family, coworkers and pets to join Celebrate Outreach for our annual joyful evening of caroling, hot chocolate, and cookies!
• 7:00-9:00 PM on Friday, December 11
• We begin and end at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 100 Mirror Lake Drive in St. Petersburg
• We carol at downtown sites and return to the church
• A “blister bus” will be provided for those requiring assistance, and we will provide lyric sheets
Still… No Room in the Inn takes its name from the Christmas story, when Jesus of Nazareth was born as a homeless refugee and placed in an animal’s feeding trough because there was “no room in the inn” for him and his family. The caroling is a reminder that over two thousand years after the first Christmas there is “still no room in the inn” for many people in St. Petersburg.
This delightful and moving event has become an annual tradition for many in the Tampa Bay area. People of all ages, professions, economic conditions, religious beliefs and singing abilities carol together, united by the belief that everyone should have decent housing.
Join us for a joyous evening! Festive attire for people (and pets!) is encouraged but not required.
For more information: (727) 492-1590 or [email protected]

HOMELESS MEMORIAL AND PROCESSIONJoin the St. Petersburg community for Celebrate Outreach’s second holiday tradition, the...
10/02/2026

HOMELESS MEMORIAL AND PROCESSION
Join the St. Petersburg community for Celebrate Outreach’s second holiday tradition, the nineteenth annual Homeless Memorial Service, as people remember and honor those who died in 2026 without shelter in Pinellas County.
• Friday, December 18
• 4:30 PM
• Unitarian Universalist Church, 100 Mirror Lake Drive N. in downtown St. Petersburg
This powerful one-hour interfaith service will include singing, readings, reflections from local leaders, a reading of the deceased’s names, and a candle lighting. The service will end with a procession to Mirror Lake led by bagpiper Gemma Briggs (https://www.gemmabriggs.com/) to lay memorial flowers. The Unitarian Universalist Church’s weekly Sunset Supper will follow.
The service is the St. Petersburg observance of Homeless Persons Memorial Day (https://nationalhomeless.org/homeless-persons-memorial-day/). Since 1990 this nationwide observance occurs on or near the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It is sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless (https://nationalhomeless.org/) and other groups.
For more information: [email protected] or (727) 631-1031.

SAVING THE SAFETY NETWhen some members of the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners proposed cutting or curtailing the ...
09/19/2026

SAVING THE SAFETY NET
When some members of the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners proposed cutting or curtailing the safety net for their most vulnerable constituents, citizens including breakfast volunteers sent letters explaining the vital need for the funds. After the Commission voted to extend the funding for another year, Celebrate Outreach sent this photo of everyone at the breakfast to each commissioner, along with this message:
"All your constituents at the Celebrate Outreach Saturday morning breakfast thank you for voting to support social funding in Pinellas County! Citizen volunteers and elected leaders all have a role in caring for our most vulnerable neighbors, and we are grateful that we are working together. "

BACK TO SCHOOLThanks to Adam Guerin and Eric Schlecht for setting up Dr. John Curtis’ display “Getting to Know Our Unsee...
09/19/2026

BACK TO SCHOOL
Thanks to Adam Guerin and Eric Schlecht for setting up Dr. John Curtis’ display “Getting to Know Our Unseen Neighbors” to greet returning students at Eckerd College. The late Dr. Curtis based the display on homeless statistics, his work serving at the Unitarian Universalist Sunset Supper, his training as a psychiatrist, and the sketches he made of the people he helped serve. The display has information on volunteering with the six groups that serve from 1617 16th Street South.

TURNING A PAGEThe building that housed the old PTL breakfast site has been purchased for $1.5 million (!) and is in the ...
09/19/2026

TURNING A PAGE
The building that housed the old PTL breakfast site has been purchased for $1.5 million (!) and is in the process of becoming Pages and Perks, a combination bookstore and mocktail bar.
https://stpeterising.com/home/new-bookstore-pages-and-perks-opening-this-summer-near-roser-park-in-south-st-pete?fbclid=IwY2xjawQigRtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeDFknqLrTrWGyr0TLVWGJMFOmjwQ2DJchh5_HeBaywaoOVRRx-FkvM73cI2s_aem_zh4SDVsRzpW6JJMJDDdwKw

A new bookstore called Pages and Perks is preparing to open at 914 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South near Historic Roser Park and the St. Petersburg Innovation District. The 1,600-square-foot space is currently under renovation and owner Kate Johnson tells St. Pete Rising that Pages and P

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGESA recent photo of the former sites of the PTL Church (middle) and Celebrate Outreach breakfast and Mi...
09/19/2026

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
A recent photo of the former sites of the PTL Church (middle) and Celebrate Outreach breakfast and Missio Dei dinner (right). They probably aren't going to keep Pastor Scott's football logos.

BOOK 'EM, DANNOThe final planned home for tomes.
09/19/2026

BOOK 'EM, DANNO
The final planned home for tomes.

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100 Mirror Lake Drive N
Saint Petersburg, FL
33701

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