TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa family business is gathering much-needed supplies for the homeless this holiday season, and it’s all in honor of one of their own.
Southern Alchemy Wellness in Temple Terrace is adding warm clothes and hygiene products to its inventory of herbs and spices.
“We’re from Brooklyn, New York,” said owner Tracy Person. “When my mother passed away in the middle of the pandemic in 2021, we made the decision to come here.”
That’s when Tracy, her husband Darrin, and their kids decided to pursue the family dream of holistic wellness and health.
“It’s always been like a side hustle for me, health, wellness, how people are supporting themselves with self-care,” said Tracy.
They teamed up with the nonprofit organization Enlightened Florida to host the annual Gather and Give Dignity Drive, collecting clothes and hygiene products for the local homeless community.
“People treat you better when you are clean, you feel better when you are clean,” said Tracy. “If you can brush your teeth, if you can kind of wipe down, these are things that people like us take for granted.”
“I see them up and down Busch all the time. I live close by, and you always think about what can I do, how can I help more,” said client Tabetha Martinez.
Tracy said this mission is personal.
“My own son did a stint with homelessness. We always think that it’s going to be someone else, we always think that it’s someone else's child," she said.
“I think that he would want to have this done when he was out there. I think that in a way I would have liked to have helped him in a way we are helping people now,” said Gage Cook, Tracy's son.
“So we kind of do this in his name, and we do this for all the people who either can’t ask for help or think that they won’t be able to get help,” said Tracy.
They soon realized that many of the people who were donating had stories just like theirs.
“Thirty years ago, I was homeless with four children in California, so I can relate, just knowing that experience and how you become invisible to not only yourself but to the community and others,” said client Darmita White. "It’s important for us to give back."
The donations will continue to be collected until Dec. 19 and then handed out during the Dec. 23 Christmas in the Park event hosted by the All Rise Foundation.
That event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at River Town Park.
“This is big, this is spreading, we love the support,” said Tracy, who also wanted to thank all the other area businesses, like Redefine Your Spine, that set up donation boxes to help collect.
