Teaming up with the Salvation Army, Heritage Insurance helped to bring some much needed cheer to the Tampa Bay area this past holiday season through their participation in the Angel Tree program. Each year, the Angel Tree program, an entirely volunteer initiative, provides new toys and clothing to needy children who might otherwise go without any presents this holiday season.  About 10,000 children will benefit from this program in the Tampa Bay Area this year.  The goal for the Clearwater/Upper Pinellas Angel Tree program is to provide new toys, clothes, and food baskets for 2,000 kids in the North Pinellas area.

This is the third year that Heritage Insurance has participated and as the company grows, so does employee enthusiasm.  In 2014, Heritage Insurance sponsored 100 angels as fairly new residents of the Clearwater community.  In 2015, they doubled that number allowing 200 needy kids to experience the joy of new clothes and toys at Christmas. This year, 250 angels were sponsored. That’s more angels than employees in the Clearwater headquarters!  

Heritage departments worked hard to raise money to purchase bicycles that are also being donated this year along with the Angel sponsorships. Fundraising events such as bake sales and breakfasts were held at the Clearwater headquarters. One delicious fundraiser included a BBQ lunch cooked to order by two Claims department supervisors. The competitive spirit at Heritage shone through in several departmental contests, and with the overall support in Angel Tree adoption across the company, Heritage was able to exceed their 2016 participation goals.

Here’s a video of Heritage President Rich Widdicombe discussing Heritage’s involvement and enthusiasm this year with Lisette Campos of ABC Action News and Captain Mike Harris of the Clearwater/Upper Pinellas Salvation Army on yesterday’s Positively Tampa Bay segment.