WIMAUMA - With one of the most diverse populations in all of Hillsborough County, Wimauma continues its transition from a rural agricultural hub to a place for new subdivisions.
Depending on the area you visit in this 25 square mile track of land, you'll find housing developments popping up along U.S. 301 both north and south of State Road 674, as well as even more houses blooming on State Road 674 east of Sun City Center.
But if you look past all the new houses, Aldi, Wal-Mart and WaWa, you see a side of Wimauma that has been underserved and neglected for far too long.
Recognizing the unique situation that exists in Wimauma, Carl Harness, the Chief Human Services Administrator for Hills-borough County, decided to examine the critical needs of Wimauma, which includes a population makeup that's 75 percent Hispanic or Latino according to the 2010 census.
Harness heads up the Human Services Group for the county which is made up of Homeless Services, Aging Services, Children's Services, Head Start, Social Services, the Sunshine Line and the county's healthcare program. As a team, representatives of these agencies began going on tours through the Wimauma community to get a sense of some of the conditions there.
"As we were noting these conditions, the good, the bad and the ugly, we decided that we wanted to collaborate and coordinate our services with the county to see what we could do to help improve life in general out in the Wimauma area," Harness said. "We decided that first we needed to do something to reintroduce ourselves to the community and allow them to know what services are available for them.
"Wimauma is very diverse," he continued. "In addition to the regular diversity you have in any community in the Tampa area, there is also a large migrant community out there as well. A lot of folks kind of disregard the migrant community but our philosophy is that if they are in Hillsborough County, they are ours. We're responsible for their health, safety and welfare and we're going to do what we can to promote that."
So from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 7), the county will invite residents to "Heart of Hillsborough : Wimauma" at Bethune Park, 5809 Edina St.
Dana McDonald, Senior Special Events Coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, will help initiate a carnival-style event for the Wimauma residents.
"Having a big event in a park is really a great way to revitalize a community by creating a sense of belonging and presenting something that people really want to come to," McDonald said. "This is going to be a wonderful event that will be a combination of government and non-profit agencies in Hillsborough County that have services specifically for people in the Wimauma area.
"We wanted a resource/family fun event which really works in this area," McDonald said. "Last year we had about 30 vendors of both non-profits and governmental agencies plus free food. About 600 people came."
This year's event promises to be even bigger and better, with more fun activities and games for the kids. Rays mascot Raymond will be on hand for pictures with the family. There will also be chance drawings for prizes that will be awarded every hour. And for the adults, more than 45 vendors will provide valuable information on services that are available to the residents of this community.
Allegheny Franciscan Ministries is a big sponsor for this event and has provided the monetary support for free food and water throughout the day as well as covering the cost of advertising, promotional items and other expenses.
The county views this as an inspired call for help for Wimauma, and it hopes the area's newest residents will answer.
"If we're going to try to make an impact, we picked this community and said, 'Let's see how far we can get and what we can do," Harness said. "We've just created this excitement and I really think we're going to be able to do some great things out there."