Sunrise of Pasco County - PODS Championship
By Julie Petrovic

On March 7, the PTWA and PODS Championship hosted a luncheon to benefit Sunrise of Pasco County, a domestic violence and rape crisis center. "This charity is near and dear to my heart," said Julie Petrovic, who nominated the organization. "This is where my girls and I volunteer when we're home." Sunrise offers a 24-hour free rape hotline. They work with sister agencies to offer job assistance or substance abuse support to their clients, do an outreach program with local elementary schools and run a shelter which houses up to 24 women and children full time. Often, women and children arrive with just the clothes on their back, so basic necessities like pajamas, soap, shampoo and undergarments are needed. PTWA members reached deep into their personal resources and shopped from a "wish list" from Sunrise and provided many needed items. In addition to the gifts, the Julie Petrovic presented a check for $1,000 on behalf of the PTWA to Penny Morrill, CEO of the center, to help support the services and needs of Sunrise.

"We are starting to realize more and more that even though we may move on to the next community and the next tournament, the work that we are doing is the legacy that we are leaving behind," Julie Petrovic explained. "The dollars that we leave in a community continue to work and, hopefully, we help spotlight an area that the community will embrace and continue to support after we're gone." That seemed to be the case in the Tampa Bay community. As the story aired locally, the shelter received donations and money to support their programs. For more information about Sunrise, please visit their website at www.sunrisepasco.org.