A pair of local philanthropists have made a transformative gift to help locals in need – and now they’re challenging fellow St. Petians to do the same. Today, the St. Petersburg Free Clinic announced the Burgess-Hess million-dollar gift and challenge, as Trevor Burgess and Gary Hess committed $1 million to support the important work of SPFC.

The Free Clinic’s wide-reaching work in Pinellas County provides health care, nutritious food, recovery housing, and education for our neighbors in need. Hess and Burgess have been supporting the invaluable community resource for over a decade. With this gift, they are asking locals to match the charitable support so that SPFC can continue and build upon its crucial work. 

“It is the generosity of individuals like Gary and Trevor that allows SPFC to respond to the overwhelming, and growing need in the community,” SPFC CEO Jennifer Yeagley said. “Last month alone, SPFC provided over 34,000 individuals access to nutritious food through our We Help FRESH Pantry locations. This is as many people as we served in a full year just five years ago. Gary has seen firsthand our community’s need for food increase year-over-year and month-over-month as a regular volunteer at Jared’s Drive Thru FRESH Pantry.”

Hess’s role with SPFC has been vital, as he joined the Board of Directors in 2019, and has been volunteering at the We Help FRESH Pantry for three years. In honor of his work and the combined gift of Hess and Burgess, The SPFC volunteer program is going to be named The Gary Hess Volunteer Services Program.

“Volunteers are a vital component to SPFC’s ability to serve the community,” Yeagley said. “Each day, they meet our neighbors in need with compassion and respect. Serving as a drive-thru volunteer is a physically and emotionally demanding task. Each week, rain or shine, Gary is out loading cars full of nutritious food for those in need to take home to their families. It is with great honor that we acknowledge the long-term dedication and commitment to serving others that Gary Hess provides by bestowing the naming rights of SPFC’s volunteer program to him. The Gary Hess Volunteer Services Program at SPFC will underscore his spirit of service and generosity.”

Seeing the impact firsthand inspired Hess and Burgess to make this gift, and their hope to see the gift matched comes from knowing how much more is still needed. As SPFC notes, the need for support in St. Pete and Pinellas County has actually increased by more than 50% over the last few years as so many individuals and families in the area struggle to keep up with the soaring cost of living. 

“Gary and I are proud to support SPFC’s mission with a gift that helps to ensure the long-term viability of this critical community resource,” Burgess said. “Gary is there every Tuesday helping neighbors in need, seeing firsthand the shocking level of food insecurity impacting our community. We call on the community to join us in supporting the SPFC’s mission.”

The Burgess-Hess gift encourages others in the community to step forward to support SPFC. Gifts help to provide our neighbors in need with access to healthy, nutritious food, health care, recovery housing and education. To contribute to the Burgess-Hess Challenge, you can donate here https://stpetersburgfreeclinic.org/donate/.