The Community Service Foundation, founded in 1957 in Harbor Bluffs,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

is now headquartered in

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

. Its goal is to provide help on a local level to poor residents of

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

. It started as a privately funded organization and has evolved into a regionally funded effort. CSF's first project, in 1962, was a center in

Ridgecrest, Florida Ridgecrest is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,558 at the 2010 census. Geography Ridgecrest is located at (27.895767, -82.804786). According to the United States Census Bureau, the ...

for pre-teen children as an educational and recreational outlet. The Foundation and the Friends of Ridgecrest, from three adjoining communities, created a core lending library at the center, with an emphasis on books relevant to the community's culture - for example "Singing Heart", a small book about Marian Anderson written by Lenore Spivey. The community center still serves the area's residents 50 years later.The Florida Humanities Council Discover Black Florida Website - Ridgecrest Community Center
created by CSF and local residents CSF also participated in President Lyndon B. Johnson's "

VISTA Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 *VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

" program, Volunteers in Service to America, training VISTA volunteers at a former migrant labor camp north of Bradenton in 1966. The Foundation now focuses on affordable housing for low-income Pinellas County residents. CSF was created in October 1957 by businessman Willis T. Spivey and his wife Lenore; for the first decade, the Foundation's office was in their home. Before her death, Willis and his first wife Dorothy, a Quaker, sponsored the Community Workshop Association in Wallinngford, Pennsylvania in the early 1950s. Spivey was the founder and CEO of The Spivey Company in Philadelphia, manufacturer of material handling systems. Born in Greenville, Georgia, he died in 1971 at age 84; Lenore died in 1978 at 78. Executive Directors at CSF have included Thomas P. "Pat" Hardeman, Charles Mann for 31 years, Jerry Spilatro for 19 years, and current ED Perry Bean.

References

Tampa Bay Newspapers, Wednesday, September 27, 2006. Golf Calendar - Tournament to benefit Community Service Foundation

External links

Community Service Foundation
Official site. {{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Florida Pinellas County, Florida Organizations established in 1957 1957 establishments in Florida