Mission:
The Community Roots Collective is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to empower families through education, resources, and love. The Community Roots Collective is a place where families can grow by building community that will support them throughout the budding challenges of raising a family.
In 2012, Charlie Rea Young, the founder of the Community Roots Collective (The Roots) & Barefoot Birth, was driving around in her makeshift mobile infirmary. The “Bus” as it was called, was built from the ground up by some amazing volunteers and herself. The purpose was to provide free prenatal care to the most impoverished communities in Tampa Bay. During her time on the road and as a midwife to low-income families, she heard one main complaint coming from the families she served. “There was no place for like-minded families to go for support groups, breast feeding classes, & child/parent developmental classes that did not have a hidden agenda or cost associated with them.” Three years later, The Roots was established to address the needs of the community. A home was built in 2015 where families of all races, income levels, & ideologies could come and be with “their people”. A home that is a no judgment zone. A home that could help a mom battling post-partum depression. A home for an infant to come and socialize with other babies through music and sensory play.
The families we serve represent the full socioeconomic diversity of the Tampa Bay area.
