The hits have grown harder day by day as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have progressed through the first week of training camp. No impact on the practice field, however, has matched what the Glazer Family Foundation managed on Friday during a full day of giving back to the community.

The Glazer Family Foundation awarded over $25,000 in grants to six nonprofit organizations on Friday at One Buccaneer Place while training camp practice took place out back. Foundation Co-President Darcie Glazer Kassewitz brought representatives from the organizations together to engage in a roundtable discussion about their charitable efforts and accept grant checks and commemorative plaques from the Foundation.

Each year, the Foundation awards grants in the summer and winter to West Central Florida programs focused on the health, safety, recreation and education of disadvantaged youth. In 2009, 12 nonprofit organizations received grants through the bi-annual program.

"Our family is fully committed to assisting charitable organizations in West Central Florida that present innovative and resourceful ways to help children and families in need," said Glazer Kassewitz. "We are proud to support these fine organizations today."

Kenneth Bryant, the Youth Sports Programs Manager at the Tampa Housing Authority, was responsible for writing their grant application received and eventually selected by the Glazer Family Foundation. The application requested financial assistance to help pay for computer programs, afterschool tutorials and sports participation for children who reside in public housing.

"It means a lot to the Housing Authority," said Bryant. "It means a lot to see an organization as successful as the Buccaneers and the Glazer Family Foundation reach out to the community and be willing to help children and their families that otherwise would not receive this type of help. We are very grateful for it."

Below are the six organizations that received summer grants from the Foundation and descriptions of their grant proposals:

· Community Based Care of Seminole - Pathways to Home (Seminole County)was created to increase family stability and resiliency by guiding homeless families to services that best meet their needs. The grant will cover the costs of children to attend a high-quality after-school care and enrichment program.

· Everyday Blessings (Hillsborough County) provides services to abused, abandoned and neglected children with the ultimate goal of placing them in safe, stable and permanent homes. The awarded grant will help purchase a new water system for the residential center, where the current system has been deemed deficient by the Hillsborough County Health System.

· Heart Gallery of Pinellas & Pasco (Pinellas & Pasco Counties) is dedicated to helping foster care children find permanent families through adoption with the help of attractive art displays. The grant will allow for the purchase of smaller, permanent displays to be placed in high-traffic public areas to help promote the pictures and biographies of current foster care children.

· The Mustard Seed of Central Florida (Orange County)helps rebuild the lives of families and individuals who have suffered from natural disaster or personal tragedy. The grant will allow for the purchase of 62 twin-sized beds for underprivileged children.

· The Spring of Tampa Bay (Hillsborough County)prevents domestic violence by protecting victims and promoting change in individuals, families and communities affected by abuse. The grant will provide children who have been victims of domestic violence with educational field trips and summer activities to serve as rewards and incentives for increased learning and educational development.

· Tampa Housing Authority (Hillsborough County)provides safe and sanitary housing to low income individuals and families residing in Tampa Bay. The grant will help cover the costs of academic computer programs, afterschool tutorials, educational initiatives and sports participation for children who reside in public housing.

The Foundation's charitable giving didn't stop there on Friday. Prior to the grant presentation, Glazer Kassewitz awarded backpacks to 47 local nonprofit organizations and community groups through the Foundation's annual Buc-Packs for Back-to-School program. Glazer Kassewitz greeted each youth group and organization representative as the backpacks were distributed in front of the gates at the Buccaneers' training facility. Members of the youth groups then took part in the Gatorade Junior Training Camp on the Bucs' practice field.

"As a mother, I know the importance of sending children to school with all of the necessary supplies," said Glazer Kassewitz. "For this reason, the Foundation is committed to providing underprivileged youth with Buccaneer backpacks full of supplies to help even the learning playing field."

More than one hundred children who received backpacks were from Take Stock in Children, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Pasco County that provides economically disadvantaged students with mentoring, guidance and the prospect of a college scholarship.

"The real world is that these kids cannot afford backpacks or school supplies," said Take Stock's Rosanne Heyser. "The Bucs have been very generous and the Glazer Family Foundation has been awesome with the backpacks and they have invited us to games as well which is an incredible experience."

Added Bryant, whose organization was also the recipient of Buc-Packs on Friday: "These are opportunities that our children would not be able to get or see, so it means an awful lot to be accepted and experience the things that they otherwise would never experience."

In 2010 the following groups received backpacks from the Glazer Family Foundation:

· Abe Brown Ministries, Inc.

· African American Arts Festival Committee

· After School Programs, Inc.

· Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Inc.

· Boys & Girls Clubs of Hernando County

· Bridging Lives, Inc.

· CDC of Tampa, Inc Youth Leadership Movement

· Central Florida Police Athletic League, Inc.

· Central Florida YMCA

· Children's Cancer Center

· Children's Home Society of Florida (Orlando)

· Children's Home Society of Florida (Tampa)

· Community Action Network

· Devereux Florida

· Florida Adults & Children Enrichment Services, Inc.

· Friends of Children and Families

· Frostproof Care Center, Inc.

· GFWC Brandon Junior Women's Club

· Girl Scouts of Citrus Council

· Girl Scouts of West Central Florida

· Girls Inc. of Lakeland

· Harbor House of Central Florida

· Hope Fund

· Kids House of Seminole

· Mary Bradley Weeks Educational Project, Inc.

· Mary Help of Christians Center

· Metropolitan Ministries, Inc.

· Mulberry Community Service Center

· NFL YET Centers of Tampa Bay, Inc.

· One Hope United

· Personal Enrichment Through Mental Health Services, Inc.

· Pinellas Village Inc./Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg

· Police Athletic League

· Project LINK, Inc.

· Stepping Stones: Children of Incarcerated Parents, Inc.

· Suncoast Voices for Children Foundation, Inc.

· Take Stock in Children

· Tampa Bay Community & Family Development Corp.

· Tampa Housing Authority/Oaks at Riverview Community Center

· Tampa Jewish Family Services

· The Center for Drug-Free Living, Inc.

· The Children's Home Inc.

· The Salvation Army - Central Florida

· The Salvation Army - Western Polk County

· The Spring of Tampa Bay, Inc.

· YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg

· YMCA of the Suncoast

Through the Glazer Family Foundation's Buc-Packs for Back-to-School program, over 3,400 backpacks were donated by the Foundation, which has provided almost 19,000 backpacks to local children over the past 10 years.

The Glazers, who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, established the Foundation in 1999. Since that time, the Glazer Family Foundation has given millions of dollars in programs, grants, tickets and merchandise to the Tampa Bay area. Most recently, the Foundation donated $5 million toward the construction of a new children's museum in downtown Tampa, which will open on September 25, 2010 and be named the Glazer Children's Museum. To learn more, visit www.GlazerFamilyFoundation.org.