Denny Locasio, RCNT After Hours Satellite member and owner of Impact Fitness, has been featured on both ABC Action News and  Fox 13 in the past few weeks.


 

ABC News featured Denny's Heroes Adapt Foundation which helps veterans and other heroes work out at Impact Fitness. The foundation also provides adaptive workout equipment in heroes' homes. Heroes Adapt is one of the nonprofits supported by the RCNT Giveback Breakfast.

Fox 13 featured Denny and the GoRuck team from Tampa who went to Normandy retracing the steps of D-Day. According to Fox 13 Reporter Genevieve Curtis, it was a 17-hour, 50-mile ruck carrying 20 pounds plus all their food and water. They hiked past monuments and cemeteries with rows and rows of heroes who never left France.

Denny's grandfathers both served in WWII. ""I want to pass it along to not only my generation but even the next generation down to keep those stories alive. To keep those ideals of willpower and unity and overcoming all those things that we try to pass along to the next generation," Denny said.

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New Tampa Rotary Gives Back
Part face-to-face nonprofit networking, part donation celebration—the annual Give Back Breakfast hosted by the Rotary Club of New Tampa packed the room. This year, the club hosted local and global nonprofits giving away $61,809 from its foundation annual fund.
 

“What’s significant is the number of collaborations and relationships built between the nonprofits during and after breakfast,” said Ken Guidera, 2023-24 club president. “Each nonprofit has a few minutes to explain what they do and how they plan to use the donation. That creates ideas. I heard the folks from Kennedy Cares making plans to meet later with OASIS Opportunities. These community leaders don’t often have the chance to meet like this.”

New Tampa Rotarians have supported OASIS Opportunities since three moms founded it in 2001. “New clothes and school supplies equals dignity,” said Dawn Shulman,  OASIS executive director. Last year 60 to 65 percent of Hillsborough County Public School students were economically disadvantaged. This year it is 87 percent.

“Today's donation goes to help our Pop-up Shop which is our newest program. The mobile clothes closet makes sure that our high school students have all the clothing and the hygiene items they need to fit in with their peers, meet dress code, get to school every day and fully engage in their learning. We all know getting an education and that diploma is a kiddo's passport to choices in their life,” Shulman said.

The New Tampa Family YMCA is also addressing the increase in economically disadvantaged youth.

“All the money we raise for our YMCA each year goes back into the community as part of our Open Doors Program,” said Ryan Pratt, executive director. “We provide financial assistance to those in the community that may be in financial distress. About 35 percent of our members are on some sort of financial assistance. No one would know that when they come into our facility. The kids can participate in swim lessons, sports and summer camp. Parents can have a family membership taking care of their health and wellness while we watch their kids.”

Denny Locasio, owner of Impact Fitness, joined the Rotary Club of New Tampa After Hours Satellite group to give back to his community. His Heroes Adapt Foundation is using its donation to buy home cardio workout equipment for two veterans.

“This equipment is built for their wheelchairs so they can fit into it. That's the big thing. They can keep themselves healthy without needing assistance from other people,” he said. Locasio trained in exercise science at USF and worked with the athletic department at USF. “Working with athletes, I've been around a lot of injuries. I’m transferring that learning to veterans. Working around their injuries and some of their limitations.”

The complete list of Rotary Club of New Tampa nonprofit partners who received donations during the 2023-24 Rotary year.

• Cleft Lip and Palate Vocational Training Teams in Peru-Rotary Club of Venice-Nokomis (Global Grant)
• Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
• Evolve School of Learning
• Fisher House
• Ghana Service Projects-USF Rotaract
• H20 for Life Burkina Faso Water Projects-White Bear Lake, MN Rotary Club (Global Grant)
• Helping Hands Food Pantry
• Heroes Adapt
• Hillsborough Literacy Council
• Hurricane Idalia Disaster Relief-Rotary District 6890
• Kennedy Cares Tampa Bay
• Makumbi Orphanage-c/o Rotary Club of Harare Central, Zimbabwe
• Maui Fire Disaster Relief-Rotary District 5000 Hawaii
• Mission Smiles
• New Tampa YMCA
• OASIS Opportunities.
• Pioneer Medical Foundation
• Polio Plus-The Rotary Foundation
• Project Dynamo
• Rotary Camp Florida
• Seminar 4 Tomorrow’s Leaders
• Stay in Step Rehabilitation
• Teen Impact
• The Joshua House
• The Rotary Foundation
• USF Rotaract

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