The holiday season is in full swing, the leftover turkey is a gone, the gift shopping madness has begun and family's are preparing for the Christmas Holiday. With all the festive decorations and traditional Christmas trees going up in homes across the nation, the The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Tallahassee has released a list of 10 simple tips to help keep the holiday decorating safe for everyone. With drought conditions across much of Florida the risk of fires are much higher and extra caution should be taking while hanging your lights and decorating this year. 

 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF) has named United Way’s Born Learning program the September/October winner of its The Pursuit social media campaign.  The Born Learning program is a result of a partnership between United Way of America, the Ad Council, Civitas and Families and Work Institute, helping parents, caregivers and communities create quality early learning opportunities for young children. As many communities are concerned with children attending school unprepared, United Way’s Born Learning program provides parents, grandparents, informal caregivers and professional child care providers with educational materials on how to boost school readiness in order to help children succeed academically. 

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. announced it has joined forces with Feeding America to launch the Give a Meal program, which gives Winn-Dixie guests and team members the opportunity to help provide food to nearly 37 million Americans — including more than 14 million children — facing hunger this holiday season. Give a Meal runs through Jan. 3 and is available in all of Winn-Dixie’s 482 stores in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Every $1 donated during the campaign helps provide eight meals to people in need.