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Tampa Bay moms create Juneteenth Bingo to help support Black-owned businesses

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Posted at 12:39 PM, May 30, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-30 17:55:18-04

TAMPA, Fla. — Throughout the month of June Black-owned businesses across Tampa Bay hope to be yelling Bingo as much as possible.

A couple of Tampa moms are putting their own twist on the legendary game.

“Well as a mom, I have three kids, I want to show them in my actions that, ‘Hey, I’m not just saying we should support our community, we should circulate the Black dollar, I’m showing them how to do it,” said Kiva Williams.

Williams and Karimah Henry have been blogging about Tampa Black-owned businesses for years, but this Juneteenth, they really wanted to do something special that lasts all month long. The answer was Bingo.

“It’s a fun way to get people out to support,” said Williams. “People like challenges, so hey we are challenging you to go out and see how many Black-owned businesses you can go to whether it’s restaurants, nail salons, pharmacies, gyms.”

It’s just like a normal bingo card, but instead of marking off B2, in this case it’s Al’s BBQ.

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“We want you to actually order and support these businesses by purchasing something from them so you can order a meal from a food truck, you can book a session with a photographer, you can attend local events happening in the Tampa Bay Area,” said Henry.

Al’s Barbecue said this combination of generosity and creativity won’t only heat up business, but bring us together.

“It feels good, I love when people reach out to help, because they have heart, if they didn’t have heart they wouldn’t do it,” said founder Allen Reynolds.

Every bingo you earn, you’re entered into a raffle to win a prize. Kiva and Kari said it’s just one of many projects they have in the works through their initiative, The Black Excellence Challenge.

“You are helping families, not just some big corporation, you’re helping your neighbors, you’re helping your friends,” said Henry.

You can download your own Juneteenth Bingo card to your phone through the Tampa Bay Black Excellence Challenge Facebook page or go to Tampa Bay BEC on Instagram.