ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Nite Riders Van Club will receive $2,000 from the St. Petersburg Police Department forfeiture fund to help pay for the organization’s annual backpack giveaway for students in need.

What You Need To Know

  •  The forfeiture fund has $96K

  • 35 communitty-based programs will split the money

  • The Nite Riders Van Club will receive $2,000

  • Club will use the money to giveaway 300 backpacks to students in need

“It covers all the supplies,” club president Donnie Williams said. “We are graciously appreciative of the City and what they do for us.”

Williams said they fill about 300 backpacks with school supplies and the non-profit gives the items away in early August.

“We have all the school supplies that the kids would need,” he said. “It’s a start for them.”

On Friday, police chief Anthony Holloway and Mayor Ken Welch will hold a forfeiture fund check presentation ceremony at St. Petersburg Police Department headquarters for 35 community organizations that will be splitting $96,000 seized from criminals. Chief Holloway is especially interested in assisting programs promoting positive behavior for children and teens, according to a news release.

Williams said it’s nice to turn money that was meant to harm the community into something much more positive.

“A lot of people are not aware that some of the money that is seized from the drug dealers and illegal activities is turned back to the community,” he said. “Which is a great thing.”

The Nite Riders Van Club will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Williams said the students who receive backpacks are always very grateful.

“We had the kids lined up for food and the line was filled with people getting ready to eat,” he said. “Then they heard we were going to start to giveaway the backpacks. They left the food line to run and get the school supplies.”

The forfeiture fund program is administered by the St. Petersburg Police Department Legal Division which seeks organizations that improve neighborhood safety, promote crime prevention and drug abuse prevention.

List of programs receving funds:

  • Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg (Graduate Support Services Financial Literacy Workshops) - $1,000
  • Account Scouts Academy, Inc. (Financial Literacy Workshops) - $1,500
  • All Things Working Together for Good, Inc. (All Things Working Together for Go) - $1,000
  • Azalea Bulldogs Youth Football & Cheer (Youth Organization Support) - $1,000
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast (SMART Moves) - $1,000
  • Community Actions Stops Abuse, Inc. (CASA) (CASA's Community Education Give) - $1,500
  • Community Action Stops Abuse, Inc. (CASA) (Peace Breakfast) - $2,500
  • COSP Parks & Recreation (St. Pete Value Program) - $3,000
  • COSP Parks & Recreation Department/TASCO Out of School (Guess What? Teens Care! Scrubbin Da Burg) - $3,000
  • Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA Leadership Program) - $2,100
  • Eckerd College Waterfront Program (Eckerd College Search and Rescue) - $3,000
  • Friends of Johnson Branch Library, Inc (James Weldon Johnson Literacy Fe) - $1,900
  • Front Porch Community Development Association, Inc. (Youth Mental Health Disparities) - $1,000
  • Girl Scout Troop 1431 (Junior Camper Badge & Junior Eco) - $500
  • Girls on the Run Greater Tampa Bay (Girls on the Run Greater Tampa Bay) - $5,000
  • Grindhouse Elite Club, Inc. (Grindhouse Elite Club, Inc.) - $1,500
  • Hope Villages of America (HVA Technology Build Grant/The H) - $2,000
  • Javaris Green (Young Kings & Queens College Prep) - $2,000
  • Junior League of St. Petersburg (2024 Care Fair) - $3,000
  • Larry Murphy (Gibbs High School Boys Basketball) - $2,000
  • Mike Machado/Pinellas County School Board (Gibbs High School Fishing Club) - $1,500
  • Nite Riders Van Club (Annual Back to School Backpack Giveaway) - $2,000
  • Operation PAR, Inc. (Safety and Drug Use Prevention) - $1,500
  • Pinellas Urban League (Equal Opportunity Day Gala) - $5,000
  • Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg (2024 PAL Brinner) - $10,000
  • St. Petersburg Association of Community Empowerment (Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy) - $2,000
  • St. Petersburg Police Public Safety Cadets (St. Petersburg Police Public Safety) - $14,000
  • Suncoast Cheerleading Association, Inc (Elevated Cheer & Tumble Cheer Shoes) - $2,400
  • Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition/Tampa Bay Living Green (Lake Vista Community Garden) - $2,500
  • TASCO Center for Teen Technology (Content Creator 2.0 - After School) - $2,500
  • TASCO Teen Programs (Girls Flag Football Initiative) - $2,600
  • TASCO Teen Programs (TASCO Fishing Club) - $5,000
  • The Gathering of Women, Inc. (Miss Jo's Garden/Kids in the Kitchen) - $3,000
  • Westcare GulfCoast-Florida, Inc. (Camp Mariposa "Best Feet Forward”) - $1,000
  • World Partnerships, Inc. (Global Law Enforcement Exchange) - $2,000