Sanford Commissioner Kerrios Wiggins details District 2 outreach: mental-health event, college fair, food and holiday drives

Lisa Holder, communications and marketing manager for the City of Sanford, interviewed Commissioner Kerrios Wiggins (District 2) on the Sanford Says podcast, where Wiggins reviewed a slate of ongoing community programs and announced several upcoming events.

Wiggins described a recent mental-health awareness event called “No More Excuses,” organized with UYA and Westside Community Center leaders including Danny Adams and Brett Henderson. She said youth participants were invited to write about their feelings and that parents responded positively, prompting organizers to plan follow-up sessions.

The episode also highlighted a College and Career Fair scheduled for tonight at the Mel H. Williams Community Center (called the Village Project/College and Career Fair). Wiggins said the fair will include college representatives, FAFSA assistance and career resources for middle- and high-school students and their parents.

Wiggins reviewed recurring District 2 programming: a monthly community meeting (third Thursday at 6 p.m.) that brings city department representatives and school officials to hear resident concerns; a fourth annual Thanksgiving dinner following the meeting (meeting at 6 p.m., serving at 7 p.m.); and recurring food giveaways run in partnership with the Picnic Project (cofounders Mark and Ryan), volunteers and the City. She said past food events have served dozens to hundreds of families and that Second Harvest once delivered an 18-wheeler load of groceries (she cited about 32,000 pounds) for distribution.

The commissioner described partnerships with Hamilton Elementary (principal Mr. Fuller) for giveaways that recently served about 100 families, and with Lake Mary Church for holiday toy drives that Wiggins said yielded roughly 1,500 gifts last year. She called attention to mentoring and youth-development efforts — including My Brother’s Keeper and Front Porch mentoring — and named mindset coach Randy Simmons as a keynote contributor at recent programming.

Wiggins framed the work as relationship-driven and faith-informed, saying volunteering and coordinated partnerships help expose young people to college and career pathways (she cited student trips to Tallahassee and visits to FAMU and Florida State as examples). She encouraged residents to attend District 2 meetings and to reach out via the city website or the commissioner’s listed nonprofit or city contact channels for appointments.

The episode closed with Holder noting Sanford Says is available at sanfordfl.gov, on social media and on podcast platforms. Wiggins reiterated she is recovering from knee surgery but is resuming community work and invited residents to engage directly with her on local issues.

The city did not announce any formal votes or ordinances during the episode; the segment focused on outreach, events and partnerships.