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AutoPoint Florida employees last week presented Adelina “Addie” Ferreira, a 20-year-old graduate of the Daniel Kids independent living program, AutoPoint’s inaugural “Uncommon Scholarship.”
The $6,000 gift, combined with an upgrade from Beaver Toyota in St. Augustine, resulted in Ferreira becoming the owner of a 2009 Toyota Corolla.
The scholarship was created by AutoPoint associates in Jacksonville and Daytona as part of the company’s Life is Full of Transformation giving program.
The associates raised the funds through personal donations and online auctions as well as corporate contests and raffles.
Solera, a digital business services provider and parent company of AutoPoint, donated used corporate equipment for the auctions and helped support the AutoPoint Florida LIFT Team in the effort.
When Beaver Toyota was approached to find a suitable vehicle for $6,000, the dealership upgraded Ferreira to a car valued at more than $10,000.
“We wanted to do something uncommonly transformational that followed the LIFT belief in second chances and was a good fit with our company’s industry,” said Jon Cummins, AutoPoint director of technology product management, in a news release.
Ferreira lived in a van in California for several months before moving to Florida in 2015 to stay with relatives. However, the situation was unstable and she found herself homeless.
A counselor at her college learned of Ferreira’s predicament and recommended her to the Daniel Kids’ Project Prepare program, which provided her with safe housing, independent living instruction and life counseling.
Ferreira is living in her own apartment and obtained her associate of arts degree with a 4.0 GPA.
She is applying to a nursing program and is working as a receptionist.
“It’s amazing how many different people worked together to help me become truly self-sufficient,” Ferreira said in the news release. “The Daniel Kids program gave me the support I needed to find a safe home and continue my education, and AutoPoint and Beaver Toyota are helping me further my career and independence by generously providing me with a vehicle.”
The Holland & Knight law firm awarded $33,000 in grants to 20 local community organizations assisting at-risk children. For the seventh consecutive year, attorneys and staff in the Jacksonville office contributed money to the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation’s Local Donor Advised Fund.
The Committee for the Public Good solicited grant applications and then met over three weeks to determine which organizations would receive grants.
The committee received requests for funding causes such as camp scholarships for children with special needs, personal and professional career development programs for teens, early childhood literacy programs, arts and music education and hospice care for children in low-income families.
The organizations selected to receive grants:
“We are grateful for support from foundations like Holland & Knight’s because they make it possible for Hubbard House to provide safety and life-saving services to victims and children living with violence in their home, said Kristi Brandon, chief development officer at Hubbard House, in a news release.
“Community service and charitable giving are traditions at Holland & Knight and an important part of our identity as a law firm. Through this program, we have been introduced to so many community organizations that are working to turn around undesirable life outcomes by giving at-risk children hope, attention and the tools they need to help overcome the challenges facing them,” said Holland & Knight partner Eddie Sarnowski, chair of the Committee for Public Good, in the release.
Tickets are available for the 34th annual Caring Chefs event Oct. 22 to benefit the Children’s Home Society of Florida. About 70 chefs, sommeliers and brewers are invited to showcase their seasonal creations from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at The Avenues mall.
Admission is $70 per person, including food samples, beverages and entertainment. For reservations, call (904) 493-7738 or visit chscaringchefs.com.
Children’s Home Society of Florida is the oldest and largest statewide organization devoted to helping children and families. The organization serves more than 50,000 children and family members throughout the state each year, including more than 10,000 clients in Northeast Florida.