As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this feature that will each week chronicle the efforts of local nonprofit organizations. Bailey Publishing & Communications invites all members of the local nonprofit community to submit news, announcements, success stories and any other information they believe would be of interest to our readers. Email submissions to: [email protected].
We also encourage our readers to become more aware of the needs of these worthy organizations as they continue to provide valuable services with reduced resources.
Jaguars donate to food bank
In the spirit of the season of giving, the Jacksonville Jaguars organization, on behalf of its Touchdown Club members, donated $15,000 to Second Harvest North Florida.
Additionally, team owners Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver made a personal donation to Second Harvest of $12,500 for a total cash contribution of $27,500 to provide holiday meals for less fortunate families and senior citizens.
Second Harvest was securing the food and volunteers to assemble and fill 1,000 holiday meal food boxes.
This is the third year the Jaguars team has helped needy families for the Christmas holiday. This year, Second Harvest was able to provide fresh fruits and vegetables.
Each meal also included stuffing, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, cornbread and either a turkey or a $10 Winn-Dixie gift card to be used toward the purchase of a turkey, ham or other meat.
“We truly have the best fans and we are grateful for their continued support,” said Delores Barr Weaver.
“On behalf of these great folks, we made this contribution to Second Harvest to serve the less fortunate,” she said.
“We are thankful for the work of Second Harvest and we appreciate our partnership with Winn-Dixie as the official supermarket of the Jaguars,” said Wayne Weaver.
The Jaguars Foundation coordinated with nonprofit organizations to distribute the holiday food boxes, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Communities In Schools of Nassau County, Communities In Schools of St. Johns County, Urban Jacksonville/Cathedral Foundation at the Cathedral Residences, Heart for Children, MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation and Peace Presbyterian Church.
Players take children shopping
The Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers took 35 children from the Sulzbacher Center shopping Thursday at Toys R Us at the Town Center. Each child shopped with a player and received $100 to buy gifts.
Dreams Come True young professionals host party
With the support of several friends and family, the Dreams Come True Horizon Board made the Christmas holidays special for five dreamers and their families.
On Dec. 12, the board hosted its annual “Christmas for Dreamers” party. The Celebration of Life Room at the Dreams Come True office was filled with more than 60 wrapped gifts, which ranged from gift cards to a scooter and a motorized truck. Some of the wrapped gifts were given to the families to take home for Christmas morning.
Each year the Dreams Come True Horizon Board hosts a Christmas party in an effort to bring joy to dreamers and their families who are always battling the challenges associated with life-threatening medical conditions.
In addition to the gifts, each family was presented with a $50 gift card to a grocery store of choice. The gift cards will help families to purchase food for their Christmas dinner.
Families also were presented with an additional surprise when Jaxson de Ville and two members of the Roar cheerleaders stopped in to wish everyone a happy holiday. Each child received an autograph poster from the Roar and Jaxson de Ville.The Dreams Come True Horizon Board is the organization’s young professionals group, which was established to educate young professionals about Dreams Come True.
The Horizon Board sponsors projects for local dreamers throughout the year, such as the annual Christmas for Dreamers Party, Thanksgiving Basket Drive, and Special Times, which include gift cards for dream families, special outings, game tickets and more
Care packages for families
On Dec. 21, March of Dimes volunteers and staff visited the Shands Jacksonville Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to deliver care packages to families with babies in the hospital over the holidays.
Additional deliveries were made to NICUs in Baptist Medical Center Downtown, Baptist Medical Center South, Memorial Hospital and Orange Park Medical Center.
The Northeast Florida Division’s “Bundles of Love” project is coordinated by volunteers from the Family Teams Advisory Council and Chain Reaction Youth Leadership.
The bags contain items that might be useful to a family who suddenly has found itself in the NICU without preparation.
Items included are cameras, hand sanitizer, water, snacks, food coupons, notepads, baby blankets, clothing, holiday cards and more. There also is a NICU Parent’s Guide from former NICU parents. All items in the bags are donated.
“Bundles of Love” was conceived in 2009 when the members of the Family Teams Advisory Council wanted to reach out to families who were facing stays in the NICU over Christmas. Many of the members have faced stays in the NICU with their own babies.
Members of Chain Reaction, the youth leadership group of the March of Dimes, support the project with donations and delivery assistance.
“I have experienced the heartbreak of the NICU twice with both my boys,” Family Teams Advisory Council Co-Chair Lauren Hall-Davis said.
“The NICU is a tough place and not having your entire family home for the holidays is even harder. Providing these ‘Bundles of Love’ to NICU families should make their stay a little bit easier,” she said.
Fundraiser for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid
Tickets are on sale for the Carpe Circa “Seize the Date” Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction hosted by the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association.
The event to benefit Jacksonville Area Legal Aid will take place Feb. 9 at The River Club Downtown. The bachelors and bachelorettes will be single local attorneys.
“After learning that JALA had lost 45 percent of their funding from the Florida Bar Foundation, we realized we needed to do more than offering pro bono services to help out JALA,” said Stephanie Harriett, president of JWLA.
“We came up with the idea for the bachelor/bachelorette auction because we wanted to do something fun that could generate the most revenue. JALA is a tremendous asset to our community and we need to do all we can to keep them funded. With the economy the way it is, there are so many more people who need JALA’s help,” she said.
Tickets are on sale for $30 in advance or two for $50. Tickets can be purchased through JALA, which is at 126 W. Adams St.; through JALA’s website at www.jaxlegalaid.org; or at the Duval County Courthouse, Room 503.
Tickets also will be available the day of the event and at the door for $35.
Organizers are looking for event sponsors. For more information on the event or to become a sponsor, contact JALA Development Director Christa Figgins at 356-8371, ext. 316, or Stephanie Harriett at 630-2404.
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Inc. is a law firm of 30 attorneys specializing in providing civil legal assistance to the city’s low-income community. JALA was founded in 1979 and is a nonprofit corporation.
JALA offers civil legal services in many areas of law, including consumer law, family law, housing, refugee immigration and child law advocacy.
Second Harvest delivering water
Second Harvest North Florida delivered some Christmas cheer to the residents of Mondex – a small unincorporated Flagler County community north of Daytona – on Dec. 21. The special holiday treat was in the form of clean drinking water, something the community hasn’t had in months.
Trucks from Second Harvest will deliver more than 420,000 pounds of bottled water to residents in a series of shipments that will continue over the next four months.
The purpose of the distribution is to provide immediate relief for residents as county officials work to improve the area’s water quality. Last week’s delivery supplied 84,042 pounds of water, which is 72,576 individual 16.9-ounce bottles.
Once completed, 362,880 individual bottles of water will have been distributed. According to 2009 records, the area is home to about 2,000 residents.
Grace Tabernacle Ministries will coordinate the water distribution, which the Palm Coast church has done regularly over the past year as supplies allowed.
The church helped identify the problem in 2010 and has worked closely with the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce and County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin to begin creating possible solutions.
Grace Tabernacle is a member agency of Second Harvest North Florida, which led to the food bank’s decision to contribute resources to the project.
“We recognize that a very real need still exists for residents in this community, and we are excited to be able to play a key role in providing an interim solution,” Second Harvest Executive Director Bruce Ganger said.
“We want to ensure that the residents of Daytona North have safe drinking water until the well and filtering station is installed. We know that officials in Flagler County are working hard to raise the money to implement a long-term solution for the community. We are just happy to help in this small way,” he said.
According to news reports, residents have made their concerns known to county officials about the water quality in Daytona North. Some residents have reported discoloration of their hair and teeth as a result of the water use, while others have experienced medical difficulties. According to an Aug. 19 report in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, one resident indicated that a test of the water by a lab showed it was unfit for even bathing.
Daniel benefits from golf tournament
Daniel leaders and staff believe they scored a hole-in-one at this year’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters.
Through the tournament’s PepsiCo TICKETS Fore CHARITY program, Daniel earned more than $7,700 that can be used to continue improving the odds for kids.
TICKETS Fore CHARITY allows ticket purchasers to choose a local charity to receive a donation in the full amount of their ticket purchase.
Golf enthusiasts and Daniel supporters bought enough tickets to launch Daniel into 8th place out of 105 participating organizations. The high ranking allowed Daniel to secure a bonus pool contribution, in addition to earning 100 percent of its ticket sales.
“This donation will make a significant impact in the lives of local children in crisis,” said Daniel President and CEO Jim Clark.
“Undesignated funds like these allow us to support the area or program that has the most critical need. Whether that means connecting neglected children with foster families or providing counseling for emotionally troubled kids, the money will be put to great use,” he said.
The 2011 Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters generated $1.8 million for charity, surpassing $1.6 million the event raised in its inaugural year. The tournament is played at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course.
Advertising agency awards grants to nonprofits
Brunet-García Advertising Inc. announced the winners of the agency’s 2012 “re:solve” grant program: Wounded Warrior Project, Riverside Avondale Preservation and Greenscape of Jacksonville.
Wounded Warrior Project will receive an ad campaign to help raise community awareness. Promotional materials will be created for RAP and its Riverside Arts Market. For Greenscape, the agency will produce design templates for audiovisual presentations promoting a healthy tree canopy.
The community service initiative has become an important part of the agency’s donated inkind creative services worth more than $200,000 annually.
In its second year, the competitive grant program received more than 50 applications. A panel of Brunet-García employees selected the final organizations and awarded services based on the needs expressed in the applications submitted in September.
An awards ceremony will be held in January to start the projects and congratulate the winners.
Brunet-García encourages all Jacksonville-based 501c3 organizations to apply for 2013 grants beginning in September. Visit www.brunetgarcia.com for more information.
Golfers raise $170,000
World-renowned golf celebrities and local teams recently teed up to raise more than $170,000 at the 14th Annual Monique Burr Foundation for Children Inc.’s Jinglebells ProAm Golf Tournament.
Presented by AT&T and Your Jacksonville Area Lexus Dealers at The Golf Club at South Hampton, the premier charity golf tournament featured 20 golf pros from the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and LPGA Tour professionals along with 76 Northeast Florida golfers.
“Every year, the outpouring of support for this signature event from both the golfing community and the Northeast Florida community continues to grow,” said foundation Executive Director Lynn Layton.
“We are truly grateful to all of the golfers, sponsors, participants and volunteers for their dedication to the Monique Burr Foundation and its mission to promote bullying and child abuse education throughout Florida,” she said.
Nearly 150 people were in attendance for the awards ceremony at the tournament’s conclusion, including this year’s tournament honorary chairs and golf legends Mark McCumber and Jim Furyk.
Since the Jinglebells ProAm Golf Tournament began more than 10 years ago, it has raised nearly $3 million for the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. To learn more about the foundation and its mission, visit www.moniqueburrfoundation.org or call 642-0210.
Southeast Toyota supports seniors
More than 60 associate “elves” from Southeast Toyota Distributors and its parent company JM Family Enterprises Inc. hosted the 18th annual “Extended Family Night” party Dec. 13.
Nearly 200 low-income elderly and disabled residents from four Jacksonville Housing Authority developments – Twin Towers, Centennial Towers, Hogan Creek Towers and Brentwood Lakes – celebrated the holidays with dinner served by the companies’ associates, holiday music, dancing, food, gifts and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
“We are excited to continue this tradition with the Jacksonville Housing Authority and share a special evening of holiday music and activities with the residents,” said Andy Eccher, vice president of vehicle processing with Southeast Toyota Distributors.
The event, which was held at the Landing, is a special evening for JHA residents. It is often the only holiday gathering many attend each year.
The JHA Public Housing program was established to provide safe rental housing for eligible low- and moderate-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities.
The authority is dedicated to creating and sustaining healthy communities that promote individual responsibility, economic growth, human dignity and hope for the future.