The MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation’s 19th annual Current Sherman Champions for Children Gala raised $291,000 for programs and services provided by the nonprofit.
The Oct. 15 event at Florida Blue brought out nearly 600 attendees and was followed the next day by a tennis pro-am at San Jose Country Club.
At the gala, 18 students were recognized for their accomplishments and awarded $51,500 in college scholarships. The six graduating seniors of the program have collectively earned more than $100,000 in grants and scholarships throughout their involvement with the foundation.
The nonprofit’s Tennis-n-Tutoring after school program serves more than 200 young people in the community. It provides free homework assistance, tennis lessons and life skills classes Monday-Friday to K-12 students.
For more information, visit malwashington.com.
Sulzbacher Center building housing facility
The Sulzbacher Center soon will begin construction on a new community for women, children and families.
Sulzbacher Village will build its new campus outside of Downtown, where homeless women and families can live safely and continue to access the services they need to put their lives back together, said Sulzbacher President and CEO Cindy Funkhouser.
The announcement marks the launch of the public phase of “Opening Doors,” an $18.5 million capital campaign that has been raising funds for the project for the past 18 months. Close to $5 million already has been raised through private donors and foundations.
In addition, approximately $11 million was awarded to the project from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. in the form of low-income tax credits and other programs.
The organization plans to raise the remaining $2.5 million, or more, during the public phase of the campaign.
The Susan and W.C. Gentry Family Foundation provided the initial gift to get the effort going. W.C. Gentry is chairing the campaign.
The lead gift came from the Lucy B. Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust. Other major donors include Florida Blue, the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the Bryan Family Trustees/The Henry and Lucy Gooding Endowment and the DuBow Family Foundation.
Operational funding and support has been pledged by Baptist Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Sulzbacher Village will provide 70 units, accommodating 310 residents. An additional 30 units will provide for women and families in need of short-term emergency housing and medical respite care.
The women, children and families living at the village will receive case management, job training and life skills classes. An 8,000-square-foot federally qualified health center will focus on pediatric medical, dental, vision and behavioral health services. Children living in the Village, as well as children in the surrounding community, will be able to access services at the clinic.
Sulzbacher Village will be located on 3.5 acres near West 44th and Pearl streets. The property is owned by Wesley Fellowship United Methodist Church. It established a partnership with Sulzbacher and is leasing the land to the new community for $1 per year.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring. Vestcor will serve as the developer for the project. Stellar is the architect and general contractor for the new campus.
For more information, or to make a donation to Sulzbacher Village, visit sulzbachervillage.org.
Pastor to be honored at ‘Champions for Justice’ dinner
Pastor Amos Bankhead will be presented the 2015 Extraordinary Citizen Award on Nov. 5 at the seventh annual Champions for Justice Awards Dinner at The Potter’s House.
“(Bankhead) is there to help us in every way, whether it is to take the trash out at the office, provide spiritual counseling to those we serve and to our staff or help to manage the distribution of our monthly newspaper,” said Ann Dugger, executive director of the Justice Coalition.
The dinner is an opportunity for the Justice Coalition to honor people in Northeast Florida. Each year, the organization receives nominations from the community and then chooses an outstanding citizen, business leader and government official who work for victims’ rights and help fight crime.
Sheriffs from Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties also choose a resident of their jurisdiction to receive an extraordinary citizen award.
Firehouse Subs is the presenting sponsor of this year’s event. Sponsorship opportunities are available at numerous levels.
For information, call (904) 783-6312, email Roxy Tyler at [email protected] or visit justicecoalition.org.
Baptist Health kicking off public phase of capital campaign
Baptist Health has begun the public phase of “Securing Tomorrow Together,” a $100 million fundraising campaign that will fund strategic needs and priorities across the health system.
The campaign’s silent phase began in 2013 after discussions with leaders throughout the community as well as the health system, said Pierre Allaire, chief development officer and vice president for Baptist Health Foundation.
Baptist Health includes four adult hospitals and Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the region’s only children’s hospital.
Michelle Stys and her late husband, Walter, made a gift and bequest commitment to Wolfson Children’s Hospital to establish endowments that will provide permanent support for pediatric neuroscience and programs that serve babies and children.
To recognize their support, the Neuroscience Institute at the hospital was renamed the Walter and Michelle Stys Neuroscience Institute.
Through the Baptist Health endowment matching program, their gift will be matched at 150 percent so the earnings will support the program in perpetuity.
To date, $70 million has been raised for the campaign in gifts and pledges. To make a gift online or to learn more about the campaign, visit http://foundation.baptistjax.com/campaign.
To speak to a development director at Baptist Health Foundation, call (904) 202-2919.
$1.9M federal grant for FreshMinistries
Jacksonville-based FreshMinistries received a $1.98 million federal grant to launch an agribusiness center to support aquaponics farming and entrepreneurship in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The project will be funded by the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to a news release, the center will serve “as a catalyst for the revitalization of the agriculture industry and diversification of the territory’s economic base.”
On land leased from the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture on the island of St. Croix, FreshMinistries will construct the center for its Fueling Entrepreneurship and Economic Development program to provide hands-on training and classroom sessions to people interested in owning, managing or working within the field of aquaponics.
FreshMinistries’ project will consist of four 6,000-square-foot and seven 3,000-square-foot greenhouses, an enclosed processing center with refrigeration units, storage, sinks and work tables, office and classroom space and acreage where program graduates and partners can manage their own farming systems.
FreshMinistries plans to launch aquaponics projects in the near future in Jacksonville, Atlanta and the Episcopal Diocese of Navajoland.
‘Brewgrass’ festival Nov. 14 for North Florida Land Trust
North Florida Land Trust will host the Salt Marsh Brewgrass Festival at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 at The Talbot House on Big Talbot Island. The benefit concert will feature Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, The Applebutter Express and Firewater Tent Revival.
There will be local beers, wine and food trucks along with vegetarian and gluten-free food options. The event will include games for children, kayaking and more.
Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased at saltmarshbrewgrass.eventbrite.com. Children 12 and under are free.
The trust is seeking sponsors at a number of levels: the $5,000 title sponsor, three $2,500 band sponsors, three $500 beer and wine sponsors, and $250 supporting sponsors.
To become a sponsor, call (904) 651-4311 or email [email protected].