The Arc Jacksonville, a nonprofit that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities achieve their full potential, held an open house Aug. 9 for its new Kaden Place group home.
More than 100 people, including future residents, families, people served by The Arc Jacksonville, and City Council member Garrett Dennis were welcomed by The Arc Jacksonville President and CEO Jim Whittaker as he led them on a tour of the state-of-the-art facility.
“We continue to strive for the highest quality services for the individuals we serve,” Whittaker said in a news release. “Everyone deserves a nice place to call home, and Kaden Place is setting a new standard for group homes.”
The Arc Jacksonville’s five group homes are residences for 44 adults.
Kaden Place, along 118th Street between Blanding Boulevard and Jammes Road, was funded by the Florida Housing Finance Corp. and the city. It will be home for six residents.
The home is furnished and decorated in a wildlife and fishing theme, with every bedroom decorated to match each resident’s interests.
The home has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, an office, living room, dining room, kitchen, fire suppression system, front and back porches and is ADA accessible.
Residents will move into Kaden Place in September.
The Arc Jacksonville was founded in 1965 and is dedicated to helping people with intellectual and development disabilities become physically, mentally, socially and economically independent.
Visit arcjacksonville.org for more information.
Jacksonville Jaguars mascot Jaxson de Ville joined the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation and the Michael Namey Automated External Defibrillator initiative at EverBank Field on Aug. 4 for a CPR training sesssion.
More than 50 people participated and learned life-saving skills.
The training can double or even triple a cardiac arrest patient’s chances of survival.
On Aug. 6, the foundation hosted H2O for Heroes at Firehouse Subs restaurants, collecting more than 1,300 cases of bottled water from customers in exchange for a sandwich.
The water will be distributed to first responders in Clay and Duval counties.
The Tapestry Park Starbucks hosted the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville’s puppy event on Saturday to collect money and supplies for the Jacksonville Humane Society.
Rotary Club member Meredith Porter and her dog, Sprout, headed up the event that featured “puppacinos” donated by Starbucks.
The club will continue collecting pet food, dog and cat toys and cash donations through Aug. 31.
For information about how to donate and to learn about other Rotary Club events, visit SouthJaxRotary.org.
The I’m A Star Foundation collected items for the area’s 2,700 homeless students at the Duval County Public Schools Ready to Learn Back to School Bash on Saturday at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds & Expo Center.
The effort was part of the foundation’s Jacksonville Homeless Students Empowered through Leadership, Partnership & Service initiative.
Items most needed by homeless students include school uniform assistance, bus passes, gift cards, shoes for older male students sizes 12 to 14, and extracurricular activity fees for band, sports and field trips.
The I’m A Star Foundation will continue to raise money until Sept 10 toward a goal of $50,000.
To donate, visit GoFundMe.com/HelpingHomelessStudents.
The foundation will announce the amount raised Sept. 11 when a check will be presented to the Duval County Public Schools’ Homeless Education Department.
The money will be donated as unrestricted funds, supporting needs for homeless students, including eyeglasses, books, toiletry items, doctors’ fees, hotel vouchers, rental deposits and college application fees. See the full wish list at http://bit.ly/2uRM5ne.
Since 2013, the foundation has raised $57,000 through telethons, a 5K run and two basketball games, donating all funds to the Duval County Public Schools’ Homeless Education Department.
The group also has awarded 14 college scholarships to homeless students.
