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Highlighting Jacksonville’s Philanthropic Community
As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this page 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 feel would be of interest to our readers. E-mail to: [email protected].
We also encourage our readers to become more aware of the needs of these worthy organizations as they try to continue to provide valuable services with reduced resources.
Red Coats, Native Sun pitch in for City Rescue Mission
Thanks to a $20,000 donation from The Players Championship, Red Coats (former tournament chairs), City Rescue Mission will be able to help local homeless people get back on their feet through the New Day Workforce.
“This is an extraordinary gift that we are extremely thankful for,” said Patrick Hayle, City Rescue Mission executive director. “This money will help fund our New Day Workforce program, which provides employment training, professional development and skill certification for students in our LifeBuilders program. We are so grateful for the support of The Players Championship Red Coats.”
Also, Native Sun Natural Foods Market collected more than 650 pounds of food and nearly $800 to help the City Rescue Mission as their GreenApples Charity of the month.
“We are so thankful for Native Sun Natural Foods Market’s support and generosity,” said Hayle. “Because of these donations, we will be able to provide meals to the growing number of people in need in our community.”
Native Sun has been a long time supporter of City Rescue Mission, with food item donations throughout the year to the organization. To date, the locally owned and operated grocer has donated more than $14,400 in goods.
“We appreciate, now more than ever, the efforts of City Rescue Mission and how their services impact our city,” said Sarah Butsch, Native Sun’s GreenApples charity coordinator. “We are so glad our customers agree and helped us show it in such a big way.”
The canned food items and monetary donation will help City Rescue Mission feed Jacksonville’s homeless and needy population which has increased by 33 percent in the last year alone.
City Rescue Mission is a non-profit, faith-based organization in downtown Jacksonville that has provided help to the homeless and needy in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida since 1946. In addition to providing emergency services for the homeless, they offer life-changing programs like the New Day Workforce and LifeBuilders to help homeless people get off the streets and back on their feet.
Law firm makes donation on victim’s behalf
Wilner Hartley & Metcalf, the law firm that represented the family of murdered Marine Lance Cpl. Timotheus Stamper, didn’t forget the jury’s wishes when it made a $10,000 donation in Stamper’s name to Jacksonville Youth Works.
In 2002, 18-year-old Tim Stamper was home on leave from Marine duty in Hawaii. He was shot after attending a high school graduation party off Arlington Expressway. Wilner Hartley & Metcalf obtained a $1.83 million verdict against a local gas station for failing to provide proper security at the scene of Stamper’s murder.
In October, a Jacksonville jury took an unusual step when it expressed ideas for how the Stamper family should use the $1.83 million verdict. “We recognize that nothing will bring back your son, but we do hope that you can use this money to honor his life and memory,” said jury forewoman Angela Nash, reading the jury’s statement on behalf of her five fellow jurors.
Their collective wish resonated with the partners of Wilner Hartley & Metcalf and the Stamper family’s attorneys. Partners from the firm recently approached Stamper’s parents, Willie and Vivian Stamper, about the firm’s desire to donate $10,000 in Tim’s name to the charity of the family’s choice.
The Stampers accepted Wilner Hartley & Metcalf’s generosity and suggested Jacksonville Youth Works, a nonprofit organization that targets at-risk youth and provides them with vocational training and employment. It’s also an organization to which the Stampers have committed their time and resources. Many of the youth served by Jacksonville Youth Works are previous offenders or are at-risk for becoming an offender.
Woody Wilner, senior partner of Wilner Hartley & Metcalf, said the personal injury law firm wanted to do something to honor the memory of Tim Stamper and to acknowledge his service to our country.
“I cannot think of a better way to do so than helping an organization that Tim’s family has supported for many years and that is making a difference with young people in our community,” Wilner said.
$3,000 raised for PedsCare
Moe’s Southwest Grill raised more than $3,000 for children in Northeast Florida with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Moe’s invited patrons to purchase a Community PedsCare kite by adding a dollar or more to their meal purchase. A total of $3,093 was raised to help area children being cared for by Community PedsCare, the pediatric palliative and hospice care program of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.
Established in 2000 by Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, in collaboration with Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Nemours Children’s Clinic and the University of Florida, Community PedsCare offers in-hospital and in-home medical, nursing, psycho-social, spiritual, volunteer and other services to support, comfort and care for children and their families. Most Community PedsCare services are not reimbursed by insurance and are provided without charge to patients’ families. Charitable gifts and fundraising events help provide funding for this care.
“One day of care for a child with a life-threatening condition costs about $200, and currently there are about 100 children in the Community PedsCare program,” said Terry Eason, director of Community PedsCare. “The generous support of Moe’s and its customers will help pay for 15 days of this specialized care. We would not be able to provide the care our families need without this kind of community support.”
Established in 1979 as the first community-based, nonprofit hospice program in Northeast Florida, Community Hospice of Northeast Florida helps nearly 1,000 patients live better with advanced illness each day in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, through the support of approximately 700 employees and more than 900 volunteers. The nonprofit organization has served nearly 59,000 children and adults at home, in long term care facilities, hospitals and through its four inpatient centers throughout Jacksonville. Community Hospice Foundation generates philanthropic and community support for patient care services, family needs and community programs such as Community PedsCare, a pediatric palliative and hospice program. No one is ever denied care due to an inability to pay.
To learn more about the support and services of Community Hospice, visit www.communityhospice.com.
Golfers support Burr Foundation
World-renowned golf celebrities and local teams teed up together and raised $222,000 at the 12th Annual Monique Burr Foundation Jinglebells Pro-Am Golf Tournament. Presented by AT&T, Hampton Golf and Zurich, the charity golf tournament brought together 23 teams of PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and LPGA TOUR professionals and golfers from across the country at The Golf Club at South Hampton.
“This event was a great success for the Monique Burr Foundation and all of the money we raised will benefit our mission to provide hope in the lives of children throughout Florida,” said Lynn Layton, executive director of the foundation. “There are so many children out there who depend on our support year round, and we cannot thank everyone enough, from the volunteers and sponsors to the players and participants.”
More than 25 celebrity golfers participated in the tournament, including Jim Furyk, Fred Funk and Mark McCumber, who also served as honorary chairpersons. Tournament chairs were M.G. Orender, Robert Castranova and Ryan Schwartz.
Since the Jinglebells Pro-Am Golf Tournament began 10 years ago, it has raised more than $2.7 million for the foundation.
The Monique Burr Foundation for Children was created as a nonprofit organization in 1997 to honor the late Monique Burr, a tireless advocate for children and their needs. The foundation’s mission is to provide hope in the lives of children by providing training and education to prevent and reduce the rate of abuse among children throughout Northeast Florida.
In 2008, the foundation reached more than 25,000 children with its advocacy programs, including the Good Touch Bad Touch program, and since its inception has donated more than $2 million to child-serving agencies in the region. Currently, the foundation reaches children in 100 of the 107 public elementary schools in Duval County in addition to several private and Catholic schools in the area. It is expanding its reach to include Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The foundation also works in close partnership with agencies serving children whose primary focus is preventing abuse of children.
For more information about the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, call 642-0210 or visit www.moniqueburrfoundation.org.