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Dream vacation for cancer patient, family
Dreams Come True and Burdette Ketchum are providing a one-week vacation for 5-year-old cancer patient Kane DiPerna and his family.
The Jacksonville marketing and communications agency made a $3,500 contribution to fund Kane’s trip.
Kane and his family will be guests at Give Kids The World Village, a nonprofit resort dedicated to dream children and their families.
The children get unlimited ice cream, arcade games that don’t require quarters, nightly parties and visits by the village mayor, who is a giant rabbit.
During their week, the family will visit Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Sea World.
In 2016, Dreams Come True fulfilled the dreams of 181 children who have been battling life-threatening illnesses or conditions.
The organization has made dreams come true for more than 3,600 children in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia since it was founded in 1984.
To learn more, visit dreamscometrue.org or call (904) 296-3030.
Stellar helps build programs for nonprofits
Stellar donated $10,000 to River Garden Senior Services and $2,500 to Food Brings Hope in honor of the Stellar Foundation’s 10-year anniversary.
The foundation began in 2006 when Stellar established its employee giving program.
By the end of 2016, the foundation had donated more than $2 million to nonprofits and causes in Northeast Florida and globally where Stellar has a presence.
Stellar was the design-builder for the River Garden Hebrew Home’s facility expansion and renovation in 2012, to which the company donated an additional $30,000.
River Garden Senior Services is a nonprofit senior care center in Mandarin, sponsored by the Jacksonville Jewish community.
Stellar also donated $2,500 to Food Brings Hope, a nonprofit in Volusia County dedicated to providing solutions for families with children who experience hunger due to homelessness, poverty or unfamiliarity with community resources.
In November and December, Stellar employees donated Christmas gifts for 50 children at PedsCare and 38 Thanksgiving food baskets to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.
Smithfield delivers for local food bank
Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes, a program focused on alleviating hunger and raising awareness of food insecurity, joined forces with Winn-Dixie on Tuesday to donate 30,000 pounds of protein to Feeding Northeast Florida.
The donation, equivalent to more than 120,000 servings, will help feed Northeast Florida residents who struggle with hunger each day.
Protein is a limited resource for many food banks and the donation will help provide better balanced meals, said Luke Layow, president and chief executive officer for Feeding Northeast Florida.
More than 280,000 people in the region face hunger, with one in four being children.
The program, now in its ninth year, has provided more than 49 million servings of protein.
For more information, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.
Tax collector partners with vision group
Duval County Tax Collector Michael Corrigan and Preserve Vision Florida are joining forces this month for healthy vision.
Tax collector offices will offer several ways to support the nonprofit and raise awareness for eye health.
The Preserve Vision specialty license plate is the Bikers Care tag, which is available for purchase.
Customers who donate at any of the nine branch locations will receive a Preserve Vision secret storage bear for $10 or a lens cloth for $1.
If renewing a vehicle registration by mail, a donation can be made by checking the Preserve Vision Florida contribution box.
Preserve Vision Florida has been offering vision education and services to children and adults for nearly 60 years. The organization promotes healthy vision through education, vision screenings, access to vision services and advocacy.
For more information about Preserve Vision Florida, visit pvfla.org. To find tax collector branch office locations, visit duvaltaxcollect.net.