For the fifth consecutive year, EverBank and the Jacksonville Jaguars are teaming up with HabiJax to provide volunteers and funding for the construction of a home.
Construction began Friday and has a tentative completion date of May 27. EverBank associates, Jaguars players, coaches, staff and members of The Roar will work on the house.
The family who will live in the home has completed more than 300 hours of volunteer service, participated in financial literacy workshops and provided a down payment to meet HabiJax guidelines and qualify to purchase the home.
EverBank has partnered with HabiJax since 1995, working on 72 houses and contributing each year more than 900 associate volunteer hours. HabiJax is the Jacksonville affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.
To learn more about volunteering with HabiJax and its mission, visit habijax.org.
River Garden marks 70th anniversary
River Garden Hebrew Home celebrated its 70th year March 13 with an anniversary day festival.
More than 500 members of the community gathered on the River Garden campus for the celebration.
Festivities included a cookout, pony rides, face painting, clowns, games and a bounce house.
River Garden Senior Services is a nonprofit offering elder-care programs and services on a 40-acre campus in Mandarin.
Sponsored by Jacksonville’s Jewish community, River Garden serves clients from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds while maintaining an environment supportive of Jewish identity and informed by Jewish values.
In addition to being a seven-time recipient of the Governor’s Gold Seal Award, River Garden is a five-star rated community by the Agency for Health Care Administration and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Comcast executives work with AmeriCorps
As City Year Jacksonville AmeriCorps members complete their year of service in Duval County Public Schools, they are heading into the next phase of their careers armed with advice from local Comcast leaders.
At Comcast’s annual career day for City Year members, directors and managers offered more than 90 attendees tips on career-related topics, including resume writing, interview preparation and networking.
The event was part of Comcast’s partnership with City Year, a nonprofit that places people in schools in low-income communities to combat high drop-out rates.
City Year is an education-focused organization founded in 1988 to help students and schools succeed.
It partners with public schools in 27 urban, high-poverty communities across the U.S. and internationally.
Members provide student, classroom and school-wide support to help students stay in school and on track to graduate from high school, ready for college and career success.
Learn more at cityyear.org.
North Florida Land Trust looking for farmland
North Florida Land Trust wants to help farmers and ranchers preserve their land.
There are two ways the organization can assist a property owner reach that goal.
One is through the donation of a conservation easement to the land trust.
The other is through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program offered by the Florida Department of Agriculture.
By donating to the trust, farmers and ranchers ensure protection of the property from development without significant changes in the management of the farm. They also receive a significant tax deduction.
That tax deduction can be 100 percent of their income taxes for up to 16 years, a lower property tax bill and freedom from the “death” tax.
The other way the land trust can help is through the purchase of a conservation easement. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam recently announced the state would invest $35 million to purchase conservation easements on agricultural lands.
Farmers and ranchers interested in the program may call (904) 479-1967 or email [email protected] for more information. The land trust is accepting applications through May 16.
To learn more about the program visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
Tax collector partners with Donate Life Florida
Duval County Tax Collector Michael Corrigan and Donate Life Florida are expanding their partnership in April for National Donate Life Awareness Month.
Donate Life is a national nonprofit with a mission to increase the number of designated organ, eye and tissue donors.
Through the campaign, tax collector branch offices across the state will promote the importance of becoming a donor.
Customers who donate will be given “I Have the Power to Save Lives!” paper flags to sign for in-office display.
If renewing a vehicle registration online, in a branch office or by mail, donate by checking the organ and tissue donor education contribution box.
More than 5,200 patients are awaiting life-saving organ transplants at Florida transplant centers.
Each donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance dozens more through tissue and eye donation.
For more information on Donate Life Florida, visit donatelifeflorida.org.
For more information on the Duval County Tax Collector or to find a branch location, visit duvaltaxcollect.net.
JA offering financial literacy program in New Town
Junior Achievement of North Florida will open the JA Financial Literacy Center in New Town, a low-income neighborhood in North Jacksonville, at 11 a.m. Friday.
The organization will transform the Mitchell Community Center into a hands-on learning experience during the school day by offering a version of its JA Our City curriculum to Duval County elementary school students.
The program teaches students about city planning, skills people need to work in specific careers and how business contributes to the life of the city.
Also at the center, Junior Achievement will begin its newest initiative, Economics of Healthy Eating, made possible by The Jim Moran Foundation.
It will teach students how to budget healthy foods. The program will include a trip to the Jacksonville Farmer’s Market to purchase healthy food.
In 2104, Junior Achievement received the $200,000 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award to fund the New Town initiative.
The organization also received $146,000 from The Jim Moran Foundation to create and implement the Economics of Healthy Eating initiative as well as support the center’s programming.
The Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Center will reach up to 2,500 students each year teaching fundamentals in financial literacy and economic responsibility.
Junior Achievement of North Florida has been operating in Jacksonville since 1963 and now includes a satellite office in Tallahassee.