The Daily Record invites the local nonprofit community to submit news, announcements, success stories and other information they believe would be of interest to our readers. Email to: [email protected].
Home Again St. Johns raising funds for service center
Home Again St. Johns recently kicked off a capital campaign for the development of its land on Florida 207 and to build a Multi-Agency United Service Center.
Supportive housing for homeless families, unaccompanied youth, elders, veterans, men and women also will be provided on the site.
One of the ways Home Again is raising funds for the project is through the State of Florida’s Community Contribution Tax Credit Program.
The first company that has partnered in the fundraising effort with Home Again St. Johns is The Raintree Restaurant.
Lorna MacDonald of Raintree Restaurant heard about Home Again’s plans to build the United Service Center for the homeless and decided she wanted to support the organization’s efforts. MacDonald was aware of the special tax credit program that Home Again was promoting and she donated $10,000 towards the project.
The Community Contribution Tax Credit Program is administered by the state Department of Economic Opportunity and has been in place since 1995. The program provides tax incentives to businesses and corporations to support community development projects throughout Florida.
Any business or corporation that pays sales tax, corporate income tax or insurance premium tax to the state and opts to participate in the program may make a contribution to a certified nonprofit and receive a 50 percent tax credit within a few months of making their contribution.
For more information on the Community Contribution Tax Credit Program or Home Again St. Johns and how to support their efforts, contact Diane Machaby, director of development, at (904) 881-1167 or at [email protected]
Eat ice cream to support children’s hospitals
Every minute, 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for treatment.
To help those children receive the care and treatments they need, participating Dairy Queen and DQ Grill & Chill restaurants throughout the Jacksonville and Brunswick regions will celebrate Miracle Treat Day on July 30 to benefit Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville, two of 170 hospitals supported by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
For every Blizzard Treat sold on Miracle Treat Day at participating Dairy Queen locations, $1 will be donated to Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville. Through July 30, customers also may donate to the hospitals by purchasing a Miracle Balloon at the cash register.
Funds raised through Miracle Treat Day are used to purchase life-saving medical equipment and provide child life activities, and pediatric educational resources for Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric units at UF Health Jacksonville, said Emily Williamson, director at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals-Jacksonville.
Over the past 31 years, the Dairy Queen system has raised more than $100 million for CMN Hospitals in local communities through fundraising efforts including Miracle Treat Day, the Miracle Balloon campaign, and other local initiatives. One in 10 children in North America is treated at CMN Hospitals each year.
For more information about Miracle Treat Day, visit MiracleTreatDay.com and connect on social media using #MiracleTreatDay.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of all children by raising funds and awareness for Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville. Learn more at CMNJax.com.
Realtors filling backpacks for students
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty welcomes everyone to take the challenge and support its 16th Annual Backpack Challenge.
The Northeast Florida real estate firm is collecting backpacks and school supplies for children through Aug. 3 at area Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty offices.
Last year during the Backpack Challenge, the company collected a record 571 backpacks filled with school supplies for students.
“Every child deserves to begin the school year with a new backpack and the supplies needed for school,” said Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty founder, President and CEO Linda Sherrer.
The company is collecting backpacks for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Suggested school supply items include No. 2 pencils and pencil sharpeners, three-ring binders, erasers, folders, wide-ruled paper, notebooks, crayons, pens, construction paper, composition notebooks, colored pencils, tissues, highlighters, calculators, USB flash drives and graph paper.
Visit askfloridanetwork.com/16th-annual-backpack-challenge for more information.
Tennis great Chris Evert joins Champions for Children event
Former world No. 1 women’s tennis player Chris Evert will be the featured speaker at this year’s Current/Sherman Group of Merrill Lynch Champions for Children Gala to benefit the MaliVai Washington Foundation.
Evert first appeared at the gala in 1997, MaliVai Washington said.
Evert won 18 Grand Slam titles and appeared in either the finals or semifinals in 52 of her 56 Grand Slam appearances. Career highlights include holding the No. 1 rank in the world for seven years, being the first player to win 1,000 singles matches and having a .904 win average during her 17-year career.
She founded Chris Evert Charities Inc. in 1989, which helps children at risk due to drug abuse and alcohol addiction. Since 1989, her efforts have raised $22 million to combat substance abuse and to help neglected, drug-exposed and abused children.
This year’s gala is Oct. 15 at the Florida Blue Conference Center. The evening will include a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, dinner, scholarship award presentations to foundation students and remarks by Evert.
The gala is the largest annual fundraiser for the foundation and has traditionally raised each year approximately $200,000. Gala tickets are available at malwashington.com and are expected to sell out. For early bird tickets and sponsorship information, call (904) 359-5437.
Girl Scouts donate cookies to food bank
Girl Scouts of Gateway Council donated 9,156 packages of Girl Scout cookies to Feeding Northeast Florida through the Gift of Caring program, which enables troops to give back to the community.
During cookie sales this year, scouts invited consumers to buy cookies as a donation. Their collective efforts yielded seven pallets of cookies for the food bank, which supports 176 food distribution partners in 17 counties in Northeast Florida.
“This donation, made possible by customers and Girl Scouts of all ages in 16 Northeast Florida counties, demonstrates how a simple action can make a difference in the lives of others,” said Mary Anne Jacobs, CEO of Girl Scouts of Gateway Council.
Feeding Northeast Florida President and CEO Bruce Ganger said the cookie donation comes at an important time of year, when many children who rely on food assistance during the school year are out for summer vacation.
During the cookie program season, more than 5,000 girls participated and sold 1.1 million packages of Girl Scout cookies. Proceeds from cookie sales fund troop activities, trips and community service projects throughout the year.
With offices in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Middleburg, Girl Scouts of Gateway Council serves about 14,500 girls and adults in 15 North Florida counties. For information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, visit girlscouts-gateway.org, call (904) 388-4653 or like facebook.com/gsgcfl.