Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals hosted the 13th annual Medicine and Miracles Celebrity Dinner, presented by the law firm Smith Hulsey & Busey in partnership with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The June 10 event raised $100,000 for pediatric programs at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and UF Health Jacksonville.
Guests ate dinner catered by Ruth’s Chris and heard from Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley, General Manager David Caldwell, assistant coaches Jedd Fisch and Bob Babich, and several players. including Paul Posluszny, Cecil Shorts, Will Blackmon, Sen’Derrick Marks, Josh Scobee, Blake Bortles and Zane Beadles.
Those interested in attending the 2015 event may contact Kerri Clark at [email protected] or (904) 244-9354 for information.
Wells Fargo and Dollar General support summer literacy
Wells Fargo awarded the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation a $7,500 grant to purchase more than 1,000 books and reading guides for the Level-Up Challenge, Jacksonville’s first data-driven program to measure youth reading improvement during the summer.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation also awarded the foundation a $3,000 grant to support the program.
Suzanne Hudson-Smith, executive director of the Library Foundation, said the pilot program will provide “guided reading and individual coaching to keep at-risk students from losing academic ground during the summer.”
The books funded by Wells Fargo have a STEAM theme (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and topics range from bugs and electronic toys to astronomy and genetics with more than 200 book titles in the collection.
Learn more at jplfoundation.org.
Bank of America grants $45,000 to LISC Jacksonville
The Local Initiatives Support Corp. is receiving $45,000 in grants from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to help improve the quality of life in the Northwest Jacksonville and Historic Eastside/Springfield neighborhoods.
The local donation is part of a $3.75 million grant the Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded LISC to support the nonprofit’s national rural and urban development program operating in 40 states.
In Jacksonville, the grant will address local community-driven efforts, including programs that promote affordable housing and commercial revitalization. The money also will support training to help low-skilled workers move beyond minimum-wage jobs.
“There is nothing simple about lifting people out of poverty,” said Janet Owens, executive director of LISC Jacksonville. “It’s not enough to build better housing. It’s not enough to nurture new business or chip away at crime. We need to be tackling all those issues simultaneously if we are to create economic opportunity and help people live better.”
Bank of America has been working with LISC for 30 years to revive disadvantaged neighborhoods.
“Bank of America and LISC share a commitment to improve the quality of life in our community,” said Greg Smith, Northeast Florida market president for Bank of America. “By supporting LISC, we’re helping create economic development opportunities that will benefit underserved neighborhoods in Jacksonville.”
LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize distressed neighborhoods.
Since 1980, LISC has invested $13.8 billion to build or rehabilitate 310,000 homes and apartments and develop 51 million square feet of retail, community and educational space.
LISC Jacksonville was established in 1999 and has leveraged more than $158 million in total development in Jacksonville’s urban neighborhoods.
Visit lisc.org for more information.
Herschel Walker is keynote speaker at JCCI meeting
The 2014 Jacksonville Community Council Inc. annual meeting will celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary and look at the results of the “Community Inquiry, Unlocking the Pieces: Community Mental Health in Northeast Florida.”
The event, scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Omni Hotel, will benefit JCCI’s mission to bring people together to learn about their community, engage in problem solving, and act to make positive change.
Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame honoree Herschel Walker will be the keynote speaker. He has struggled with dissociative identity disorder.
Event and table sponsorships are now available in various packages. Individual tickets will be available in August. For more information or to sponsor the event, call (904) 396-3052.
Fish fry for North Florida Land Trust
North Florida Land Trust will host its third annual Fish Fry at the NFLT Talbot House on Big Talbot Island from 1-10 p.m. Saturday. The event is open to the public.
Talbot House will offer live music, sunset kayaking, stargazing with the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society and other activities. Learn about the land trust’s initiatives to conserve the remainder of Big Talbot Island and protect natural areas in Northeast Florida.
The fish fry is 1-7 p.m. Tickets are $15 a plate and $2 for wine or beer from Intuition Ale Works.
Sunset kayaking will begin at 7 p.m. and is free with your own equipment or $40 with a rental. Stargazing is free and scheduled for 8:30-10 p.m.
Call (904) 285-7020 to buy tickets or go online at nfltfishfry.eventbrite.com.