Nordstrom wants to sell 1,200 tickets at $75 each to raise at least $90,000 for Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the Junior League of Jacksonville and Cathedral Arts Project at the store's Oct. 8 opening gala.
Nordstrom will underwrite the costs of the event so all proceeds can be donated to the nonprofits. The gala is planned at Nordstrom, which opens to the public on Oct. 10. Tickets will go on sale in early September.
CSX volunteers pitch in at Smart Pope Livingston Elementary School
CSX employees partnered with HandsOn Jacksonville on July 11 to transform the auditorium and outdoor spaces at Smart Pope Livingston Elementary School. Other partners included JEA, which donated spools to create an outdoor classroom, and Moe’s, which donated lunch for the volunteers.
Volunteers also created pallet vertical gardens, installed landscaping, constructed outdoor hopscotch stepping stones and decorated the auditorium to welcome students back to school.
One of the services HandsOn Jacksonville offers to mobilize volunteers is project management for corporate employee volunteer programs. The organization’s staff handles all of the logistics, so employees are able to simply show up, get to work and make a difference.
New Drop-In Center opens in St. Johns County
After nearly a year of planning, designing, fundraising and coordinating construction, Home Again St. Johns’ Drop-In Center is open. The grand opening and ribbon cutting was June 28 at the Home Again St. Johns office.
The event was sponsored by BB&T with 10 of its employees volunteering at the event, serving refreshments and lunch to the guests and working in the Drop-In Center in the afternoon.
The Drop-In Center was the idea of Home Again board member Michael Biance more than a year ago when he sketched out the plans for an outdoor shower and laundry facility.
Diane Machaby, the agency’s director of development, contacted the local Home Depot store about partnering on the project. Machaby worked alongside Team Depot captain Jay Hays to submit a grant application to the Home Depot Foundation.
Within a few weeks, they received $9,000 in gift cards to purchase materials to build the center. Store employees would also help build the structure.
Besides Home Depot employees, other volunteers that helped make the center a reality came from Northrop Grumman, Trinity Episcopal Church’s Brotherhood of St. Andrew and other community volunteers.
To learn more about Home Again St. Johns and how to support their efforts, visit homeagainsj.org.
Piccadilly helps children read this summer
Piccadilly Restaurants is encouraging children to read with the second year of a summer reading program.
Piccadilly’s Back to Books program rewards a free Kid’s Meal to children who read 10 books.
Piccadilly Restaurants also has renewed its partnership with Reading Is Fundamental to help children in need. Piccadilly Restaurant guests can make a $1 donation to support the work of RIF, the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization working to get free books to children in underserved communities.
A donation wall with the names of donors will be displayed in each restaurant.
“The positive reinforcement that Back to Books offers kids for continuing to read throughout the summer will encourage healthy reading habits that will stay with children for years to come,” said Tom Sandeman, Piccadilly CEO.
Reading logs are available at each Piccadilly Restaurant. After the reading log is completed, it can be turned in for a free Kid’s Meal.
To learn more and help provide free books to children, visit RIF.org.
Art contest at Sulzbacher Center
On Friday, celebrity judges will select the artwork to be featured on the Sulzbacher Center’s Give a Good Night holiday card.
Children living at the homeless shelter worked with volunteers to create paintings that represent their “dream home for the holidays.” Seven paintings were chosen as finalists and will be judged during a reception in honor of the artists and their families.
Daniela Doherty, director of operations at Citi, is the Sulzbacher Center’s board chair of the 2014 Give a Good Night campaign and will host the event.
The selected art will be featured on the Sulzbacher Center’s holiday cards for its 17th annual Give a Good Night fundraiser. The cards will raise funds to support the center’s programs for homeless men, women and children.
The Sulzbacher Center’s Give a Good Night fundraiser features cards that are available for purchase throughout the year for holidays and special occasions. The cards feature original artwork created by children living at the Sulzbacher Center. By purchasing a card you can help provide essential services to the families and individuals who turn to the Sulzbacher Center for help and hope every day.
Give a Good Night cards are available online at giveagoodnight.org or by calling (904) 394-8051.
Help stuff a book bag at Regency Square
Regency Square Mall is sponsoring a free community carnival from noon-3 p.m. Saturday for a “Stuff the Book Bag Outreach” for the Trinity Rescue Mission and Global Outreach Charter Academy.
The wish list includes pencils, pens, binders, crayons, erasers, construction paper, USB drives, rulers and more. For information, visit regencysquaremall.com or call (904) 224-0906.
Regency Square also is giving away backpacks with school supplies at 1 p.m. Saturday to customers who present $100 in total receipts that day from mall merchants, while supplies last. Reggae music featuring De Lions of Jah will be provided from 2-5 p.m. in the food court.