from staff
Highlighting Jacksonville’s Philanthropic Community
As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this page that will each week chronicle the efforts of local nonprofit organizations. Bailey Publishing & Communications invites all members of the local nonprofit community to submit news, announcements, success stories and any other information they feel would be of interest to our readers. E-mail to: [email protected].
We also encourage our readers to become more aware of the needs of these worthy organizations as they try to continue to provide valuable services with reduced resources.
Hospitalized children receive gifts
The March of Dimes chose Baptist Medical Center South, Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Shands Jacksonville to be recipients of this year’s holiday care packages. The Northeast Florida March of Dimes Family Team Advisory Council and Chain Reaction Youth Leadership put together gift bags for families of premature babies and other critically ill newborns being cared for in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“Preparing for a new baby is a time of great excitement,” said Lauren Hall-Davis, Chair of the Family Team Advisory Council. “Families don’t expect anything to go wrong, but about 1 in 10 newborns wind up in a NICU because they are born too soon, too small or with a birth defect. The experience can be overwhelming for families, especially around the holidays when having the family together is so important. This project is just a small way for the March of Dimes to show these families how much it cares.”
The project is a component of the March of Dimes efforts to help all babies, those born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive. It is estimated that 10 percent of all newborns require some level of intensive care. In 2006 (the last year for which numbers are available), 14.8 percent of all babies born in Jacksonville were preterm.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com.
Bank of America shares New Zealand holiday tradition
Team Bank of America hosted its Annual Pillowcase Christmas Monday for children of families served by the City of Jacksonville Behavioral and Human Services Division’s Emergency Assistance Program. This year, the employees gave pillowcases full of gifts to more than 200 children ages 3-12.
The event was created to reflect Bank of America employee Robert Davenport’s childhood memories of growing up in New Zealand. While American children who celebrate Christmas leave a stocking for Santa Claus to fill with gifts, “Kiwi” children instead leave a pillowcase.
Since 2002, Davenport and Team Bank of America, a volunteer grassroots group of associates who work together to touch lives in the community, have hosted the party to provide happy holiday memories to less fortunate children.
Stellar Foundation plays Santa Claus
The Stellar Foundation, the corporate giving division of Stellar, gathered holiday gifts and distributed them to critically ill children and their families. The gifts were given to patients and families at Community PedsCare, a Community Hospice of Northeast Florida program which provides care and support to children with life-threatening conditions and their families.
This is the Stellar Foundation’s fourth year partnering with Community PedsCare for its holiday adopt-a-child program. Each year, Stellar employees volunteer to anonymously “adopt” a Community PedsCare family member and purchase items based on a list of pre-requested gifts. This Christmas, the program provided the organization with presents for 75 patients and family members.
“Even in a down economy, our employees continue to give because these families are so close to all of our hearts,” said Allison Korman, Stellar’s director of corporate marketing and public relations. “We want these families to have a joyful holiday season that’s more about fun and family than doctors and hospital beds, and starting this program was the Stellar Foundation’s way of helping contribute to that goal.”
The Stellar Foundation is a long-standing Community PedsCare partner, and is a proud sponsor of the organization’s annual “Halloween Doors and More” celebration, among other events.
Community PedsCare was established by Community Hospice of Northeast Florida in collaboration with Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Nemours Children’s Clinic and the University of Florida. The program, based in Jacksonville, is a pediatric palliative and hospice program for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Community PedsCare offers in-hospital and in-home medical, nursing, psychosocial, spiritual, volunteer and other services to support, comfort and care for children and their families. For more information, visit www.communityhospice.com.
Student honored for fundraising effort
The real estate professionals at Prudential Network Realty are committed to supporting breast cancer awareness events and fundraisers. The company’s team members shared in the excitement when Episcopal High School junior, Alayna “Allie” Bradley, was honored for her fundraising efforts in connection with the 6th annual Row for the Cure Jacksonville, an event that raised more than $142,000 for the local affiliates of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
She is the daughter of Realtor Angela Bradley of the company’s Ponte Vedra Beach office and received the Row for the Cure Teen Volunteer Award for her fundraising work. Bradley raised more than $4,500 by selling tickets to a Breakfast of Champions fundraising event and by by selling tickets to a barbecue, candy, pizza, soda, pink ribbons, bracelets and raffle tickets at Episcopal High School.
500 expected for Christmas dinner
This holiday season has been busier than ever for City Rescue Mission and their Christmas day brunch will be no different. The shelter is expecting more than 500 people to come to the annual meal.
“The holiday season is always a busy time of year for us,” said Patrick Hayle, executive director, City Rescue Mission. “This year, we expect to have even more people seeking our support on Christmas day. For half of the population we serve, this is the first time that they’ve had to spend the holidays homeless and we want to give them hope and joy even in their most difficult moments.”
The brunch will be served at the shelter from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with the help of volunteers. In addition to the warm meal, guests will also receive a Christmas gift of socks, underwear, soap and shampoo.
“We are so thankful for the support of the Jacksonville community,” said Hayle. “Without their help, we wouldn’t be able to serve a meal to so many people and give them gifts on Christmas day.”
City Rescue Mission is still accepting donations for the Christmas dinner. If you would like to contribute a monetary donation visit www.crmjax.org. Socks, underwear, soap and shampoo donations are also being accepted. To donate, call 421-5157.
Two corporations support childhood literacy
UPS will send children to camp and combat illiteracy in Northwest Jacksonville through a $25,000 grant awarded to the YMCA.
The grant will directly benefit YMCA READS!, a tutoring program aimed at helping at-risk children struggling in reading and academics which is offered at Tiger Academy as well as providing the opportunity for children to attend summer camp at the Johnson Family YMCA.
Comcast Foundation presented a $15,000 check to Communities In Schools of Jacksonville today in support of the AmeriCorps Duval Reads! Early Learning program. The grant funding will provide literacy training materials and other resources directed to early and sustained literacy teaching in grades K-8 in 21 public schools in Jacksonville.
Communities In Schools CEO Jon Heymann said, “Comcast is an outstanding corporation in our community and we appreciate this important new partnership. Through Comcast’s financial support of Communities In School’s literacy program we will be able to significantly enhance services for hundreds of students enrolled in our reading program.”
CIS Board Chair Jay Plotkin added, “Comcast helps set the standard for corporate philanthropy in Northeast Florida and throughout the nation. Communities In Schools is honored that Comcast has made a significant investment in our literacy program and we look forward to building this new partnership on behalf of the children of our community.”
Communities In Schools’ literacy initiative, DUVAL READS! is a tutoring/reading program that provides one-on-one and small group tutoring services to students in kindergarten through eighth grade with the goal of increasing their reading level by at least one grade. AmeriCorps Duval Reads! of Jacksonville is the largest program of its kind in the state of Florida with 62 full and part-time tutors serving in 18 elementary and middle schools.