from staff
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.
Homebuilders walk to fight cancer
The Taylor Morrison team recently took to the streets to fight breast cancer during the American Cancer Society’s 11th Annual Making Strides against Breast Cancer 5K walk in San Marco. The team, known as “Linda’s Golden Souls,” walked to honor Linda Bisset, a Taylor Morrison new home sales associate who is currently undergoing treatment to fight breast cancer. The team raised more than $1,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is an annual event that provides an opportunity to honor breast cancer survivors, educate women about prevention and early detection, and raise funds and awareness to help the American Cancer Society achieve a day without breast cancer. In 2008, supporters raised more than $60 million nationwide to help the American Cancer Society continue fighting breast cancer and offer hope to people facing the disease.
Native Sun partners with City Rescue Mission
Native Sun Natural Foods Market has chosen City Rescue Mission as their GreenApples Charity of the Month for November. Throughout the month, Native Sun will collect nonperishable food items for the organization which provides support, shelter and food for the homeless and needy in Jacksonville.
Through Saturday, customers will receive one free raffle ticket for every item donated. Raffle winners will be pulled during Native Sun’s Fall Food Festival. Donations will be accepted at both Native Sun locations and raffle winners will be pulled from each store.
Cash donation boxes will also be available at each register throughout the entire month and people paying with credit or debit can add a donation to their shopping bill.
Native Sun has been a long time supporter of City Rescue Mission donating food items from their stores year round. To date, the locally owned and operated grocer has donated over $14,400 in goods.
The canned food items collected throughout the month of November will help City Rescue Mission feed Jacksonville’s homeless and needy, which has increased by 33 percent in the last year alone. In addition to the increase, the face of the homeless has also changed.
For more information about City Rescue Mission, visit http://www.crmjax.org.
Benefit for daniel raises $92k
More than 300 people attended daniel’s inaugural “Blackjack in the Stacks” fund-raising gala held at the Main Library, raising $92,000 for the local abused, neglected and emotionally-troubled kids at daniel.
The gala, presented by title sponsor PHH Mortgage, provided guests with an elegant evening of mock casino-style gaming with real prizes as well as silent and live auctions, hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.
Event chair Selina Beenen was pleased with the success of the event.
“It was great to see how much support the daniel organization received from attendance, sponsorships and donations,” Beenen said.” We had a wonderful turnout for an amazing cause.”
Director of Development for daniel Jimmy Kelly agreed.
“With shrinking government funding, our agency is increasingly dependent on fund-raisers like the gala,” Kelly said. “We rely on these monies to provide programs that offer support, counseling and foster care to local children in crisis.”
Money raised at the gala came primarily from corporate sponsors and ticket sales, but the event’s silent and live auctions also made a big impact. More than $26,000 was raised through a live auction with the top items being a Colorado vacation that went for $7,500 and a Heisman football trophy, autographed by 22 Heisman winners from 1951-2008, that sold for $5,000. A silent auction also brought in over $14,000.
Fran Chandler, a committee member of daniel, was the lucky winner of a one-carat diamond donated by Monahan’s Jewelry through the gala’s diamond martini bar.
To see pictures from the event or information on how to get involved in another daniel event visit www.danielkids.org.
Stellar Foundation sponsors Halloween door
The Stellar Foundation, the corporate giving division of Stellar, a design, engineering, construction and mechanical services firm, was recently a sponsor of the fifth annual “Halloween Doors and More” event. Proceeds from the event benefited Community PedsCare, a Community Hospice of Northeast Florida program, which provides care and support to children with life-threatening conditions and their families.
The Stellar Foundation also participated in the Halloween-themed event, which featured whimsical facades, or “doors,” where children could explore and trick-or-treat for toys and candy. Stellar sponsored a door with a 1950s diner theme which was run by company employees dressed in leather jackets and poodle skirts. The employee volunteers distributed soda floats and ice cream to the more than 1,000 guests, including Community PedsCare clients and their families.
The event raised more than $330,000 for the program. The Stellar Foundation’s monetary donation will help fund the program’s overall mission of providing essential medical, emotional and spiritual support to an average of 100 children and babies per day.
This is the Foundation’s third year sponsoring “Halloween Doors and More,” and it recently gave Community PedsCare a portion of the funds it raised during the Stellar Foundation’s annual charity golf tournament.
“Community PedsCare helps some of our area’s most vulnerable citizens and supports families as they face highly challenging circumstances,” said Allison Korman, Stellar’s director of corporate marketing and public relations. “In a time when money is tight and many nonprofits are struggling to stay afloat, the Stellar Foundation is proud to help Community Hospice make a positive difference in Northeast Florida.”