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 believe 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.
Party at beach raises funds for foundation
Hundreds of guests turned out for “A Night in the Village” at Roy’s Restaurant to raise money for the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. Hawaiian fusion cuisine by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi, tropical drinks and live fire dancing set the scene at the Jacksonville Beach event, which raised more than $27,500 for the foundation and its child abuse prevention education programs.
“We are forever grateful to all of those who came out to show their support for the foundation and their dedication to helping us provide child abuse prevention education throughout the state of Florida,” said Monique Burr Foundation Executive Director Lynn Layton. “Roy’s Restaurant, our generous sponsors and our partners in Third Street Village made this event possible and we thank them for their time and energy. All the money raised at this year’s event will help children in our community through our child abuse prevention education programs.”
Sponsors for the event included GreenPointe Holdings LLC, Hampton Golf, Peterbrooke Chocolatier, North Florida Sales, Clockwork Marketing Services, PRI Productions, Southern Wine & Spirits, Champion Brands and Portable Air.
For more information about the Monique Burr Foundation for Children and its annual fundraising event at Roy’s Restaurant, visit www.moniqueburrfoundation.org or call 642-0210. More information is also available on Facebook.com by searching for the Monique Burr Foundation for Children.
$45,000 for Children’s Home Society
An Evening of Taste with Chef Matthew Medure presented by The Van Voorhis Family Foundation raised more than $45,000 for the Children’s Home Society of Florida at Matthew’s Restaurant in San Marco.
The event included a personal presentation of Chef Medure’s menu items, a harpist and a silent auction featuring items from about 80 donors. The restaurant was opened exclusively for the event and attracted about 140 guests.
Other sponsors included Dan Harris Photo Art, Kuhn Flowers, Rev. William Reister as the evening’s harpist, More Than Ink and Sight and Sound Productions. Betsy Miller served as event chair and Julie Van Voorhis served as silent auction chair.
For more information about CHS, visit www.chsfl.org/buckner.
Poker run for Learn to Read
Bike enthusiasts can support reading by riding in Learn to Read’s inaugural “Easy Reader Motorcycle Ride” to benefit the organization’s efforts to boost adult literacy in Northeast Florida. The ride will take place June 5. Onsite registration will begin at 9 a.m.
The ride, which will begin at Adamec Harley-Davidson at 8909 Baymeadows Road, will be a “poker run.” Bikers will stop at five designated checkpoints and will be given a playing card at each stop. At the Landing, the final stop, riders will submit their hand and the biker with the top poker hand will win $200.
“Our Easy Reader motorcycle benefit will be a fun way to help Learn to Read Jacksonville continue its free literacy skills classes and one-on-one tutoring to teach more people basic reading skills,” said Margo Martin, past president of Learn to Read Jacksonville’s board of directors. “Since 2008 the number of adults seeking help from Learn to Read has increased by 45 percent. More people than ever need our services, particularly to improve their chances of getting jobs.”
Riders can register at www.EasyReaderPokerRun.com. The fee is $25 with additional riders on the same motorcycle for $10. Cash or checks (or credit cards via PayPal) will be accepted for payment.
For questions, contact Clyde Sullivan at [email protected] or call 838-8510.
Car rally for Dreams Come True
The inaugural “Driving for Dreams Car Rally” presented by Enterprise Fleet Management to benefit Dreams Come True is scheduled June 6. The event will bring exotic, European, import and American muscle cars together for a police-escorted ride around the city, ending with an after-drive party and car show open to the public at bb’s Restaurant off Hendricks Avenue.
Event proceeds will benefit the programs and services of Dreams Come True, the only locally based nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of local children battling life-threatening illnesses.
The sponsors for the event include Autocrafters Collision Repair, bb’s Restaurant, Constellation Wines, Enterprise Fleet Management, Mr. and Mrs. Don Fergusson, Omega Motorsports, Premier Beverages, Prodesio, Q-Ball Billiards, Rosenblum’s and the Scott-McRae Group Duval Family of Dealers.
The day begins with check-in at 9 a.m. and the cars will hit the road at 10:30 a.m.
For more details or to register your car, visit www.DriveForDreams.com. There is a 15-car cap for all four categories (Exotic, European, Import and American Muscle). Registration is $125 per car and includes admission for the driver and one passenger, inclusion in the after-drive car show, food provided by bb’s Restaurant and an event T-shirt. The car show during the after-drive party will include a raffle to win prizes from local businesses.
Also, there is one week left to take advantage of “Dreams Come True with Massage Envy.” For three weeks, all six local Massage Envy locations have been raising money for Dreams Come True through proceeds from every service provided and through donations. To date, more than $8,000 has been raised. The goal is to exceed $10,000 by June 1. All proceeds will go directly to fulfilling the dreams of local children.
For more information, visit www.dreamscometrue.org and check upcoming events.