As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this feature 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. Email to: [email protected].
We also encourage our readers to become more aware of the needs of these worthy organizations as they continue to provide valuable services with reduced resources.
Empty Bowls Luncheon planned Nov. 15
More than 2,000 one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls have been created around Northeast Florida in preparation for the 27th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon benefiting Second Harvest North Florida.
The event is scheduled 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Osborn Center.
Children from more than 50 schools, senior citizen groups, local professional artists and other community and professional organizations are contributing their artistic talents to the effort.
They are volunteering their time and talents to the cause of fighting hunger in North Florida.
More than 1,300 people attended the 2010 event, which raised net proceeds of more than $75,000 for Second Harvest.
The event serves as a reminder that many families and children in our community go to bed hungry. Through the years, it has become a traditional kickoff for the holiday season.
Attendees are able to choose one of the students’ bowls as a keepsake. Professional artist bowls can be purchased to benefit Second Harvest.
Guests also can compete in a silent auction for celebrity-signed bowls. Celebrity-signed bowls this year will include those by Paula Deen, Peter Max and Reba McEntire, among others.
Attendees are provided a simple meal of bread, soup and fruit served by local celebrities – symbolic of the meals served by the soup kitchens to which Second Harvest distributes food throughout the year.
Tickets are $25 per person. Nonprofit tables are $300 and corporate tables are $500. Event sponsorship packages are available as well.
Bank of America is the presenting sponsor of the event. Other 2011 sponsors include PRI Productions, Chick-fil-A, Futch Printing & Mailing, SMG, BJ’s, Hometown Threads, Doing Dishes Pottery Studio, Pink Flamingo Arts, Pottery Works and ARC of Jacksonville.
For ticket and sponsorship information, call Tia Ford at 739-7074 or visit www.wenourishhope.org.
Party to ‘bring the holidays home’
Join Club Blu of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida as the members “Help Bring the Holidays Home.”
From 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at BlackFinn American Grille at the St. Johns Town Center, Club Blu will be partying for a purpose.
A $10 donation will provide one free drink, an extended happy hour and light appetizers.
In an effort to help each member of the Boys & Girls Clubs receive a gift this holiday season, event patrons are asked to bring an unwrapped toy and receive $5 off at the door.
There are more than 1,500 Boys & Girls Clubs members who need a holiday gift this season.
For more information contact Courtney Weatherby at [email protected] or 396-4435.
Fraternity sponsors community service
The Jacksonville Graduate Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity will be bringing awareness and raising money for numerous causes with a week of community service events.
The inaugural “Jacksonville Iotas Community Service Week” is this week:
• Today, 5-8 p.m., “I-Vote Registration Drive & Block Party” at William M. Raines Senior High School.
• Wednesday, 5-9 p.m., “Art Walk with the Iotas” at the Downtown First Wednesday Art Walk.
• Thursday, 8 p.m.-midnight, “Poetry Night & Ladies Appreciation with the Iotas” at the Four Points Sheraton.
• Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., “When School’s Out: How to Prepare For College & College Life” at First Coast High School.
• Saturday, 8 p.m.-midnight, “The Brown & Gold Ball” at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center. The brothers of Iota will show appreciation to community leaders making a difference while raising money for the Florida Network of Children Advocacy. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased through the chapter website www.jaxiotas.blogspot.com.
For more information, contact Brandon Jacobs at 613-8139 or e-mail [email protected].
Jaguars help youth at middle school
Jacksonville Jaguars players joined United Way of Northeast Florida volunteers Oct. 19 to lead more than 50 Achievers For Life students through a series of fitness activities designed to help young people find new ways to stay fit for a lifetime.
The event at Eugene J. Butler Middle School was part of the 13th annual NFL/United Way Hometown Huddle, a series of volunteer projects by NFL players and United Way in NFL markets nationwide.
NFL Play 60, the Jacksonville Jaguars and United Way are encouraging kids to exercise and play at least 60 minutes every day, to increase the number of youth who are healthy and avoiding risky behaviors.
Many activities were held, including several obstacle courses, basketball drills, jump-rope competitions and the 40-yard dash.
400 students ‘stomp out’ drugs
More than 400 local elementary students marched through a community known for its struggles with drugs and violence to show their commitment to being drug free. The students from Saint Clair Evans Academy took part in the “Stomp Out Drugs” parade Thursday morning as part of National Red Ribbon Week.
This is the fifth year the Moncrief Road school has held the parade.
Students marched from the school and through the Hill Top Village Apartment Complex. The complex is a HUD-subsidized low-income housing complex.
The Communities In Schools program at Saint Clair Evans serves many children who live in public housing, so some of the kids who marched are also residents of the Hill Top apartments through which they paraded.
Saint Clair Evans cheerleaders and the Raines High School band were on hand to perform as the children marched along the parade route. Many people living in the neighborhood also came out to wave and cheer to support the children.
Red Ribbon Week is America’s oldest and largest drug prevention program. About 80 million people in communities across the United States take a stand against drugs and show the benefits of living a drug-free, healthy lifestyle.