As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this feature that each week reports the efforts of local nonprofit organizations and the individuals and businesses that support them.
Bailey Publishing & Communications invites all members of the local nonprofit community to email news, announcements and success stories 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.
Cancer Society needs volunteer drivers
The American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program needs volunteers to drive local cancer patients to and from their chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
The American Cancer Society provided more than 3,100 cancer patients with rides to treatment in Florida last year, but there is a critical need for new volunteer drivers to keep up with the demand for transportation.
“There is a great need for people to help by picking up cancer patients from their home and transporting them to their nearby treatment centers,” said Patient Services Manager Suzanne Greer.
“If you have a car and even one hour a month, you can make a real difference in someone’s life by becoming a driver,” she said.
Drivers use their own vehicle and the schedule for volunteers is flexible. Treatment appointments take place on weekdays, primarily during business hours.
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer driver for Road to Recovery, contact your local American Cancer Society office at (877) 901-2862. If you are a cancer patient seeking more information about the Road to Recovery program, call (800) 227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
September a big month for Humane Society
People can support the St. Augustine Humane Society by dining at the Columbia Restaurant during September for lunch or dinner. The local Humane Society is participating in this year’s 15th Annual Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest program.
When customers designate the Humane Society, the Columbia will donate 5 percent of the customer’s lunch or dinner check to the organization.
The Community Harvest takes place in all of the Columbia Restaurant locations in Florida, including St. Augustine, Tampa, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Clearwater Beach and Celebration.
“We appreciate the Columbia and the restaurant company’s start of this program in 1998 as a way to help many of the worthy nonprofit groups that are so important to our community,” said Carolyn Smith, St. Augustine Humane Society operations director.
“We join the restaurant in letting patrons know about our mission to prevent pet overpopulation with affordable spay neuter programs and to eliminate the need to relinquish pets to shelters,” she said.
The process is for lunch and dinner customers at the Columbia to put a check mark next to the name of the charitable organization listed on the form provided by the server and note that they would like the Columbia to donate 5 percent of the check.
For the past 14 years, the Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest has donated more than $1.31 million to nonprofit organizations throughout Florida.
Enterprise employees beautify Children’s Home campus
Employees from Jacksonville-area Enterprise Rent-A-Car locations recently came out for a day of beautification projects at the Children’s Home Society of Florida, Buckner Division.
The volunteers spent the afternoon completing campus improvement projects, including painting the exterior of the Terry Children’s Center, one of the four residential cottages on the 14-acre site.
Chartered in Jacksonville in 1902, Children’s Home Society of Florida says it is dedicated to embracing children and inspiring lives.
The organization works to restore and strengthen families through its programs and services such as adoption, foster care and child abuse prevention programs. For more information, visit www.chsfl.org/buckner.
Mission House partners with ‘Another Sign’
Mission House, the only homeless facility in the Jacksonville Beach area, has partnered with the musical “Another Sign” to help raise money and awareness for its cause.
Mission House, a nonprofit in Jacksonville Beach, was created in 1997 by the Beaches faith community in an effort to help the homeless. It has since gained partnerships with many other programs and services in the Jacksonville area.
Mission House is a day facility that provides food, clothing, showers and medical care to the homeless. In addition, Mission House offers spiritual counseling and mental health services, as well as employment programs, job training and placement.
“We re-emphasized the importance of getting people off the street in 2010, where we got 32 people off the street and into permanent housing,” said Lori Delgado Anderson, the executive director of Mission House.
“In 2011, we got 42 people off the streets and so far in 2012, 44 people. Our goal for 2012 is to get 60 people off the streets, so we are halfway there,” she said.
Aside from food, clothing and showers, there are clinics for those with mental and physical illnesses. Case managers are available to help individuals make positive choices and regain independence.
“I think it’s important for people to know we are more than just a soup kitchen. At each meal we feed around 50 people, and before each meal they are able to take a shower, change into clean clothes, sign up to see a case manager and use the Internet to search for jobs,” she said.
Mission House will present the musical “Another Sign” on Sept. 27.
“Another Sign” was written by Mike White, president of Client Focused Media and publisher of the Buzz magazine, and local artist John E. Citrone.
“The play really touches on the different aspects of homelessness. Mental illness accounts for about 30 percent to 40 percent of the homeless. No one chooses to become homeless, and with the economy the way it is, anyone can become homeless,” Anderson said.
To learn more about Mission House, or to donate, visit www.missionhousejax.org.
356-2466