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Stellar employees support In the Pink
Employees of Stellar, a firm focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services worldwide, raised $5,500 for In the Pink, a boutique for women living with cancer.
Each Friday in October, Stellar employees could wear jeans to work in exchange for a $30 donation to In the Pink. In November, Stellar hosted a cake decorating contest and auction that also benefited the nonprofit.
In the Pink is a boutique and salon dedicated to helping women heal, cope and survive the effects of cancer, physically and emotionally. The organization provides apparel, products, services and resources to cancer patients free of charge, such as scarves, post-surgical garments, wigs and yoga classes.
Founder and two-time cancer survivor Jeri Millard opened the first In the Pink in Jacksonville Beach in 2009.
The organization also has locations in San Marco and Sarasota.
“We feel extremely fortunate to have this kind of support here in the Jacksonville community,” Millard said. “Thanks to our generous donors’ efforts, we can continue providing free services and products to cancer patients.”
For information about In the Pink, visit jaxinthepink.com.
Community Hospice lights Tree of Life
The lighting of the 2014 Tree of Life will feature a 20-foot tree and a cluster of other evergreens adorned with lights that represent the more than 97,000 adults and children Community Hospice has served in its 35-year history.
Free and open to the public, the evening’s festivities begin at 5:15 p.m. Thursday with the lighting at 6 p.m. Refreshments, carriage rides and holiday entertainment will be offered until 7 p.m.
The observance is at the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring at 4266 Sunbeam Road. Additional parking is available in the Kmart parking lot behind Zaxby’s at 9600 San Jose Blvd. Complimentary shuttle service will be available from 5-5:45 p.m. No RSVP is required.
The lighting will include a candlelight service of remembrance to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died.
Attendees are invited to bring a photo of their loved one to display on the memory tables.
For more information, visit TreeOfLife.CommunityHospice.com.
$40,000 to help feed Northeast Florida
C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., a wholesale grocery supply company that supports Winn-Dixie’s local distribution system, donated $40,000 to Feeding Northeast Florida for school nourishment programs in the Baldwin area.
According to Gina Goff, senior director of community involvement for C&S, the company’s charitable foundation chose to keep its giving “close to home,” since its main distribution center is in Baldwin.
“Each year, C&S donates hundreds of tons of food to community pantries, food kitchens and relief organizations across the country,” Goff said. “We’re happy to support Feeding Northeast Florida in its ongoing efforts to provide food relief to those throughout our community who need it most.”
Feeding Northeast Florida President and CEO Bruce Ganger said the donation will create “SnackPacks” and conduct communitywide food distributions in Baldwin.
An estimated 322,300 people in 17 Northeast Florida counties turn to food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families, according to a Hunger in America Study released last month. The study estimated 29 percent are children under age 18 and 15 percent are seniors 60 or older.
Sonny’s BBQ talking turkeys
Sonny’s BBQ restaurants in Jacksonville and Orange Park are donating turkeys to families in need.
Visit any area Sonny’s restaurant by Dec. 17 and for a $20 donation, Sonny’s will provide the donor with $20 worth of restaurant coupons and donate a turkey to the Salvation Army of Northeast Florida.
Two hundred turkeys have been donated to the Salvation Army to date. All turkeys will be given to families to prepare holiday meals at home as well as to feed the homeless at the Towers Social Services Center.
Sonny’s also participates in the Angel Tree, an annual Salvation Army project where donors “adopt an angel” to help provide new Christmas toys and clothing for children who might otherwise have none. Angels will be available until Dec. 12.
The Salvation Army provides toys, clothing, and groceries for nearly 8,500 needy children and seniors during the holiday season. Emergency food and shelter, clothing and spiritual support are provided to thousands more.
Women in Insurance Group collecting Toys for Tots items
For the second year, Women in Insurance & Financial Services of Northeast Florida is hosting a Holiday Happening in support of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Foundation’s Toys for Tots program.
The event is 6-9 p.m. Tuesday in the Riverview Lounge at the Plaza Condominium at the Berkman Plaza & Marina.
Tara Showalter, who is serving her second term as president of the group’s board, is a managing director at AIG Financial Services, a sponsor for the evening.
“The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Foundation’s Toys for Tots goal is to deliver, through a new toy at the holidays, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens,” said Showalter.
All attendees are asked to bring an unwrapped “Toy for a Tot” to the event.
Admission for the group’s members is free. Admission for non-members is $10. To attend and receive the details for parking, visit wifsnefl.org.
Dollar Tree: Toys for Operation Homefront
Operation Homefront, the national nonprofit that provides emergency financial and other assistance to military families, is joining with Dollar Tree to launch its annual Holiday Toy Drive to collect gifts for military families.
More than 30 Dollar Tree stores in and around Jacksonville are collecting toys to be distributed to children of service members. Thursday is the last day to donate.
This year marks the eighth annual campaign by Operation Homefront and Dollar Tree to support military families during the holiday season.
More information on the Holiday Toy Drive is available at OperationHomefront.net/HolidayToys.
OperationHomefront.net also accepts online contributions for all of Operation Homefront’s programs to assist military families.
“The expense of the holiday season often impacts the budgets of our most junior enlisted members significantly,” said Simone Hoover, executive director of Operation Homefront Southeast. “For those families with children, parents are often overwhelmed trying to fit the expense of gifts into an already stretched budget. Our Holiday Toy Drive assists military parents in providing presents to their children during tough economic times.”
Dollar Tree patrons in the 2013 toy drive collected more than 8.3 million toys nationwide for children of military personnel. When the program ends, volunteers will collect and distribute the gifts to military children during the holiday season.