Agents and staff from Davidson Realty on May 2 supported Habitat for Humanity of St. Augustine and St. Johns County by helping with the construction of a local home.
The event was part of Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Week 2015.
Women Build is a national partnership between Habitat for Humanity affiliates and Lowe’s Home Improvement. The annual campaign has produced more than 2,100 homes built by female crews.
Learn more at habitatstjohns.org.
$100,000 grant for Any Given Child
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded a $100,000 grant to the Cathedral Arts Project in support of its Any Given Child Jacksonville initiative.
The funds will be used to expand Any Given Child Jacksonville’s programming starting with the 2015-16 school year. The grant will help provide art programming in Duval County Public Schools, particularly in middle schools.
In 2014, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the organization that oversees the Any Given Child national program, released the results of a research study that showed students involved in arts-integrated education believed arts helped them better understand non-arts subject matter.
The study also found that arts-integrated education increased creativity — a trait associated with higher standardized test scores.
Learn more at capkids.org/agcjax.
‘Burgers for Babies’ Friday at Davis Center
Community Connections, a nonprofit focused on ending homelessness and fighting poverty, will present its annual Burgers 4 Babies event at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Davis Center at 327 E. Duval St.
Theresa Warren with Fifth Third Bank and Patrick McCabe with Nemours chair this year’s event, sponsored by Arizona Chemical, FIS, Brooks Rehabilitation and Nemours.
The cookout will feature celebrity chefs flipping burgers on the grill, a diaper dash relay race and the ribbon-cutting for Community Connections’ Health Hub.
The organization provides transitional housing, the second step in recovering from homelessness. The key programs — prevention, housing, youth and family services and workforce readiness — are directed toward helping families become independent and removed from the cycle of poverty.
Health Hub is designed to educate and connect the women, children and families with wellness resources for preventive care. It was made possible by funding partners including The Riverside Hospital Foundation, St. Vincent’s HealthCare and the Southside Business Men’s Club.
Tickets may be purchased at communityconnectionsjax.org. They are $25 for general admission or $250 to participate as a celebrity chef. Proceeds support Community Connections programs for youth and children.
Prisoners of Christ breakfast May 26
Mayor Alvin Brown declared May 26 “Crime Prevention Day” in Jacksonville in honor of the Prisoners of Christ Ministry’s 25th anniversary providing re-entry services to former prisoners in the Jacksonville area.
The ministry will celebrate at its annual Crime Prevention Prayer Breakfast at 7:27 a.m. May 26 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. The event and parking are free.
Sheriff John Rutherford, a Prisoners of Christ board member, will be the keynote speaker with his presentation, “Every Saint Has a Past and Every Sinner Has a Future.”
The public is welcome to attend by registering at pocministry.org.
‘Rounds at the Grounds’ scheduled for June 4
Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition will present its sixth annual Rounds at the Grounds charity softball game at 4:45 p.m. June 4 at Bragan Field.
Tickets are $10.50 and include admission to the Jacksonville Suns game immediately following the event.
Local celebrities and medical professionals will face off in an hourlong softball game to raise money and awareness of the importance of reducing the area’s high infant mortality rate and improving the health of women, children and families in Northeast Florida.
The organization is seeking additional sponsors for the exhibition softball game. Current sponsors include Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Southern Oak Insurance Co., Molina Healthcare, University of Florida Health, Mayo Clinic and Sunshine Health.
To learn more about sponsorships or to purchase tickets, visit nefhealthystart.org/rounds.
Nonprofit supports cancer research at Mayo Clinic
The Florida Pancreas Cancer Coalition presented a check for $27,500 to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to support pancreas cancer research.
The Digestive Disease Research Program Oversight Committee and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center selected Dr. Nicole Murray as the recipient of the donation.
She is an assistant professor of pharmacology and a senior associate consultant in the Department of Cancer Biology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
Her laboratory focuses on characterizing the genes involved in the initiation and progression of cancer.
Student recognized for volunteerism
The Scheidel Foundation recognized Florida State College at Jacksonville student Matthew Jorns for his commitment to volunteering at Daniel Kids by naming him a 2015 Scheidel Leadership in Action Award winner.
The award is given annually to student volunteers who contribute their time to nonprofits and promote community involvement.
Jorns volunteered more than 600 hours with the Daniel Kids Statewide Inpatient Psychiatric Program.
The foundation also awarded a $1,000 grant to Daniel Kids to help the nonprofit change the odds for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children.