Holland & Knight Raises $69,400 for Jacksonville Organizations Benefiting At-Risk Children
Jacksonville, Fla. – June 13, 2013 – Holland & Knight is pleased to announce that it has awarded $69,400 in grants to 20 local community organizations assisting at-risk children. For the third year in a row, lawyers and staff in the firm's Jacksonville office contributed money as a part of the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation's Local Donor Advised Fund.
The office's Committee for the Public Good prepared and distributed grant applications and then met over three weeks to determine which organizations would receive the awards. The Committee received requests for funding such services as a "Kids in the Kitchen" program to help prevent obesity, camp scholarships for children with special needs, an anti-bullying program, a scouting program for urban youth, and hospice care for low income children.
Local organizations that will be receiving funds from the firm include:
- Angelwood
- Boy Scouts of America, North Florida Council
- The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Inc.
- Catholic Charities
- Community Connections of Jacksonville
- Community Hospice
- Downtown Ecumenical Services Council
- Grand Park Athletic Association
- Jacksonville Children's Chorus
- Jewish Family & Community Services
- Junior League of Jacksonville
- Lutheran Social Services
- Mental Health America
- One Hundred Black Men of Jacksonville
- Operation New Hope
- R.V. Daniels Elementary School
- U-Turns
- Waste Not Want Not
- Wolfson Children's Hospital
- Youth Crisis Center
"We are very grateful for Holland & Knight's generous support which will be used to send children with emotional, physical, or developmental disabilities to Camp I Am Special this summer. Camp I Am Special is the only one of its kind in the area and we are so pleased we can continue to bring joy to the children and parents that this program serves," said Jennifer Garizio, executive director of Catholic Charities.
"Thanks to the firm's support we will be able to send children home with nutritious food through our BackPack Program. We sincerely appreciate Holland & Knight's desire to join with us in ending hunger in our community and improving the health and potential of our children," said Kimberly Mariani, director of community engagement of Second Harvest.
"Our Community PedsCare program helps more than 150 infants, children and teens each day who have life-threatening illnesses, diseases or injuries. Holland & Knight's generous grant will insure that we can provide seamless healthcare to these children while supporting their families in many ways so they can enjoy quality time with their children," said Sherry Hogan, associate executive director of Community Hospice Foundation.
Holland & Knight partner Suzanne Judas, who serves as chair of the Committee for Public Good, stated, "Once again at Holland & Knight it feels like Christmas in June. Our community partners are providing extraordinary services for Jacksonville's at-risk children and we are pleased to support them year after year. We are very proud our local grant-giving program - which is funded entirely by the attorneys and staff in the office - and we look forward to continuing in 2014."