Our partners at STEM2HUB have been hard at work refurbishing computers to provide to students and organizations all over the First Coast. These programs go beyond standard school supplies. They inspire and invest in the STEM2 field by providing the essential missing elements to accelerate the growth of STEM2 education and careers.

Community First Cares Foundation is proud to provide funding to support their efforts.

Over the last few years, the Clay Education Foundation has made it a priority to give our students the tools and resources they need to be successful whether they choose college, military, or career. Through the Grants for Great Ideas program, the CEF awards more than $40,000 a year in innovative classroom grants to teachers to purchase those supplies they need in order to make this a reality. This year, educators were eligible to apply to our Grants program for projects focusing on STEM, arts, and literacy. Projects included bringing coding and robotics to first graders to expanding STEAM centers in many of our school media centers.

Community First Cares Foundation, along with other generous community partners, were able to fund not only the Grants for Great Ideas program, but programs to build classroom libraries and support numerous hands-on STEM activities like school gardens and robotics clubs.

The Community First Cares Foundation and the Nassau Education Foundation, with matching grant funds from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF), have purchased a district-wide license for BrainPop software.

The software is available for use in all 16 district schools serving more than 11,000 students. This is the second year of this innovative commitment to Nassau County Schools.

We are proud supporters of the Monique Burr Foundation’s Teen Safety Matters program.

Teen Safety Matters™ is a comprehensive, research-based, prevention education program that educates and empowers teens and all relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to bullying, cyberbullying, all types of abuse, relationship abuse, sex trafficking, digital abuse, and other digital dangers. The MBF Teen Safety Matters program was developed with schools, not for schools, to make the best use of existing resources and ensure schools have effective programs that are easy to implement.

Ascension St. Vincent’s is partnering with Rethreaded and four local credit unions to create and provide masks for its caregivers.

The health system is providing the material, which is two-ply spun polypropylene that keeps out water, bacteria and about 99.9 percent of particulates. The high-quality material is typically used to keep instruments sterile before surgeries and procedures and would otherwise be discarded after its initial use.

The staff of Rethreaded are taking the sterile material, sewing the masks together and sending them to Ascension St. Vincent’s for potential use.

Community First Cares Foundation, along with the others, are covering labor costs associated with the production of the masks.

BASCA focuses on helping individuals with intellectual and developmental differences achieve a higher quality of life and sense of belonging. The organization was started by parents who were looking for programs that concentrated on their special needs children’s abilities. The desire was to have programs and services that offer each individual opportunities to learn how to lead a life that makes them feel complete. We build not just skills, but the confidence to go out into the job market, into the community, meet people, and help others by volunteering.

In late 2019, select Community First Credit Union locations displayed art magnets made by BASCA participants for donations. Community First Cares Foundation matched all donations dollar for dollar.

The Empowered Kitchen and Community First Cares Foundation partnered during Nurses Week this year to help celebrate nursing professionals by providing free meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With demand for their services at an all-time high and a persisting worldwide nursing shortage across all health care settings, nurses are even more valued than normal,” said National League or Nursing President Patricia S. Yoder-Wise. “The characteristic competence, compassion and sensitivity of nurses, along with the skilled care expected of healers, are more evident than ever.”

Brown sought funding for her night-shift meals project from the Community First Cares Foundation, the nonprofit philanthropic arm of Community First Credit Union, which has funded several projects and partnerships during the pandemic. She received a $4,000 grant.

“The Empowered Kitchen created this program with us to keep their workers working and thank the nurses, especially the night nurses who may not benefit from all the thank you projects pouring in during the daytime,” said Missy Peters, the foundation’s executive director. “Jacksonville is my home and I’m passionate about creative projects that help people who might be forgotten or overlooked.”

The Giving Closet Project opened its first, full-service clothing and supplies closet housed at Martin Luther King, Jr. FAME Academy on Jacksonville’s Northwest side. The closet, launched by a Duval County Public School teacher, serves kids and area families with items basic essentials such as shoes and clothing. The Community First Cares Foundation provided the funding to create this first of its kind closet including shelving and storage units, bins, and baskets, tables, clothing racks and hangers, shoe racks, uniform shirts, bags, signage, décor and initial marketing. Credit union volunteers also merchandized and stocked the closet for the opening in September 2017.

The Community First Cares Foundation, in collaboration with the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, presented the 2nd annual Entrepreneur Symposium for Creatives: Every Artist is a Small Business on Saturday, August 18, 2019.

In connection with this program, Community First has pledged $10,000 to fund 10 direct artist grants.

The First Tee of North Florida is launching a financial education program, in partnership with Community First Cares Foundation, to empower young people with the skills to make life-changing financial decisions.

Financial education is incorporated with golf and other life skills during in-school, after-school and on-course programming for more than 131,000 youth in The First Tee of North Florida’s seven-county service area.