By Victoria Ostrosky

Christmas 2021 is almost upon us. As the past couple of years have been a challenge for us all, for non-profits, it has been especially difficult. Though some events have returned, others have still been put on hold and raising funds required to continue their much-needed work has not been possible.

Each organization listed below specializes in one main thing – children. Providing them a safe place to live, a bed to sleep on, healthcare, career opportunities and much more. Any of these wonderful charities could use your support if you are able.

I love this quote from Bob Goff’s book Live in Grace, Walk in Love: “We knew the way to show Jesus to people was to love the way He loved. When He went away, He said He was leaving His Spirit with us so we could become like Him and act like Him. It means we can love people who are excluded and alone during the holidays.” Where are you going to show love this Christmas?

Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center
Eccac.org
This place of safety provides services to children who have been abused, neglected or assaulted. They work in Okaloosa and Walton Counties giving help to the most vulnerable. They provide on-site interviews and medical evaluations, while working closely with law enforcement and the courts.

A Bed 4 Me
Abed4me.org
This organization provides beds and bedding for children in Okaloosa County at no cost to families. They believe each child needs their own place to sleep so they can get the rest they need and feel safe. They provide beds and bedding for those who are displaced victims of domestic abuse or who are struggling financially.

Children in Crisis
Childrenincrisisfl.org
This non-profit serves children in Walton, Okaloosa, Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. They provide homes for abused, neglected and abandoned children, doing their best to keep brothers and sisters together. They have different donation levels depending on how involved you want to be.

Children’s Volunteer Health Network
Cvhnkids.org
Children’s Volunteer Health Network serves the needs of children in Walton and Okaloosa Counties by providing much needed vision, dental and mental health services.

Shelter House of Northwest Florida
Shelterhousenwfl.org
Shelter House is a center for victims of domestic and sexual violence where their assistance is always free and confidential. They offer a variety of services, among them a 24-hour hotline, support groups and legal advocacy.

AMI Kids
Amikids.org
AMI Kids has been making a difference in at risk children’s lives since 1969. They have many programs available, and their goal is for every child to reach their full potential.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast
Emeraldcoastbgc.org
This organization is geared for school aged children five to eighteen. They offer a variety of programs and now include virtual activities like bingo and Pictionary and yoga depending on the age group. They also have mentor programs for those who desire to make a difference in a specific child’s life on an on-going basis.

This Christmas, as you purchase gifts for your family and friends, remember the children who, through no fault of their own, are in need, and choose a charity and donate. It’s always a win/win.

A Year of Foodie Festivals to Benefit the Kids!

An increasing number of children are at home with no adult care or supervision. Yet, young people need to know that someone cares about them. Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast (BGCEC) offer that and more. Club programs and services promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence all in a safe place to learn, grow and have fun.

Our local BGCEC has taken members from the Clubhouse to the White House; from the game room to the corporate boardroom; from the high school football field to the NFL; from a band room to Carnegie Hall. And from the streets to guidance, friendship and a place to belong.

Boys & Girls Clubs Emerald Coast offers programs that are addressing today’s most pressing youth issues. “Our programs teach young people the skills they need to succeed in life, while providing a safe place for hundreds of Northwest Florida children to go after school and during the summer,” says C.E.O. Shervin Rassa.

Local area programs basically focus on three priorities: Academic Success where members are provided with tools to graduate from high school with a plan for their future; Good Character and Citizenship through a variety of programs such as Keystone Club, Torch Club, Youth of the Year, Youth for Unity and Netsmartz; and Healthy Lifestyles where members learn to adopt and maintain positive behaviors about life, nutrition and self.

In order to support all of its valuable programs, BGCEC hosts several events throughout the year. After three years spent building the widely popular Mac & Cheese Festival in Destin, the BGCEC focused on expanding the concept with two new festivals this year—an Epic Bakery Competition in Defuniak Springs and BrunchFest in Pensacola. With recent events successfully completed, the BGCEC is gearing up to make 2022 an “ultimate” celebration of food, friends, and family.

The community adds to BGCEC produced foodie festivals by embracing the organization as a charity beneficiary for Shrimp & Grits Festival, Burgers, Bourbon & Beer Festival, and Half Shells on the Harbor. The BGCEC is invested in these productions as a driven and organized volunteer force, partnering with event coordinators to bolster the ranks of triumphant events. To say the BGCEC is a hardworking nonprofit organization is an understatement.

Led by C.E.O. Shervin Rassa, the BGCEC is responsible for supporting local club members and a large and talented staff. “What better way to celebrate and support our club kids than a series of festivals focusing on family and foodie favorites? We are excited about the expansion of Mac & Cheese as well as bringing new and fun events to both Pensacola and Defuniak Springs!” says Shervin.

Shervin has dedicated his career to youth development. He joined the Boys & Girls Club Movement 20 years ago as an area director in Tampa, relocating to the Emerald Coast organization in 2012. He now oversees eight clubs across three counties, serving 3,200 children from Pensacola to DeFuniak Springs.

The team has big plans for 2022, starting with the 4th Annual Mac & Cheese Festival on March 6, 2022, at the Destin Commons. The dates for Epic Bakery Festival and BrunchFest will be announced in early 2022. Attendees and sponsors will want to keep a lookout for the “ultimate” ways to enjoy, celebrate and engage, and the best way to stay informed is through the BGCEC Facebook page.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast was born in 1968 as the Boys Club of the Playground Area with 15 Members. When economic conditions threatened the organization in 1988, local businessmen recognized the Club’s value and potential and ensured it survived. More than 1,200 kids are registered during the school year, and more than 1,300 enjoyed the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast last summer.

BGCEC is a registered IRS 501(c)3 charity and receives funding from contributions, special events, grants, and major donors such as Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation and United Way agencies in Escambia, Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

This past Veteran’s Day, November 11, Okaloosa County unveiled Women Veterans Monuments, honoring women who have served and made significant contributions in the U.S. Military throughout history. The life-size, bronze monuments are arranged along a picturesque trail of the 17.5-acre Veterans’ Park on Okaloosa Island and have been sculpted in honor of women who sacrificed for our country as true patriots. Each represents a woman veteran who made a significant military contribution during one of many major conflicts throughout U.S. history, from the Revolutionary War to the War in Afghanistan.
Home to native wildlife and vegetation, the park is situated on the Choctawhatchee Bay coastline and pays homage to the military, which has played an integral role in forming our community. Second only to Washington, D.C., Florida is home to one of the largest populations of women veterans in the nation.

Honorees chosen by the Women Veterans Monument Advisory Committee and approved by the Board include the following:

Margaret Corbin – Revolutionary War, Army
Cathay Williams – Civil War, Army
Lenah Higbee – World War I, Navy
Jacqueline Cochran – World War II, Air Force Reserves
Jonita Ruth Bonham – Bovée, Korean War, Army Air Corps / Air Force
Sharon Ann Lane – Vietnam War, US Army Nurse Corps Reserve
Leigh Ann Hester – Persian Gulf War, Army National Guard
Naseema – War in Afghanistan, US Air Force

Like the men and women in uniform—past and present—the honored women veterans “kept their promise to bear any burden and endure any hardship for the cause of freedom,” said Air Force Colonel Allison Black, 24th SOW Vice Commander, Hurlbert Field, speaking during the Veterans Day ceremony. “The nation will be proud and residents along with guests will embrace the detail, quality and effort that has gone into honoring women who have given such dedication to our country,” said Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman Carolyn Ketchel.

When you visit, you arrive at a dedication plaza where a path encircles a flying U.S. flag, a POW-MIA flag, Florida and county flags. Military and Coast Guard flags fly from poles on the perimeter. The first statue you encounter is representative of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin. In November of 1776, while defending Fort Washington in New York, her husband, a soldier in the Continental Army, was killed by a Hessian musket ball. With no time to grieve, she continued loading and firing a canon by herself.

The journey continues along the trail where visitors experience the seven additional women memorialized by statues chosen by the Women’s Veteran Memorial Advisory Committee, approved by the Board of County Commissioners and crafted by Sculptor Jon Hair, who hopes visitors will feel a connection with each of the heroes through his sculptures. The Memorial Park includes a dedication plaza, ADA sidewalks, parking, landscape with irrigation and the eight statues, funded entirely from Okaloosa County Tourism Development.

A Living Shoreline, funded by a RESTORE grant, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and matching funds from Tourism Development, will be constructed to protect 2,200 linear feet of shoreline by reducing the impact of wave energy and providing an oyster habitat, a seagrass recruitment area and a salt marsh shelf. There is a boardwalk planned along with an education component.

“Every one of us has a story,” said Col. Black. “And while we walk on the trail outside and remember these specific eight brave and selfless women, many more stories will come to light, and those stories will become inspiration for the next generation as they find their way in the world.” 1,400 women serve on active duty currently at Eglin Air Force Base in every role. Learn more about the honorees at myokaloosa.com/bcc/women-veterans-memorial.

100 Men Who Care, a nationwide network of people interested in supporting non-profit groups in their local communities through giving circles, has launched on the Emerald Coast.

100 Men Who Care – Emerald Coast’s mission is to help fund charities and non-profit organizations operating in and impacting our Okaloosa and Walton County communities. 100 Men Who Care – Emerald Coast is part of the 100 Who Care Alliance with more than 700 chapters worldwide. Coining the phrase, “The Power of 100,” each chapter meets quarterly gathering its 100-plus members at a rotating local venue. Each member contributes $100 quarterly to a giving pool. Local charities and non-profits then have an opportunity to describe their mission, needs and plans before the membership. The evening concludes with members voting to choose one local charity to receive the proceeds. The result is a one-time donation of up to $10,000 meant to have an immediate and meaningful impact for the chosen organization.

Scott Rude, management consultant and university instructor; and Andrew McDowell, Wealth Manager with Arbor Wealth Management, founded the local chapter and are recruiting local like-minded community members.

“It is so exciting to have taken our first steps toward making a positive impact through the great works of non-profit organizations in our community” says Scott. In a fun hour-long event of fellowship in October, the chapter allocated their first award; $2600 to C.A.L.M. House of Niceville, helping local women and children in need to get a new start on the Emerald Coast. “What an amazing organization” continues Scott, “and we can’t wait to do more in coming quarterly meetings.”

100 Men Who Care is welcoming new members wishing to benefit our community. Interested men can reach the chapter by emailing Scott at 100mwcec@gmail.com or through the group’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/100MWCEC/.

The next quarterly chapter meeting will be held at the Palms of Destin Resort on January 18, 2022 at 5:30 pm.

100 Men Who Care – Emerald Coast is a Florida 501c3 not-for-profit organization and a chapter of the 100 Who Care Alliance. The organization was formed in 2021 with the mission of connecting philanthropists and caring citizens in the Emerald Coast with the shared goal of giving meaningful support to deserving charities and non-profit organizations that impact their local community. 100 Men’s sister organization, 100 Women Who Care, based in Ft. Walton offers a networking and giving opportunity for women in the community and is also accepting new members. For more information on 100 Men Who Care-Emerald Coast, please email 100mwcec@gmail.com, like the group’s Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/100MWCEC/ or visit the website at www.100mwcec.com.

The votes are in and four local non-profit groups in Okaloosa and Walton Counties will receive $104,500 each from Impact100 of Northwest Florida, Inc., an organization designed to financially support nonprofit organizations in Okaloosa and Walton Counties.
Grant recipients were selected from the following five categories: Arts & Culture; Education; Environment, Recreation and Preservation; Family; and Health and Wellness. Since its conception in 2012, Impact100 NWF has now awarded 3.6 million dollars to nonprofits in Okaloosa and Walton counties.

For Education, it’s United for a Good Cause for Hope Squad’s Peer-to-Peer Prevention Expansion. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among kids 10-18. There were 36 youth suicides ages 10-24 between Okaloosa and Walton Counties in 2015-2019. The goal of United for a Good Cause is to save our kids by having a Hope Squad Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention Program in every school in our region from Escambia to Walton Counties. Grant dollars will support more than 51,000 students in both Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

For Environment, Recreation & Preservation, the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) will receive funds for new Clinic Medical Equipment. PAWS’ goal is to reopen the only low-cost animal clinic in Okaloosa/Walton counties, to provide diagnostics and surgery for injured animals and reduce the unwanted and unhealthy animal populations. To do this they need equipment. Funds will quickly restore on-site medical access for abused/abandoned shelter animals (7k+ annually) and serve the public need for locally accessible and affordable vet care, thereby reducing pet populations (domestic and feral) through more than 30k annual spay/neuter surgeries. The clinic has a 20-year history ($200k annual profit) using old equipment and a semi-retired vet. New and additional equipment will allow vets to perform at 6x rate and offer more clinic services.

For the Family category, Fresh Start for Children and Families won the grant award for its Sell More = Help More ~ Fresh Start Takes Aim at More Capacity program. Fresh Start is a housing/education program for families with children who are homeless. Their clients come from all walks of life, face many problems including abuse, divorce, generational poverty and more. This project is to purchase a box truck with lift, which would increase their capacity. The program provides a furnished apartment, food pantry, weekly life skills classes, one-on-one budgeting and goal meetings. The Repeat Street thrift store is a revenue source covering more than 50% of the program’s bills, furnishing apartments, and with only two employees and volunteers. A dependable truck will save money on repairs, increase funds with less trips to unload, less pickups missed and appear more professional. Families who graduate from the program leave self-sufficient with savings.

For the Health and Wellness category, Sharing and Caring of Okaloosa County will use the funds for Building Expansion. The organization desperately needs a facility expansion and renovation. Since 1990, it has operated its food pantry in a small 1,485 sq. ft. building using a tiny pantry of just 409 sq. ft. This year, they finally saved enough to purchase this building. Their 960 sq. ft. expansion will extend their rectangular building by 30 ft. It will more than double the pantry for food storage and cooling equipment, add a prescription interviewer room, increase the reception lobby by 75%, make the entrance, walkways and client restroom more functional and handicap compliant. The organization’s mission is to improve the health and independence of clients by providing nutritious food, personal care items and medicine vouchers. Additionally, partnerships with Shelter House, Fresh Start and other agencies to synergize the local transformational movement will be expanded, thereby doubling the number of clients supported to all demographics.

For additional information about Impact100 NWF or to join the organization, please visit www.impactnwf.org. The website provides an overview of Impact100 NWF and features our grant recipients from 2012 to 2020 highlighting the successful community outreach and the services provided to Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

Alaqua Opens New Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Located on five acres within their original Whitfield Rd. property in Freeport, a new Alaqua Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, a state and federally permitted facility, is providing a much-needed resource for rehabilitating sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife. “Alaqua receives a dozen or more calls a week to help injured wildlife, and up until this point we have had to send them to another facility,” said Alaqua Founder Laurie Hood. “It is heart-wrenching to think there is an animal out there suffering. We are thrilled to finally be a resource for people in our community when they see injured wildlife, and we will also be able to educate them in the process.”

A highly experienced wildlife specialty team has been assembled with a combined 30 years’ experience working with wildlife in clinical settings. The facility includes a fully functional wildlife clinic with surgical suite, triage area, ICU for critical animals, a detached avian nursery, and a mammal nursery with rabies vector species quadrant to provide specialized care for orphaned babies in a contained environment. Additional outdoor habitats including a brand-new flight cage have also been constructed on the wooded property to provide an environment free from common urban stressors. This will allow the rehabilitation process to happen in a setting that is closely similar to being back in nature.

Animals of all types are welcome including shore birds, seabirds, birds of prey, mammals, marsupials, and reptiles.

Alaqua and its staff have met all requirements and permitting associated through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Animals may be dropped at the Alaqua Whitfield Campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7-days a week (located at 914 Whitfield Road, Freeport). Individuals needing assistance can call the office at (850) 880-6697 or the FWC Wildlife Hotline at (888) 404-3922.

Healing Paws For Warriors Graduates Veteran / K9 Teams
The Florida Panhandle’s nonprofit group Healing Paws for Warriors (HP4Ws) graduates 15 (x7) additional veteran/service dog teams after three months of intensive training:

(Retired – Army) James Mulcahey (and service dog Bluie); (Retired – Air Force) Tom Talbot (and service dog Rosie); (Retired – Army) Ryan Reeves (and service dog Truman); (Retired – Air Force) Kevin Baird (and service dog Ser); (Retired – Air Force) Denise Fox (and service dog Glory); (Retired – Navy) Jessica Pickett (and service dog Valor); (Retired – Navy) Keith Wade (and service dog Sierra); (Retired – Marine) Scott Pence (and service dog Legend)

Individually, each team either suffered from a physical injury or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and or Military Sexual Trauma (MST) during deployments while serving our country.

While the physical injuries were diagnosed and treated by medical teams, the psychological trauma takes more time. Trained service dogs have shown to be effective in aiding in medical crises and alleviating the physical and emotional symptoms our veterans continue struggling with long after returning from the battlefield. The veterans were matched with their K9 partners after being rescued from local shelters.

Healing Paws is a volunteer-based program dedicated to supporting our military men and women and reducing veteran suicide. To learn more, visit www.healingpawsforwarriors.org or contact us at info@healingpawsforwarriors.org.

Heroes
Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers have been lauded as heroes – and rightfully so – during the COVID-19 pandemic as their already high-stress jobs quickly morphed into extreme, ongoing pressure to help people. The people helping animals – shelter and rescue workers, veterinarians and vet techs – are heroes, too, though it’s even more behind the scenes. They get a wagging tail, a gentle lick on the hand, or a purring headbutt.
Dog-Harmony, as part of its mission to support the people on the front lines of homeless and hurt pets, invites shelter, rescue and veterinary workers to a celebration of their commitment to animals from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Dog-Harmony headquarters, 237 Market St., Santa Rosa Beach. The event also is hosted by Amanda Rietheimer, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and Behavior Modification Coach.