25th Annual Community Harvest

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The Salvation Army of St. Johns County has been selected to participate in the 25th Annual Community Harvest during the month of September, at the Columbia Restaurant.

The Salvation Army of St. Johns County has been chosen as one of the groups to be listed on the ballots given out at lunch and dinner. Customers who select us as their choice, will have a contribution equal to 5 percent of the food and beverage value (tax and tip are excluded) donated to us in the form of restaurant gift certificates. The donation is from the Gonzmart Foundation — the guests do not spend any additional money for this donation. @Columbia1905

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Eat Well. Do Good.

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Help Community Non-Profits By Dining At Any Columbia Restaurant In September

Media contact: Michael Kilgore, CMO, 813.245.2295.

TAMPA, Fla., July 12, 2021 – Support local non-profits just by dining at any Columbia Restaurant in September.

Through its month-long 24th annual Community Harvest program, the Columbia donates 5 percent of all diners’ checks to charities selected by the guests.

Over the last 23 years, the Columbia Restaurant’s Community Harvest has donated more than $2.6 million to non-profit organizations throughout Florida.

Community Harvest involves each of the Columbia locations, including Ybor City in the historic district of Tampa, St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, St. Augustine, Sand Key on Clearwater Beach, Central Florida’s town of Celebration, the Columbia Cafe on the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa at the Tampa Bay History Center and the Columbia Restaurant Cafe at Tampa International Airport.

All Columbia locations are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

For more information, see www.ColumbiaRestaurant.com

“We started this program as a way to help many of the worthy non-profit groups that are so important to our communities,” said 4th generation family member and president Richard Gonzmart.

Gonzmart said the process is simple: Choose a charity from a ballot that’s provided with the check. The restaurant calculates the 5 percent and provides the charity with gift certificates that can be used for up to 12 months. There’s no additional cost to the guest.

The original Columbia Restaurant was founded in Tampa’s Historic Ybor City in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez, Sr., and is Florida’s oldest restaurant.

All Columbia locations are owned and operated by 4th and 5th generation members of the founding family, except for the Columbia Restaurant Cafe at Tampa International Airport, which is operated in partnership with HMSHost. Follow us on Twitter, lnstagram and Facebook.

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Overcoming mobility challenges on the path to self sufficiency.

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self sufficiencyBy: Antoinette Vitale

Fred enrolled in The Salvation Army’s Towers Center of Hope Men’s Transitional Housing program, Hope Crossing, in Jacksonville in April of 2019. His goal was to find permanent housing with wheelchair accessibility.

Hope Crossing provides transitional housing to men at The Towers Center of Hope and helps break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, situational and chronic homelessness through strength-based case management, community collaboration, and data-driven support. For those experiencing a recent eviction, domestic breakup, addiction issue, or any other housing crisis, The Salvation Army of Northeast Florida’s transitional housing provides homeless individuals with food and lodging, while equipping them with the resources and support needed to regain stability.

Fred previously lived in sub-standard housing before arriving at The Salvation Army shelter. At the time, he was using a walker that was not sufficient for his mobility needs. Fred is disabled due to a lower extremity amputation. Fortunately, a Salvation Army case manager assisted him in obtaining a motorized wheelchair, giving him mobility freedom.

After many months on the Section 8 waiting list, Fred received his Housing Choice Voucher from HUD in June of 2020. The social services team assisted him in finding housing by taking him to see apartments, completing the application process, and The Salvation Army provided the deposit and first month’s rent. His case management team secured furniture donations, including bedroom and living room furniture along with other household items to aid in Fred’s transition into permanent housing with necessary items.

Today, Fred has successfully achieved self-sufficiency in his own apartment that is ADA accessible. This is what success in Hope Crossing looks like.

Fred summed up his experience with The Salvation Army as a positive experience and stated, “you helped me with everything.”

 

The Salvation Army Modifies Service to Continue Providing Meals in Northeast Florida

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Salvation Army Deploying Teams from Florida to Carolinas Ahead of Hurricane Florence

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LUTZ, FL (September 10, 2018) – Having strengthened from a tropical storm over the weekend, Hurricane Florence is expected to increase in significance as it approaches the southeastern United States. As the threat to Florida’s coast has lessened, The Salvation Army will deploy mobile feeding units, staff, and volunteers from across Florida to assist areas where the storm is expected to make landfall in North and South Carolina.

Teams from Clearwater, Cocoa, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Stuart, Tallahassee, and Vero Beach are preparing now to be in place mid-week in anticipation of serving impacted areas after the storm.

“The units being deployed each have the capacity to serve 500 – 1,500 meals per day,” says Steven Hartsook. Salvation Army Director of Emergency Disaster Services.

“The Salvation Army prepares all year to be able to serve where needed. Individual and family preparedness is crucial in advance of a disaster, and we want to remind everyone that the time to prepare for the next storm is now,” says Hartsook.

The Salvation Army will also deploy a 53’ refrigerated feeding support trailer from Florida to North Carolina to assist with transporting food and drinks to affected areas.

To support The Salvation Army’s Hurricane Florence relief efforts, visit www.HelpSalvationArmy.org. For updates on The Salvation Army’s emergency disaster response efforts, visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Lindsay Crossland, Director of Communications
P: 727-403-7766
E: Lindsay.Crossland@uss.salvationarmy.org 

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About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 135 years in the United States. Nearly 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster survivors, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. Eighty-two cents of every dollar donated to The Salvation Army are used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, visit www.SalvationArmyFlorida.org or follow on Twitter @SalArmyFlorida.

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