Suddath has announced its sponsorship of a “Visit from St. Nicholas” on behalf of HandsOn Jacksonville.

Suddath involvement included sponsorship of a full grade level, or about 100 children, providing hundreds of toys and books, a VIP table at the HandsOn Jacksonville Fifth Annual Holiday Benefit, and event volunteers.  The event took place on Saturday, November 15 and was repeated on Friday, December 5. The program is expected to serve 7,000 children in three countries in 2014 alone.

To prepare for the December 5 event, Suddath volunteers joined forces with many other local organisations to help assemble and deliver the backpacks. “The ability to do this type of volunteer work, especially at this time of year, has a positive impact,” said Melinda Byrnes, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Business Development, “not only on the children receiving these gifts but also on Suddath and our employees. To be able to give back through an organisation such as HandsOn Jacksonville, consistently dedicated to volunteerism throughout Northeast Florida, is invaluable and we appreciate the opportunity.”

HandsOn Jacksonville’s mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world. It provides access to tools, resources and opportunities to help people use their time, talent, voice and money to meet the critical needs of the community.

Photo:  Steve Crooks, President of Suddath International, joins in with the HandsOn volunteers.