2024 NEWS

Home Made Cards for Elderly: February 2024

The Junior Honor Society of Pine Island Academy, St. Augustine, created greeting cards with words of encouragement for the elderly. The cards were delivered to Pie n the Sky for inclusion with food donations delivered to homebound elderly in St. Johns County. Thank you to the thoughtfulness of the Pine Island Academy Junior Honor Society.

Florida Prime Sports & St. Johns Moms Kick Off Annual St. Johns CARES Pet Food Drive: March

Pet food donations were encouraged of participants of the Springfest on March 23, 2024 sponsored by Florida Prime Sports and the St. Johns Moms organization. This was a great kick-off to our Annual Pet Food Drive. Thank you to Florida Prime Sports and St. Johns Moms for their ongoing assistance with our Mission of Uniting the Community Through Helping Others in Need.
​Thank you to the teen volunteers who helped load the donations.

2024 Annual Pet Food Drive: April 1st - 24th

Not only are animal shelters in great need of pet food, individuals seeking assistance at local food pantries are also concerned about their pets. Unfortunately some are forced to make very hard decisions to give up their furry companions or give part of their own meager food supplies to their pets. Senior citizens in particular are more likely to give up their own food to geed their pets at the cost of their own nutritional needs.
21 Local businesses, neighborhoods and individuals holding neighborhood drives served as host sites for donations of pet food. $3,326 of pet food and supplies was distributed to six animal organizations (Ayla's acres, Feline Canopy of Care, S.A.F.E, St. Augustine Humane Society, Swamp Haven and Wags & Whiskers). Pet food was also shared with Pie in the Sky organization for their homebound elderly clients with pets.
​Thank you to the generosity of the Community and host sites.

Backpacks For 2024 Homeless High School Seniors Enrolling in Further Formal Education ​

New backpacks with academic planners, insulated water bottles and gift cards was provided to 15 Homeless High School students in St. Johns County enrolling in college or trade school. The backpacks are an acknowledgement of the students' accomplishments against challenging circumstances and encouragement as they pursue their goals and a better future.

Scholarships for Homeless High School Students Enrolled in Higher Education​

Each year St. Johns CARES, Inc. awards scholarships to homeless student applicants applying for further education after high school graduation in St. Johns County. The students may be attending college or a trade school. This year 3 students were awarded scholarships to help with education costs. Each student will receive scholarship money for up to 4 years of schooling. Along with the 2022 and 2023 scholarship awardees, this brings the total number of students currently receiving St. Johns CARES scholarships to five.

​School Snack Pantry Project: Academic Year 2023-2024

With the generosity of host sites and monetary donations from the Community, snacks, hygiene products, school supplies and gift cards were delivered on a monthly basis to St. Augustine High School for the Snack Pantry for students with food insufficiencies for academic year 2023-2024. The positive results included improved school attendance & participation, overall behavior and self-esteem. This program started by Amy Huber, Academic Dean St. Augustine High School, has been such a success that other schools in the County and elsewhere have sought information on starting their own Snack Pantries. St. Johns CARES total donations delivered for the academic year was $8,870. St. Augustine High School has approximately 100+ students with food insufficiencies.
Thank you to all who made this possible.
Starting in early August we will resume monthly deliveries to the St. Augustine High School School Snack Pantry for academic year 2024-2025.
Anyone interested in providing snacks in single servings and/or monetary donations should email [email protected].
As donations permit, we will include another St. Johns County School District school with a high number of food insufficient students.

Annual Food Drive: October 1 - November 22

21 Host Sites, 3 Neighborhoods (Coastal Oaks, St. Johns Lakes, Reserve at Greenbriar) and at the Spooky Market Bash supported by the St. Johns Moms  & Florida Prime Sports collected non-perishable food donations totaling $7,445. The donations helped fill food pantry shelves at Christ Cupboard (Fruit Cove, S.E.A. Community(Armstrong) and Port in the Storm/St. Francis House, Pie in the Sky & the Homeless Coalition St. Johns (St. Augustine).
Thank you to the host sites, neighborhoods, St. Johns Moms & FL Prime Sports and our volunteers for helping with our Annual Food Drive to help those in need .

News from 2021, 2022 and 2023 can be found under Archives