A new program, MBF Teen Safety Matters™, was recently launched by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children to prevent child abuse and bullying among teen-agers.
Community First Cares Foundation Announces New Board Members
Kristin Murray and Deirdre Conner join volunteer board
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 2, 2024 – The Community First Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm Community First Credit Union, announces it has appointed two new board members to its volunteer board of directors. Deirdre Conner and Kristin Murray joined the board, which guides the foundation’s philanthropic efforts in our community.
Deirdre Conner is the principal and founder of Ripple Effect Storytelling & Insights. As a nonprofit leader, she has more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, working with organizations to build capacity and reach their highest level of impact.
Conner was previously vice president of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida and served as director of advocacy and communications at the Jacksonville Public Education Fund (JPEF). Before joining the nonprofit sector, she was a print journalist, most recently as a reporter for The Florida Times-Union. She is a founding board member of The Tributary and 904WARD and was recently appointed to the board of the Center for Children’s Rights. Conner earned a bachelor’s degree at Swarthmore College and is pursuing an MPA at Florida State University.
Kristin Murray is currently engagement & marketing lead at the Blue Zones Project Jacksonville. Murray is an experienced human connection facilitator working with youth in the civic/social organization industry. Kristin is skilled in nonprofit organizations, youth voice/participation, belonging/somatics, training facilitation and journalism with a focus on storytelling.
Murray previously served as director of Nonviolence365 Education and Training at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (King Center) and was a program manager for Career Connect at Florida State College of Jacksonville. She previously served on the board of Young Lives as chair of community outreach. Murray earned a master’s from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree at Florida A&M University.
“We are proud to welcome these nonprofit leaders to our board,” said Roger Rassman, chair of the Community First Cares Foundation board. “Our volunteer board members provide diverse perspectives from our community so that our foundation can fund projects to further our mission and improve lives across the First Coast.”
The Community First Cares Foundation, founded by Community First Credit Union, is a non-profit community foundation that grants funds to improve the quality of life in North Florida. The foundation supports activities to improve financial literacy, enhance the quality of our educational system, upgrade the health and welfare of our community and help underserved citizens. The Community First Cares Foundation makes contributions to nonprofit organizations that serve the communities on the First Coast. For more information, visit www.CommunityFirstCares.org or call 904-371-8090.
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Poverty is a silent epidemic in our schools, and many issues with attendance and academics are directly related to students not having clean clothes, shoes that fit, or the supplies they need to be successful in school. Students want to feel good about themselves when they come to school, and we want to help them have everything they need to learn. We could not have opened our first on-site classroom-sized Giving Closet without this funding and volunteer support.
Jennifer Smith, DCPS teacher and Founder of The Giving Closet Project.