Barnabas Center Nassau
Press Release
Submitted by Jennie Jenkins
Communication Manager
[email protected]
February 2, 2018 9:00 a.m.
Barnabas Center held its annual membership meeting on Thursday, January 25 at the American Beach Community Center on Amelia Island. The meeting provided highlights and accomplishments in 2017 and welcomed new board members: John Carlson, Pamela Fox, Thomas Morris, Ray Poole, and Lisa Rozier. Outgoing Board members were recognized for their service to Barnabas: Dudley Benesch, Sue Gottesmann-Jarzyna and Pat Zeorlin.
Barnabas Board Chair, Stephen Lee, announced that Barnabas has received the Charity Navigator highest, 4-star rating for efficiency, effectiveness and transparency for eleven (11) years in a row; only 1% of charities rated in the United States achieved this status. President and CEO, Wanda Lanier, reported that Barnabas took a lead role in recovery efforts in Nassau County following hurricane Irma by assisting 50 households that were impacted by loss of income, flooding and other damage. She also reported that Barnabas’ Health Services program, which provides a “medical home” for lower income adults who lack health insurance, leveraged $2.9M in medical services provided by Baptist Medical Center Nassau and Baptist Health, as well as specialists, practitioners and nurses.
A special announcement was made by the “Campaign for Sustainability” Chair, Julia Taylor, who reported that Barnabas has raised a total of $935,229 towards the $1.5 million goal for its endowment campaign. The annual meeting concluded with a special musical presentation by the Peck Community Ensemble.
The mission of Barnabas is to provide assistance to individuals and families in crisis throughout Nassau County. The agency’s vision is to be the primary nonprofit resource in Nassau County, providing assistance to connect individuals and families to services that will help them overcome crisis and achieve self-sufficiency.
Barnabas is the comprehensive service center in Nassau County that helps our neighbors in crisis with a compassionate helping hand so they can become healthy, productive citizens, strengthening our entire community. Through our partnerships, we reach even more people and maximize resources. We address critical issues facing our community, such as hunger, affordable health care and prevention of homelessness.
